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News of constant job losses and course closures across the UK sector is causing lasting damage to universities¡¯ reputations and may inflict further financial harm by hitting student recruitment numbers, academics have warned.

Staff working at under-fire institutions told Times Higher Education that the impact of the cuts was not going unnoticed by prospective students and their parents, with the issue the ¡°first question¡± people raised at open days.

Some university open days have been targeted by unions protesting job cuts, with Coventry University last month accusing its University and College Union branch of an ¡°extraordinary act of self-harm¡± by staging a ¡°alternative open day¡± that highlighted the institution¡¯s planned cuts to those looking around the campus.

Fears that class sizes will be bigger, and students will be given less support and feedback on their work, was driving those thinking of starting a degree at a university to look at other options ¨C with some considering going abroad.

The risk was acknowledged by Blair Grubb, vice principal (education) at the University of Dundee ¨C one of the institutions hardest hit by the cuts ¨C?who told the Scottish Education Committee recently that despite seeing a 2.3 per cent rise in home student applications this year, ¡°the current situation and the press around Dundee does mean that we¡¯ll have to work hard on conversion to make sure we recruit an appropriate number of students¡±.

Any falls in recruitment would exacerbate the financial issues driving the cuts, with many universities already reporting missing targets for both domestic and international student numbers this year.

Angela Daly, professor at the renowned Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at Dundee, said parents with students at the provider, or those that were considering studying at the university, have expressed to her ¡°real concern about what¡¯s happening¡±, and said there needed to be greater ¡°positive messaging¡± to reassure students about the university¡¯s future.

The Scottish government has provided Dundee with ?22 million in emergency funding but leaders have warned insolvency is still a risk, with 700 jobs set to be lost.

Another academic at an institution facing cuts, who wished to remain anonymous, said that they had heard from parents concerned about their children¡¯s education due to loss of staff, adding that courses targeted are now facing ¡°an absolute crash fire¡± in trying to recruit for next year.

They said structural issues combined with the ¡°huge cuts that have been rolled out across all universities will understandably put people off studying for what they want to study¡±, adding that it would be humanities and social science subjects hardest hit which would be ¡°an absolute tragedy for the country¡±.

They said that the extent of the cuts and the deterioration of working conditions means that they will ¡°do everything in my power to encourage my kids to go to university outside the UK¡±.

¡°That is something I¡¯m really conflicted about saying, because I work really hard, and my colleagues work really hard to give students the best they can. But under the conditions that we currently work, and under the conditions that we¡¯re going to have to work after these cuts have been imposed, I can¡¯t in good conscience encourage them to take on upwards of ?60,000 of debt in order to go to university in the UK.¡±

Another academic from the University of Sheffield ¨C which is looking to cut 400 jobs to find savings of ?23 million?¨C feared that institutions in the north of England in particular could face ¡°catastrophic¡± recruitment problems, owing?to their distance from London, a city that is still proving popular with international students.

They added that while senior management teams were quick to blame poor recruitment for the need to make cuts, leaders should take more accountability for the decisions that caused the issues in the first place.

The academic had worked on two open days this year, and on both occasions, the ¡°first¡± question they got asked by parents was ¡°how are the cuts impacting you?¡±

¡°Parents are very aware of what¡¯s going on. Prospective students are very aware of what¡¯s going on. It is definitely impacting their decision making.¡±

The Sheffield academic added that the issues could further harm efforts to increase access and participation among hard-to-reach communities, with universities intent on filling spaces rather than fostering a more diverse student population.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com