The new chairman of the 1994 Group has criticised the government's university reforms for not being "ambitious" enough and branded the Higher Education White Paper a "disappointment".
The comments were made during Professor Michael Farthing's first speech as chairman of the group, which represents 19 of the UK's leading research intensive universities, after his appointment in October.
The vice chancellor of the University of Sussex warned the current proposals set out in the HE White Paper would not enhance the student experience and hinted he thought the process had been simplified.
"We cannot fall into the trap of reducing higher education to a set of simple transactions.
"Universities are so much more than warehouses that sell off the shelf qualifications, and students are more than consumers purchasing degree certificates", he said.
Farthing addressed a conference at the fifth annual enhancing the student experience meeting and voiced concerns over viewing undergraduates purely as consumers.
"We do students a disservice if we value them as anything other than active participants in these communities," he continued.
"One of the biggest disappointments of the HE White Paper was the near complete lack of attention it gave to research.
"We are promised proposals to support research soon, but the government has failed to recognise the experience universities strive to create for students."