THE University of Chester dismissed claims the institution faced bankruptcy because of Government cuts as “a sensationalist work of emotive fallacy”.

It said the suggestions from the Universities and College Union that the cuts could prove its undoing as “well-intentioned”, but that the report compiled by the union said it faced a “high level of impact”, but others in the region faced “very high impact”.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tim Wheeler, said: “It is well documented that the withdrawal of a significant proportion of our teaching budget will create challenges, but we are confident that we will be able to weather the storm, given our strong financial position.

“We are also fortunate that our courses are extremely popular with almost nine applications per place last year and we are showing a 50% increase in applications for next year.

“The report, which is politically motivated, sensationalist and unhelpful in conclusion, has a very dubious research base, which lacks validity and reliability.

“It involves an arbitrary choice of four factors which may impinge on finances only indirectly.

“They are reliance on public funding, the proportion of public funding received for so-called ‘non-priority’ subjects, such as those in Humanities, the number of students from the poorest backgrounds and reliance on non-EU students’ fees.

“As any accountant knows, what should be of the greatest concern, but which does not feature in this report, is the strength of a university’s balance sheet, and whether it has been generating a surplus on its activities. In this regard, the University of Chester has had surpluses for the past three financial years of £5m.

“We have a long-held reputation for prudent management, good governance and leadership, and has already made contingency plans to deal with the projected loss of income.”