Government is failing to tackle debt fear, says university head

Leeds University’s boss Prof Michael Arthur said Ministers who were criticising vice chancellors for charging top-level fees risked sending the wrong message to students about cost of higher education under the new system.

The Government has warned universities that students may snub courses at £9,000-a-year.

Business Secretary Vince Cable has also said that if the average amount charged across England’s universities is higher than £7,500-a-year then the sector could be hit by further funding cuts or reductions in student places. This is because the coalition is facing a massive financial shortfall caused by more universities planning to charge £9,000 than it had budgeted for.

Leeds is one of four universities in the region and 46 across the country which plan to charge the maximum amount allowed next year when the cap on fees is almost trebled.

Mr Arthur, who is also chairman of the elite Russell Group of universities, said the Government should be focusing on making sure young people are not put off going to university by “the headline figure “of £9,000.

He said: “This is a problem. My message to Government is that everything needs to calm down and we need to get the system working.

“I would like to see more from the Government on communicating these changes to prospective students. Some students still believe there will be an upfront fee to pay which there won’t be.”

He also urged students not to think of their tuition fee loan as a debt but as an “income contingent tax” which they only start to pay back once they earn more than £21,000.

Mr Arthur has been told by the Government that a major campaign explaining the fees is set to be launched next month. He said this was needed to tackle “scaremongering for political reasons” about the impact of higher fees.

Mr Arthur told the Yorkshire Post no student should be put off going to Leeds University because of the price rise to £9,000.

Instead he said students should look at how much they will actually pay off under the new system .

“This is not like any other debt. It is not like a mortgage or a car loan. The repayment schedule means that when graduates earn £25,000 they will be paying back £30 a month – that is the equivalent of a cinema ticket every week.

“At £30,000 they will be paying back £62.50 a month – that’s the price of filling up your car with petrol and at £35,000 they will be paying back £105 a month – that’s the price of a curry for four people.”

Mr Arthur was also keen to point out that the £9,000 fee at Leeds will not be the average charged for courses at the university as students from the poorest backgrounds will qualify for help.

Under the new fees system any university wanting to charge more than £6,000-a-year has to have a package of support it intends to provide to pupils from poorer backgrounds approved by the Office for Fair Access (Offa).

All universities submitted their bids to Offa and decisions on fee levels will be made in July.

Plans at Leeds include giving poorer students a choice between waiving part of their fee or getting a cash bursary to help with their living costs.