Students could face ￡9,000 fees - 留學

By Sean Coughlan
BBC News education correspondent

Students in universities in England will face tuition fees of up to ￡9,000
per year from 2012 - as the government reveals its plans for higher education.

The coalition's response to Lord Browne's funding review will be published on
Wednesday.

Universities will be able to charge ￡6,000 per year with a higher tier of ￡
9,000 - nearly treble existing levels - if poorer students receive support.

Student unions have warned that MPs will face a "huge backlash".

Much of this rise in fees, up from the current ￡3,290 per year, will replace
public funding withdrawn from universities in last month's spending review.

It will mean that many arts and humanities courses will now depend on fee
income, rather than state funding.

Balancing act
National Union of Students president Aaron Porter says it is unfair to
"remove almost all funding for teaching in universities, and force students
to foot the bill".

Ministers have been trying to achieve a balancing act between a sustainable
funding system for universities and a political deal which will head off a
Liberal Democrat backbench rebellion.

Before the general election, Lib Dem MPs signed personal pledges to vote
against any increase.

Students have threatened to "hound" Lib Dem MPs over this promise to student
voters - with Chris Huhne facing protesters in London and Vince Cable having
to call off a visit to Oxford University.

As such, the funding package to be announced by the Universities Minister
David Willetts at 1230 GMT will be accompanied with more progressive
measures, including requirements that universities charging the highest fees
will have to show support for widening access to students from economically
poorer backgrounds.

This would include outreach programmes, summer schools and targeted
scholarships. And if the universities fail to meet certain benchmarks, then
the Office of Fair Access, a government quango, would step in and force them
to spend more cash on helping disadvantaged students.

This has prompted suggestions that while there will be tough talking about
widening participation, universities will not face quotas, regulations or
"social engineering" in the allocation of places.

Interest rates for loan repayments and earnings thresholds could also be
adjusted to give more support to disadvantaged students.

Under the plans, students would take out loans to pay the fees. But they
would only pay the loans back once they graduate and get a job paying more
than ￡21,000, much higher than the current threshold of ￡15,000.

Graduates would pay 9% cent of their income above ￡21,000 per year to pay
off both the loan, and an above-inflation rate of interest.

It is expected that any graduates who wish to repay all or some of their loan
more quickly would have to pay a penalty to compensate for the interest they
would no longer pay.

But the BBC has learned that better off students will still be able to pay
upfront for their university education and avoid taking out a loan altogether.

'Emergency funding'
Universities will have to decide whether this political deal will secure
their long-term funding.

Malcolm Grant, provost of University College London, has warned that spending
cuts in higher education have turned the process into an "emergency funding
measure".

He also expressed regret at the apparent rejection of Lord Browne's proposal
for universities to decide their own fees, without any fixed cap.

There have also been warnings about a two-tier system emerging from the split
level of fees.

David Barclay, president of Oxford University Student Union, says: "A two-cap
system will mean a two-tier system returning us to the dark days of some
universities for the many and some universities for the few."

Mr Barclay has been invited to meet Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg on Wednesday
afternoon, as the coalition tries to sell the funding package.

The changes in tuition fees will apply to universities in England. Scottish
students studying in Scotland do not have to pay any fees. In Northern
Ireland and Wales, fees are currently charged up to a maximum of ￡3,290.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11677862

國際生的tuition fees 也會上漲嗎?

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