Strathclyde University set £9k per year RUK fees

The University of Strathclyde has become the latest Scottish institution to set tuition fees at £9,000 a year for students from the rest of the UK.

University Court, Strathclyde's governing body, today announced the increased charge for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland attending the Glasgow-based institution from the academic year 2012/13.

However, the cost of a four-year degree course has been capped at £27,000.

The University insisted a bursary fund of up to £5 million is planned to ensure talented prospective students can still study at Strathclyde. But student leaders claimed the decision displayed the institution as "motivated purely by profit".

The move leaves Strathclyde University, which currently has an RUK student population of around 450, on a level playing field with the likes of Aberdeen and Dundee after the latter also announced today plans to impose a £27,000 cap.

Indicative fee levels are expected to be set at neighbouring institution Glasgow University this week ahead of a meeting of their ruling body on October 13.

Speaking after University Court this morning, Principal Professor Jim McDonald said: “Strathclyde students have access to a comprehensive range of scholarships, and we are developing our strategy to create a programme for broader-based internships and ‘routes to career’.

"This will allow us to lever our unparalleled combination of industry, business and public sector partnerships to enhance the experience of our students and further improve employability. We will also ensure that those students who run into difficulties also have access to expert financial advice and support through a number of programmes.

“The University will be enhancing these with bursaries targeted at students from low-income backgrounds. Finance should not be, and must not be a barrier to studying at Strathclyde. Our bursary fund, planned to be at the scale of £4-5 million, will offer support to those gifted prospective students in need of financial assistance – a trait that characterises Strathclyde’s approach to access.

“With the support we put in place, many students will pay considerably less than the £27,000 fee.”

However, Charandeep Singh, president of the University of Strathclyde Students’ Association (USSA), slammed the proposals.

He said: “USSA opposes all student fees and anything that could lead to the commercialisation of Higher Education. University Court had an opportunity to show leadership by minimising the impact of RUK fees at Strathclyde and instead, they have chosen to charge the highest possible fees, proving that they have given into peer pressure and are motivated purely by profit.

"The Association’s ‘RUKidding?!’ campaign, which received overwhelming student support, clearly showed opposition to fees of any kind, regardless of where a student resides.

"USSA has engaged robustly and constructively with the University to produce a student support package which puts ability to learn at the top of the agenda. We will continue to push for guarantees that the student support system at Strathclyde places widening access at its core and will be monitoring the impact of these proposals on prospective student numbers.”