Students and academics have urged Lib Dem MPs to stick to an election pledge and vote against proposals to remove the cap on university tuition fees in England.

The universities minister David Willetts has come under attack after telling students to lower their sights and apply to “less competitive” universities next year.

The University and College Union has called for a national bursary scheme after a report found that the current bursary system is random and unbalanced.

Students and lecturers are warning that theology and religious studies departments in British universities could be under threat due to cuts in higher education funding. Bangor University will this year accept new theology students for the last time, while staff at Birmingham have warned that they will consider strike action to resist compulsory redundancies.