England’s higher-education regulator told MPs that 50 providers face the risk of exiting the market in two to three years, with 24 at more immediate risk and seven large institutions singled out. The Office for Students pointed to weaker-than-expected recruitment and fragile finances across a broad swath of the sector. Moody’s has echoed the warning, projecting a negative outlook for higher education as a whole amid federal policy changes, rising costs, and regulatory uncertainty. Regulators and ministers are pressing universities to strengthen governance, improve forecasting and consider collaboration or consolidation to safeguard degree provision and protect students.