{"id":2510,"date":"2024-09-17T08:12:37","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T08:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/tuition-fees-must-go-up-unis-say-as-term-begins\/"},"modified":"2024-09-17T08:12:37","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T08:12:37","slug":"tuition-fees-must-go-up-unis-say-as-term-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/tuition-fees-must-go-up-unis-say-as-term-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"Tuition fees must go up, unis say as term begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuition fees must go up, unis say as term begins<\/p>\n

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Vanessa Clarke<\/div>\n
Education reporter, BBC News<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Laura Hendry<\/div>\n
BBC Radio 4’s Today programme<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Higher tuition fees and direct government funding are needed to halt a growing deficit in England, a group of 141 UK universities says.<\/b><\/p>\n

    A fee rise linked to inflation and more government investment would ensure the sector \u201cdoes not slide into decline\u201d, according to proposals from Universities UK, seen exclusively by BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.<\/p>\n

    The Department for Education says it will create \u201ca secure future for our world-leading universities\u201d.<\/p>\n

    The call comes as record numbers of home students begin courses this month – but the number of international students is down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    Tuition fees for home students have been capped at \u00a39,250 in England since 2017. <\/p>\n

    Universities UK’s recommendation of a rise is focused on England. Education is a devolved matter and fees are different in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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      ‘I got a \u00a344,000 student loan – now I owe \u00a354,000\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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        Everything you need to know about student loans<\/span><\/p>\n

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          About 40% of universities are expecting to return a budget deficit this year, according to the higher-education regulator, the Office for Students.<\/p>\n

          \u201cUniversities lose money teaching UK students – and that deficit has grown year on year,\u201d the Universities UK proposals say. <\/p>\n

          \u201cWe have to halt that. <\/p>\n

          “If investment in teaching students had kept up with inflation, funding per student would be in the region of \u00a312,000-\u00a313,000.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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          ‘Harsh reality’<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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          Newcastle University vice-chancellor Prof Christopher Day, who chairs the Russell Group of universities, says they are having to “do more for less\u201d. <\/p>\n

          Unless we want to see “bigger class sizes, less lectures, less nice buildings to teach in and less equipment for the practical subjects, then there has to be some more money put into the system”, Prof Day says.<\/p>\n

          \u201cThe harsh reality is that unless the student and\/or the taxpayer pay some more, the sector will shrink or the quality will go down,” he says.<\/p>\n

          “There are no alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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          But a rise in fees would make freshers Grace Clarke and Libby Callaghan, who start their course in Manchester this week, \u201creally annoyed\u201d.<\/p>\n

          \u201cI’m not in lectures every single day,” Ms Clarke says.<\/p>\n

          “I am getting a lot of teaching – but I\u2019m not getting \u00a310,000-worth.”<\/p>\n

          Ms Callaghan says: \u201cAccommodation, commuting is already a huge cost. <\/p>\n

          “[A rise in tuition fees] would definitely put me off.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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          ‘Going bust’<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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          Earlier this month, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told university leaders she was looking at “all of the options” to solve the “complex problems” they faced.<\/p>\n

          Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised to support scrapping fees – during his Labour leadership campaign, in 2020 – but later abandoned his pledge.<\/p>\n

          It would now be \u201cpolitically very difficult to put up tuition fees\u201d, Rose Stephenson, from the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), says.<\/p>\n

          But there \u201cneeds to be a decision\u201d about how universities are funded, as doing nothing \u201cis going to result in universities essentially going bust\u201d.<\/p>\n

          Other options include raising taxes or \u201csome kind of levy for employers\u201d who benefit from skilled and trained graduates, she says.<\/p>\n

          Other recommendations in Universities UK’s plans include:<\/p>\n

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