£9,000 fees “preferable” says Union President

Tuition fees of £9000 a year would be “far more preferable” according to the ICU President, Alex Kendall, as well as the norm for “the majority of universities” according to the NUS President, Aaron Porter. These latest comments have arisen as the “Student Fees and Financial Aid Working Group” established at Imperial works to determine where the tuition fee level will be set from 2012.

In December, the government voted to allow tuition fees to rise to £6000 and up to £9000 in “exceptional circumstances”. This controversial policy was developed as the government’s response to a review of higher education funding by former BP chief Lord Browne.

The criteria that universities must meet for charging above £6000 are yet to be revealed although it is likely that they will require efforts to attract poorer students through more extensive financial aid systems. Dr. Rodney Eastwood, Secretary of Imperial College and a member of the working group, also believes “they will be keen on universities developing outreach work, which Imperial has an enviably strong reputation for, especially to schools which do not traditionally send many students to the most selective universities.”

Universities Minister, David Willetts, has suggested that universities could qualify for charging up to £9000 if they have high teaching costs or offer an intensive two year course. By offering a wide array of expensive science and engineering degrees, with few humanities courses to help subsidize them, it seems likely that Imperial will be allowed to charge up to £9000 at least on the basis of high teaching costs.

Aaron Porter has also claimed this week that up to 70% of universities will charge this maximum amount. He argues that “universities believe that the price they set will be a sign of quality – and they will charge whatever they can get away with”.

However, Nicola Dandridge from University UK rejects this assumption, saying that universities have not yet made pricing decisions and so there is no way of knowing the levels of fees that will be charged.

Alex Kendall is also keen to stress that “most of the work the group [at Imperial] can do at the moment can only be speculation” until further details from the government are revealed. However, in his latest blog he has hinted that the working group, of which he is part of, is investigating both financial models of £6000 and £9000 fees.

Imperial currently spends around £4 million on financial aid to students whose household income is below a certain level. A maximum bursary of £3500 per year is available for students whose income is less than £25,000, and a staggered system of reduced bursaries caters for those earning over £25,000. Of the £4 million, £3.5 million comes from fees which are redirected to form bursaries with the other £0.5 million coming from the endowment. Alex Kendall warns that “with the cut in government funding the university may not be able to afford the £3.5 million given in bursaries unless the government demands it and/or Imperial charges higher fees”.

Kendall highlights the dilemma that the working group are facing between charging “a £6000/year fee for everyone, knowing that this will drastically reduce the amount of financial aid, and a £9000 fee so that those with a large household income pay and everyone whose family earns below £60,000 gets some form of subsidy”. He states that the £9000/year fee “with a far greater redistributive system to poorer students seems far more preferable than a system of total equality under £6000/year”.

Kendall has also spoken of discussions that have taken place within the working group regarding how the bursaries will be given out. One option is to continue paying bursary money straight into a student’s bank account, so the student has freedom to choose how it is spent, either for paying fees or for living costs. However, the idea of a fee remission has also arisen, whereby students cannot use the bursary for living expenses, an option Kendall argues would be undesirable. “For a London university, we know that the living costs are the most expensive factor at university and the current loan and grant only just covers this. Preventing [students] from using the bursary to top this up is a mistake.” However, there may not be an option; Imperial thinks the government may demand the latter, and therefore modeling how this would work at Imperial is now crucial.

However, just when help seems to be on its way to poorer students, the think-tank Million+ has claimed this week that “adding another level of complexity” to an already complicated system of student bursaries and grants is unlikely to help those most deprived.

They are referring to a £150 million National Scholarships Programme announced by the coalition whereby students would have their first year of university paid for by the state if they had been entitled to free school meals. Universities that charge more than £6000/year could also be forced to pay the students’ fees for a second year.

Critics argue that this plan would hit universities that take a high proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and act as a disincentive for elite universities such as Imperial to take such students.

The think-tank also argues that EU legislation makes it impossible for the government and universities to pay the tuition fees of only UK students. Eligible EU students would also have to have their fees paid for too. The NUS, which is involved in consultations on this issue, have suggested the government might now drop this plan.

Therefore, both the government and the Student Fees and Financial Aid Working Group at Imperial have many considerations to take into account to ensure the new system is “fairer and more progressive” as promised by the coalition. The financial aid package will have to be submitted to and agreed by the Office for Fair Access and Dr. Rodney Eastwood admits that “it is unlikely than an announcement on details from Imperial will be made before the summer”. Finally, students should not be hesitant to express their views to Alex Kendall, a member of the working group. Eastwood insists that “student views are welcome, especially on the forms of financial aid that would help to attract the most able, but needy, students to the College.”