Research on Tuition fees

Tuition is linked to fees charge by educational institution.

Most students who pay for tuition have fees that are larger than their savings. Therefore some students have to get part time jobs and/or take out loans. Those who take part time jobs worry about managing both the course weight and work. Those who take out loans have to ensure they are able to repay or else risk bad credit ratings.

Two thirds of vice-chancellors, speaking namelessly, said they needed to raise fees, suggesting levels of between £4,000 and £20,000 per year. More than half of university heads want students to pay at least £5,000 per year or for there to be no upper limit. The National Union of Students has warned of debts of £32,000 for students if fees rise to £7,000 per year.

University fees must be reviewed this year by the government - and there are already arguments about whether the present £3,500 cap on fees should be lifted. Any changes will alarm about a million students on undergraduate courses. Universities UK has set out the consequences of fee levels of £5,000 and £7,000 - arguing that if fees reached £7,000 a sell of differently priced courses would come out. This has enraged the National Union of Students, which wants to completely replace the fee system with repayments linked to later earnings.

The BBC survey, gathering the views of 53 university vice-chancellors, showed a wide range of expectations of the scale of any increase - from £4,000 to £20,000 per year. There were also some expectations of differences between universities and courses - with more than a quarter saying they would not charge the full amount. About one in 10 wanted the cap scrapped altogether so universities could charge whatever they wanted.

Two thirds of chancellor’s believed fees will not deter applications from students from poorer families.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7946912.stm