Top universities may treble fees to £9,000 a year

Parents are starting to save more, partly as a result of the controversial increase in university tuition fees, according to new research.

STUDENTS leaders claim a “£9,000 group” could emerge as the cost of going to the country’s best universities almost trebles next year.

Cambridge University’s announcement that it intends to charge the maximum fee allowed from September 2012 and expects its competitors to do the same raised fears that £9,000-a-year will become the normal cost of going to elite institutions.

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Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students, said the proposals, which have been published for consultation, “came as absolutely no surprise”.

He said: “We can now expect a race to the top as universities rush to gain kudos by joining the ‘£9,000 group’ as quickly as possible.

“How long before the most expensive universities start asking for the freedom to charge even more?”

Cambridge University’s proposal warns that charging less than £9,000 would be irresponsible as this will still not cover the full cost of educating students.

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The expected tuition fee increase comes after the Government announced massive cuts to teaching funding of almost £3bn.

Universities have warned they will need to raise fees to at least £7,000 a year to recover the money they have lost from the state. So far no universities in Yorkshire have announced what they plan to charge once the cap on tuition fees is raised to between £6,000 and £9,000.

Leeds and Sheffield, which are both members of the elite research led Russell Group of universities, declined to comment on Cambridge’s decision yesterday.

Last month Leeds University’s senate was told that its fee should provide the institution with “increased funds for strategic academic development and to help manage fluctuations in student demand”.

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It was also told that charging a fee of £7,000 would merely enable the university to “stand still”. Universities across Yorkshire are producing new prospectuses without including any information on how much courses will cost.

The books promoting courses starting in 2012 are being put together now but universities say they are not in a position to decide what their fees will be because they are still waiting for guidance from Government about the arrangements they need to put in place to support people from deprived backgrounds.

Universities will submit their proposed fee and access arrangements to the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) at the end of March. OFFA then have until June to get back to universities at which point fees will be announced. Cambridge University’s working group is recommending a single rate of £9,000 for all home and EU students, regardless of the course or college they study at.

Students from homes with a household income of less than £25,000 will get a reduction of £3,000, plus a bursary of £1,625. This reduction will taper down to zero for students from homes with an income of over £42,000.

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A similar “fee waiver” system was also being discussed yesterday at an Oxford University meeting. As Oxford academics debated student funding inside the university’s Sheldonian Theatre, a group of around 30 students gathered outside urging them to strike against higher tuition fees.

Inside the building, Frances Lannon, chairman of the Conference of Colleges and principal of Lady Margaret Hall, said: “It would be abhorrent to us to create an Oxford that’s only available to those that are able to pay. If we were to charge fees of lower than £9,000, our ability to sustain academic excellence and provide fee waivers and bursaries would be proportionately lessened.

“We cannot choose to lower fee income and at the same time support excellence and access in the way we passionately wish to.”

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, warned that the majority of students would not get support to help them meet the cost of the new fees at universities across the country.