Warning of student stampede to beat rise in fees

The Lord Browne Review is expected to call for universities to become less reliant on state funding and for students to pay more for their tuition.

The cap on fees could rise from 3,290 to at least 7,000 and the report is also set to suggest introducing interest payments, meaning higher earners pay more back on their loans after study.

Last night higher education bosses and students in Yorkshire warned that these recommendations will lead to another scramble for places next summer as candidates seek to avoid the soaring costs of going to university before any changes are implemented.

There are also fears that rising fees and interest rates on student loans will prevent poorer people from considering university in future.

Prof Roger Lewis, the chief executive of the Yorkshire Universities group, said: "There may well be a flood of students trying to enrol before any fees hike but that doesn't necessarily mean that there will be places for them.

"The Higher Education Funding Council has traditionally controlled the number of students entering higher education and I would not envisage that changing for the next intake. There may well be increased interest from prospective students but, as was seen this year, there will be penalties in place for universities that over recruit." Record A-level results and the effects of the recession have led to a major scramble for places at university for the past two summers. This year some Yorkshire universities saw applications rise by 30 per cent resulting in fewer places being available through the UCAS clearing system.

Huddersfield University's deputy vice chancellor Prof Peter Slee said it was "absolutely certain" that students would face an even tougher battle next year if Lord Browne's review called for students to pay more for their education.

He said: "If they want to change the interest on student loans this will take primary legislation which would take until next summer by then it would be too late to then bring in for the next academic year. If this is the case we would expect more applications next year before the increase came in."

Sheffield University students union president Josh Forstenzer said there could be a short-term surge in demand for university places if fees and student loans were set to rise in future.