That is among the interim findings of Universities UK¡¯s Student Funding Panel, which was established last year to examine the current system.

With the general election only five months away, the panel hope that the recommendations will pay a significant role in shaping the manifestos of the three main parties.

After hearing from a number of prominent figures in higher education and policy, the panel, which is itself made up of education experts and high-profile university figures, says there is ¡°little evidence that the reforms have improved incentives for institutions to pursue innovations in teaching¡±.

It also finds fee increases have led to a drop in the number of ¡°flexible¡± places available to students, with the 2012 reforms coinciding with ¡°the number of part-time undergraduate entrants to institutions in England having almost halved between 2010-11 and 2013-14¡±.

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Commenting on tuition fees directly, the panel raised concerns about the amount of money being repaid by post-2012 undergraduates and some members said the repayment period of 30 years was too long. ?

The panel also expressed concerns about the level of support available to students experiencing financial difficulties ¡°who do not qualify for the full package of maintenance support¡±.

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However, the document is noteworthy for not making any recommendation on the fee cap level, even though a number of vice-chancellors have questioned whether it should rise above ?9,000.

In 2013, Sir Christopher Snowden, UUK president and vice-chancellor of the University of Surrey - and chair of the funding panel - said the ?9,000 cap ¡°could not be frozen forever¡±. His comments followed others made by University of Liverpool vice-chancellor Sir Howard Newby and the University of Oxford¡¯s Andrew Hamilton, who have both raised questions about the future of the fee cap.

Commenting on the panel¡¯s interim findings, Sir Christopher called on more work to be done to see how the fees system in England could be further improved.

¡°There has been a lot of commentary recently about the long-term financial sustainability of the current funding and fees system in England,¡± he said.

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¡°We need more evidence on how the system can best deliver value for money for students, encourage greater participation of part-time and mature students and provide a stable funding environment for all universities.¡±