In a move that left students angry and concerned in equal measure, Bristol University has announced its intention to charge the maximum ?9,000 per year tutition fees.
The announcement to charge the maximum possible fees from 2012 came last Tuesday. The statement from Bristol University went on to explain that charging the maximum fee was the only way to subsitute money lost through the Coalition’s public spending cuts.
“Our calculations show that we would need to charge a fee in the region of ?8,000 a year just to make up for the cuts in the core teaching grant and capital allocations.
“Our student support package will add a further ?1,000 a year to this.
“Thus our decision to charge up to ?9,000 per year does not represent a sudden or substantial increase in our funding; it merely substitutes lost revenue from other sources,” the statement continued.
Bristol University students are understandably concerned what impact the fee rise will have. Whilst there is some provision for students who come from poor background – and UK Universities will hopefully be held to account offer access – the minimum income level for the full fees to be payable is remarkably modest at ?25,000 per year, total household income!
Whist it is true that any proposed increase in fees must be first approved by the Office for Fair Access it has already been found that nearly 50% of all UK Universities plan to charge the maximum fee for tuition, ?9,000 per year.
Bristol University Students’ Union President James Ashton-Bell said the changes were “unfair”; “Many students struggle to pay for rent, bills and food in the face of VAT and inflation increases,” said a Students’ Union statement.
“Many of these students [from modest income brackets] already arrive at university to find their loans and grants don’t even cover their rental costs.”
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