Union presents tuition fees policy
Union’s tuition fees policy, to be debated at Council on Monday, backs Browne Review but demands greater focus on postgraduate funding
It seems like a lifetime ago now when, on the 12th October, Lord Browne finally published his review of higher education funding. Already, it is a topic that has been endlessly deconstructed and analysed and which every student in Imperial and the UK feels strongly about.
Two weeks have passed since then and Imperial College Union Council will formally meet on Monday to debate and decide the Union’s Higher Education Funding Policy.
Firstly, the policy put forward recognises the need for a shake-up in the way universities are funded. Since 1992, average spending per student has dropped due to the massive increase in the number of young people going to university. This lack of funding has been felt by universities across the country; Middlesex University has had to close its Philosophy department while Kings College London has had to shut down its Engineering department to name but two. The reshuffling of the Life Sciences department at Imperial is another way universities have been trying to deal with this shortfall.
The Union is largely supportive of Lord Browne’s recommendations. It believes that raising the threshold for repayment to £21,000 means that most PhD students will not have to repay their loan while working towards their PhD.
The Union is largely supportive of Lord Browne’s recommendations
It backs the raising of maintenance loans and grants, resolving to increase bursary and scholarship provision, and to promote opportunities for these more readily. It will also try to encourage businesses to provide their own bursaries for students. Together, these will hopefully reduce the amount of loans that all but the richest students will have to repay.
On this subject, the Rector has formed a new committee to look at how the university provides bursaries, with the view to increase them. The Union has been invited to take an active role in this committee. If an improved endowment scheme is drawn up, the Council will consider whether commercial revenue from the Union (from FiveSixEight and ICU Shop, for example) should be fed into such a scheme.
However, it also backs the Review’s suggestion of a levy after £6000 per year on the price of a degree. This will incentivise universities to only charge the real cost of a degree. It is also hoped to discourage universities from selecting applicants based on their bank balance instead of their personal statement.
The Union feels that the Browne Review lacked details towards postgraduate education. To this end, it will lobby for postgraduate taught Masters degrees to be included in the same payment methods as undergraduate degrees, that no fees are paid up-front.
The Union firmly believes that, regardless of financial situation, any student can go to the university of their choice. It also welcomes the realisation in the Review that universities are in dire need of more investment. In asking students to shoulder more of the cost but recommending the spreading of repayment, it believes the Browne Review has struck a fine balance and has pointed the direction for fairer funding for universities. Thus, the Union has decided to support Lord Browne in his proposals.
