Maximum tuition fees set to be implemented

Talk of tuition fees has resurged in anticipation of maximum tuition fees and new targets that aim to regulate fair access to English universities.

Last December, the UK government passed a law which raised tuition fees in England to a minimum of £6000 and a maximum of £9000 as of 2012. This move was done as a result of unprecedented spending cuts in the UK.

The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) has declared that universities charging more than £6000 must take steps to help students from poorer backgrounds gain access to the institutions. Help for poorer students would come primarily from bursaries, but the bursary amount would vary from institution to institution.

All universities much submit an “Access Agreement” to OFFA by 31 March, in which they state the maximum fee they wish to charge beginning in 2012 as well the steps they will take to ensure that poorer students have a spot.  

Professor Michael Arthur, Vice Chancellor of Leeds University and Chair of the Russell Group, a collaboration of the top 20 universities in the UK, has stated that universities must charge the maximum fees to maintain their world class status.

However Andrew Scheuber, press secretary for the Russell Group, told The Journal that fees will vary between universities, that estimates are speculative and cannot be confirmed at this time, and that Professor Arthur was speaking solely within the context of his own university.

However, it has since been revealed that the University of Leeds, Cambridge University, and Oxford University are all poised to set their tuition fees to £9000. Cambridge University is set to propose a £3,000 waiver for students from families with incomes less than £25,000.

Liam Burns, President of NUS Scotland, spoke about the new developments: “The coalition’s claim that £9000 fees would be the exception, not the rule, was at best naïve and at worse purposefully ignorant.

“If the maximum amount is charged, the fault will lie at the door of those MPs, including those in Scotland, who voted to raise fees.”

The surge in English tuition fees has sparked concern that Scotland, which is struggling to bridge its own funding gap, will fall behind its wealthy counterparts in England. Scottish universities continue to provide free education for Scottish students and comparatively lower tuition fees for UK and European students.

EUSA President Liz Rawlings explained that EUSA will be launching a campaign in the next month which highlights the issue of higher education funding. The campaign will take place just prior to the Scottish Parliament elections in May.

Speaking to The Journal, she said: “Students won't stand for tuition fees in Scotland, which are outdated and unfair. Instead, this is a unique opportunity for Scotland to lead the way, with a progressive, innovative and uniquely Scottish solution to the higher education funding crisis.”

Maximum tuition fees in England may cause even more problems north of the border. There is also fear that an influx of students from the rest of the UK who are escaping high tuition fees will occur, and that it will reverse the work done to widen access in Scottish universities.

Mr Burns explained: “Scotland needs to find a Scottish solution to funding our students. The decisions on the future of our HE sector can’t be a knee jerk response to short term changes in the rest of the UK.”