UNIVERSITIES IN the UK are set to cut the number of courses that they are prepared to offer in 2012, from approximately 43,000 down to 38,000, heralding a reduction of 5,000.

Due to government spending cuts and rising tuition fees, universities across the country have been forced to curtail the variety of courses they can offer.

The criteria that decides which courses should be removed from university syllabuses, is based on whether each course is deemed too expensive, or of too low a quality.

The specific types of courses targeted are the least popular non-academic courses, which offer poor employment prospects. The subject areas of History, Nursing, Business and Philosophy are expected to suffer the most from these cuts.

Some universities, such as the London Metropolitan, have slashed more than 60 per cent of their courses, proclaiming that as tuition fees reach their £9,000 pinnacle, the number of students willing to take these so-called “soft courses” will diminish dramatically.

The Admissions Tutor’s service, know as the Supporting Professionalism Admissions (SPA), conducted a study, revealing that there will be a 12 per cent decrease in the number of courses offered by the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), reducing the number from 43,360 in 2011, to 38,146 in 2012.

Janet Graham of the SPA disclosed, “We have a record numbers of students but a downward trend in degree courses.”

Not only do students now run the risk of having to pay up to £9,000 a year for tuition fees, but they must also suffer from a lack of choice in terms of what courses they can study.

A University and College Union spokesperson told The Independent, “This government’s reforms have been a complete mess.

“It’s particularly going to hit students planning to live at home to minimize expenses.

“It’ll be a real tragedy if they suddenly find cuts at their local university mean they can no longer study the subject they have always wanted.”

In order to uphold their reputations, universities will have to publish a wide assortment of statistics about each course they offer, in order to ensure that students are able to make better-informed decisions about their choice of university course.

Furthermore, the strain on UK Universities is even greater.

As well as suffering from a 10 per cent cut in state funding, when higher fees are introduced, approximately 80 per cent of government teaching grants will be withdrawn, potentially causing the financial ruin of 50 UK institutions.