Students will pay over £8,500 on average with a third of English institutions charging maximum £9,000 as standard for a degree
ARTICLE BY THE GUARDIAN
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jul/26/university-tuition-fees-to-rise-1)
University tuition fees are set to rise next year, with students paying on average just over £8,500.
A third of English institutions will charge the maximum £9,000 as standard for a degree, according to official figures. Around three in four will charge the top rate for at least one of their undergraduate courses.
Union leaders said that the latest figures show that fees of more than £6,000 are becoming the norm rather than the exception.
English university fee levels for 2013/14 were published by the Office for Fair Access (Offa) on Wednesday, when it released individual institutions' latest plans for ensuring that disadvantaged teenagers were not priced out of higher education.
Under a major overhaul of the system, every university that wants to charge students more than £6,000 and up to £9,000 must submit an annual "access agreement", which has to be signed off by Offa.
Institutions that fail to meet targets in their agreement on recruiting and retaining students risk a hefty fine or losing the right to charge more than £6,000.
In total, 122 universities and 28 further education colleges have access agreements in place for 2013/14, the second year of the tuition fee increase.
Students starting degree courses in autumn next year will pay estimated average tuition fees of £8,507, up from the latest estimate of £8,385 for 2012/13.
It is understood the rise has been driven by universities making changes to their fee levels for next year.
After fee waivers, which reduce the charge for poorer students, the estimated average fee will be £8,263, Offa said.
The figures show that 94 of 122 universities (77%) will charge £9,000 for at least one of their courses, and 42 institutions (34%) will charge the maximum as standard.
Among the further education colleges, three are expected to have fees of £9,000 for at least one course, and one will charge the maximum across the board.
Offa insisted that when all financial support is taken into account the estimated average fee for 2013/14 will be £7,898.
Ten universities and colleges will charge an average of £9,000 after fee waivers are taken into account, the organisation added.
These institutions are likely to provide bursaries or other forms of financial support.
The government originally predicted, when fees were first set to be raised, that the average annual cost would be £7,500, and that universities would only charge more than £6,000 in "exceptional circumstances".
Sir Martin Harris, the director of Fair Access, said: "These access agreements show a largely similar picture to 2012/13 access agreements.
"Predicted spending on both financial support and outreach activity is up significantly compared with spending under the old fee and support arrangements, although, as with 2012/13 agreements, on financial support the balance has changed from predominantly bursaries and scholarships to a mixture of bursaries and scholarships, fee waivers and other support such as accommodation discounts.
"Interestingly, access agreements for 2013/14 show a decrease of £19.6m in fee waivers and, at the same time, an extra £33.3m going into student choice, where students can choose between a discount on their tuition fees or financial support such as a bursary or discounted accommodation.
"This change may, in part, be the result of greater student influence in the development of access agreements following Offa's new requirement for universities and colleges to state how they have consulted with students when drawing up their agreement."
Sally Hunt, the general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said: "When pushing higher fees through parliament, ministers promised that fees above £6,000 would be the exception rather than rule. Today's figures confirm our more accurate prediction that fees closer to the maximum of £9,000 a year would in fact be the norm.
"There's little pleasure in being right, especially as we saw a drop in student applications of almost 10% this year following the massive hike in fees. Decisions about what and where to study at university should be made based on an individual's academic ability, not how much a course costs."
ARTICLE BY GRAEME PATON
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9794262/Most-universities-to-raise-student-tuition-fees-in-2013.html)
Most universities 'to raise student tuition fees in 2013'
More than half of universities are preparing to impose tuition fee rises next year amid fresh concerns over levels of student debt, the Telegraph has learned.
Figures show that 64 out of 122 institutions plan to raise average costs for undergraduate degree courses starting in the autumn.
Data published by the Government’s Office for Fair Access shows that universities in England are preparing to push up charges by as much as £900 per student.
Experts claimed that some institutions had been forced to raise fees on popular courses to balance the books because of an overall slump in student demand nationally.
It is only the second year that universities have been given powers to impose charges up to £9,000 for degree courses.
In all, 94 universities are planning to charge the maximum amount for at least one course, compared with 82 a year earlier.
Others imposing the largest average increases include Bournemouth, Chester, Derby, Greenwich, Kingston, Salford, Westminster and the University of West London.
Data also shows that some 43 universities are freezing their fees at 2012 levels and 15 are imposing cuts in prices.
Most top universities, including members of the Russell Group, already charge an average of almost £9,000 and charges will largely remain unchanged in 2013.
The disclosure comes just days before the January 15 deadline to apply to degree courses through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
It is feared that students are already being put off higher education by rising fees.
Data shows that demand was down by 18,000 – 6.3 per cent – in mid-December compared with the same point a year earlier.
University leaders insisted that it was too early in the academic year to draw conclusions from the data and insisted that poorer students could rely on generous support packages to soften the blow of higher fees.
But Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, which represents lecturers, said it was clear that fees were having a major impact.
“As student applications stagnate, universities are charging students higher fees to balance the books,” she said.
“However, students and their parents will be expecting more bang for their increased buck – raising the pressure on already overworked and underpaid staff.
“It is difficult not to conclude that some universities are milking the students they know will apply to popular courses to make up for shortfalls elsewhere.”
But Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, insisted that many fee rises were in line with inflation, adding that the organisation would be publishing an analysis into the impact of fees on poor students later in the year.
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive, added: “It is worth remembering that a significant proportion of fee income is spent on financial support, outreach and retention.”
Universities are required to publish tuition fee levels in documents submitted to OFFA last summer.
Figures show that average fees will rise from £8,385 for students starting in 2012 to just over £8,500 for those taking up places in 2013. The average drops when fee waivers and other financial support for poor students is factored in.
Average fees for Bournemouth University will increase from £7,889 to £8,417, Greenwich will rise from £7,917 to £8,432, Westminster fees increase from £8,019 to £8,628 West London will see average fees increase from £7,614 to £8,156.
A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: “It is for universities to decide what they charge for the courses and facilities they provide.
“The Government's reforms have made the university system fairer and more progressive. Most students will not pay upfront to study; there are more loans, grants and bursaries for those from poorer families and loans are only repaid once graduates have jobs and are earning over £21,000."
