A BBC investigation has found that numerous universities in England have presented misleading information about student loan repayments by using only below-average salary examples on their websites. According to BBC News, the analysis of more than 110 university websites uncovered cases where repayment information was inaccurate or failed to reflect realistic earning trajectories for graduates.
Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury Committee, described some of the information as "misleading" and called for the Department for Education (DfE) to include examples based on higher salaries on its own website. The findings add to growing concerns about how student borrowing terms have been communicated to prospective students.
What did the BBC investigation find?
The BBC's analysis revealed that 12 universities provided worked examples of monthly repayments based solely on earnings below the UK average of £39,039. The University of Gloucestershire, for instance, showed a £26,000 salary resulting in £7.47 monthly repayments, while Northumbria University and the University of Huddersfield illustrated £75 monthly repayments based on a £35,000 salary. Northumbria's website previously stated that graduates would be "repaying an amount less than the cost of a daily coffee"—a comparison the university removed after being contacted by the BBC.
Beyond incomplete examples, the investigation identified factual errors on several university websites. The University of Exeter incorrectly stated that Plan 5 loans were written off a decade earlier than they actually are. Royal Holloway and Edge Hill listed wrong repayment thresholds, and Harper Adams claimed that English students remained on Plan 2 loans. All four institutions updated their websites following contact from the BBC.
The DfE's own website also fell short, providing monthly repayment examples only for people earning up to £38,400 on other student loan plans, with no real-world examples for Plan 5 students. This omission is significant given how dramatically repayments scale with income: someone earning £30,000 repays £37.50 monthly, while someone earning £100,000 repays £562.50.
How does this affect graduates' understanding?
Megan Russon, a 21-year-old tax accountant from Cannock who graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in accounting and finance, illustrates the gap between initial expectations and reality. With a starting salary of around £29,000, she repays approximately £30 monthly. However, she expects to earn around £50,000 once she becomes chartered in three years, at which point her monthly repayment will rise to about £187.
Megan recalls that universities presented repayment examples based on earnings between £25,000 and £45,000 at open days, suggesting graduates "wouldn't even notice the repayments because they should be minimal." She said:
At the time, I wasn't sure what salary I was even going to be on when I graduated. When I was at university, I started realising the salaries that I was going to be on after I graduated, then I started realising actually this is going to be impacting me quite a lot.
Her experience reflects a broader problem: prospective students receive information that does not prepare them for how their repayments will increase as their careers progress. According to BBC reporting on the parliamentary inquiry, 28,275 of 49,357 respondents with student loans said they had not understood the terms before borrowing, and 45,843 said the terms were unreasonable.
What is the context for this investigation?
This discovery emerges from a Treasury Committee inquiry into student loans that raised serious concerns about how borrowing terms have been communicated. The committee previously found that comparing repayments to phone contracts amounted to "mis-selling", and it said borrowers were not clearly told that loan terms could change retrospectively.
The inquiry focused particularly on Plan 2 loans, issued in England from September 2012 to July 2023, which have generated substantial controversy. The repayment threshold for these loans is due to remain frozen at £29,385 from 2027 to 2030, meaning graduates will repay a larger proportion of their income as wages rise.
What are universities and the government saying?
Dame Meg Hillier stated:
I'm pretty shocked at what the BBC has uncovered here and I'm going to be raising it with the relevant MPs and urging them to write to the universities in their constituencies to make them step up and do a better job.She emphasised that the DfE should be "taking the lead" by reflecting repayments for higher earners, but that universities also "have a responsibility to the young people that they're taking on board for the three or four years of their degree."
The DfE acknowledged the concerns and committed to action. A spokesperson said:
We have committed to reviewing the information we provide following the Treasury Committee's recommendations, and we will. We are also working with universities to ensure the information they provide to students is clear and up to date.The department added that its guidance sets out "how repayments are calculated across the different repayment plans" and that it is "vital" that university applicants have "clear and accurate information."
Several universities confirmed they have updated their websites. The University of Gloucestershire, the University of Birmingham, and Harper Adams University said they had made changes. Birkbeck, University of London, and Manchester Metropolitan University said they were reviewing their information. The University of Sheffield described its example as illustrative, while the University of Portsmouth said it would update its example to "reflect the most recent average salary."
Northumbria University acknowledged that higher earners will make higher monthly repayments and committed to reviewing all pages to ensure wording is "as clear and precise as possible." The Open University noted that it gave examples of "income levels that are most likely to reflect our students' circumstances," although many students "go on to earn significantly more." Birmingham City University declined to comment, and the BBC requested comment from the University of Huddersfield.
What happens next?
The government has announced that university applicants in England will receive clearer information about student loans, including how career and life choices can affect repayment trajectories. According to BBC reporting on the government's response, the planned guidance will show how salary progression, retraining, part-time work, and career breaks can affect repayment trajectories. The government said long-term repayment predictions risk being misleading because they are not sufficiently accurate, suggesting a more nuanced approach to communicating borrowing terms.
Key Facts
- Plan 5 loans require repayment of 9% of earnings over £25,000 for 40 years or until the loan is paid off
- Twelve universities provided repayment examples based only on earnings below the UK average of £39,039
- Monthly repayments scale dramatically with income: £37.50 at £30,000 salary versus £562.50 at £100,000 salary
- The Treasury Committee found that comparing student loan repayments to phone contracts or cinema tickets amounted to "mis-selling"
- The DfE has committed to reviewing information provided to prospective borrowers, including the impact of salary progression on monthly repayments
