Universities in region lining up for £9,000 fees

Four universities in the region: Bradford, Hull, Leeds and Sheffield have confirmed that they plan to charge top level fees in 2012 and York could follow their example later this year.

Sheffield Hallam and Leeds Trinity became the latest institutions in the region to announce what they planned to charge yesterday as the deadline for submitting plans to the Government under the new system passed.

Both have set their fees below £9,000. Sheffield Hallam plans to charge £8,500 – in line with Leeds Metropolitan and York St John while Leeds Trinity, which is a university college, is planning to set degree fees at £8,000.

Huddersfield has announced the lowest university fees in Yorkshire so far – at £7,950.

York is the only university in the region not to publicly declare what it plans to charge students next year. It is a part of the 1994 group of research-intensive universities where the majority of members have indicated they plan to charge £9,000 a year.

Under the Government’s higher education reforms the cap on fees is rising from £3,375 to between £6,000 to £9,000 on degree courses starting next September.

Any university planning to charge more than £6,000 a year has to have a package of support it plans to give students from the poorest backgrounds approved by the Office for Fair Access. The deadline for submitting plans passed at midnight.

Sheffield Hallam’s proposed fee includes plans to be spending £9m a year in fee waivers and bursaries by 2015.

A statement from the university said: “The new fee will compensate for the Government’s 80 per cent cut in our teaching grant and the significant cuts in capital funding.

“Like all universities, we have carefully considered our fee, and have set it at a level that will deliver a high quality education and allow us to invest for the future.”

Leeds Trinity’s principal and chief executive Freda Bridge said: “The fee of £8,000 has been carefully considered. It strikes the right balance between what is affordable for students and their families and the resources Leeds Trinity needs to provide a high-quality education for its students.”

Nationally 68 per cent of universities are planning to charge £9,000 a year. Hull and Bradford became the latest in the region to confirm their plans for maximum fees on Monday.

Hull’s vice chancellor Prof Calie Pistorius told the Yorkshire Post the priority now was to ensure universities got the message across that higher education was still open to people from all backgrounds.

University education will still be free at point of charge for students who will not begin paying back their fees loans until they earn more than £21,000.

There will also be a National Scholarship Programme which will pay for part of the cost of degrees for students from the most deprived backgrounds. And universities are being asked to do more work to support poorer students into higher education.

Prof Pistorius said: “We need young people to know that regardless of their background if they have the talent and ambition then they will be welcome at this university.”

The Government has been criticised by social mobility campaigners for not doing enough to reassure young people that higher education is still affordable.

Wes Streeting, chief executive of the Helena Kennedy Foundation, said: “In the wake of such a big bang reform to the tuition fees system it is frankly extraordinary that the Government has failed to launch an effective publicity campaign to ensure that potential applicants and their families are aware of the facts behind the new system, particularly that tuition fees will not be payable until after graduation.

“The chaos and confusion surrounding the implementation of the new system risk deterring students, especially those from non-traditional backgrounds.

“Many universities are investing in additional support for students through bursaries, scholarships and fee waivers, but if these benefits are hidden they’re of little use to anyone. The Government needs to launch a high-impact publicity campaign as a matter of urgency.”