WITH tuition fees now making up nearly 50 per cent of Aberystwyth University’s income, recruiting more students is “essential to ensure the sustainability” of the institution, a report has warned.

The warning in a university council report comes as UCAS figures revealed that applications and student numbers joining in September 2015 both fell from the previous year.

Tuition fees, set at £9,000 a year per student, now bring in £64,685,000 to the university according to the 2014/15 accounts - up nearly £5 million a year from 2014.

Fees, set at the top level they can be for all students at Aberystwyth, now make up exactly 49 per cent of the institution’s income.

“The shift from grant funding to income from student tuition fees has become increasingly evident and now accounts for 49 per cent of the university’s income,” a report put before the university’s council said.

“Maximising student recruitment, assisted through increased student satisfaction was therefore essential to ensure the sustainability of the university.

“The most recent intake of full-time Home / EU undergraduate students, as measured by students still registered on 1 November 2015, had delivered a slight under-recruitment against the intake target,” a university council report said.

Aberystwyth attracted 2,195 new students in September according to figures from UCAS – the fifth year in a row the intake has dropped.