Value for money statement

We are in a strong position to add value to the fees that students pay – not just for their tuition, but for their whole experience of being at a large civic university in a small, safe city. We create positive change in their lives and in their working and living environment.

We take great pride in our role as a economic anchor in the region. Our students and graduates support the sustained impact and value the University offers as a significant driver of economic, cultural and social development, offering value for money back to the taxpayer as well as to the student. As one of the largest employers in Preston, we provide many work opportunities for our students and our local community.

The University’s Vision is to “transform lives by delivering an outstanding educational experience, creating prosperity and opportunity in the communities we serve.” We believe that this vision creates value for students in the following ways:

Adding value through our innovative teaching and industry links;
Adding value through work experience opportunities and creating employability;
Adding value through student support;
Adding value through student engagement and governance;
Value for money from the learning environment and external engagement;
Travel opportunities add value to the student experience;
Adding value in the local context.

Summary of 2022/23

In 2022/23, the University invested heavily in the student experience, developing new capital investments around improving the student journey from application to graduation, developing the University’s sports offer and preparing for the launch of a new School of Veterinary Medicine. This is the first such facility in Lancashire and only the second in the North of England.

University finances

The following information sets out how the University finances work, where our income comes from, what we spend our money on and shows how a typical undergraduate student fee is used.

This chart shows a breakdown of university income.
More than two thirds of our income is from student fees (including UK, International, undergraduate and postgraduate students) and education contracts. Around 14% of our income is from funding body grants – this comes predominantly from the Office for Students, the Education & Skills Funding Agency and from Research England. The remainder of our income comes from a variety of sources including research grants, investments, accommodation and commercial activities.

Our total income for the year 2022/23 was just under £292m and came from the following sources:

Tuition fees and education contracts - £202m

Funding body grants - £42m

Other income - £19m

Accommodation and commercial services – £15m

Research grants - £10m

Investments - £4m
This chart shows the breakdown of university expenditure.
All of our income is spent on the University to deliver teaching and learning, undertake research, deliver support services and to provide teaching, learning and research spaces, as well as recreational space for our students.

Over the last 5 years we have increasingly invested in the things we know matter to our students: the academic experience; support services; accommodation; and research that delivers real-world impact. Some examples of these investments are:

Additional student support for mental health and wellbeing;

Our new Student Centre, which is the new gateway to the University and provides all key student services within a dedicated and purpose-built space to ensure that our students have the best experience possible;

The Engineering Innovation Centre, which acts as a hive of innovation, creating a spirit of collaboration and knowledge transfer between University researchers, industry experts, businesses and students, contributing to the very best student experience.

Our total expenditure for the year 2022/23 was just over £297m, which was spent in the following ways:

Core academic expenditure - £199m

Premises - £40m

Support services - £37m

Accommodation & commercial - £13m

Research expenditure - £7m

Other expenditure - £1m
This image shows the breakdown of how student fees are spent.
A typical undergraduate student fee (currently £9,250 per year) is spent in the following ways:

Teaching – £4,622 (50%)

Other support services – £1,710 (18%)

Estate running costs – £1,245 (13%)

Student support and campus life – £718 (6%)

IT and library – £736 (8%)

Bursaries - £219 (2%)