Student Loans 2012

melancholly

although they don't say how much they'll charge though... good PR exercise to get themselves in the news (hope it doesn't backfire as much as refusing to provide date for league tables did!).

previous league table results and testimonies from students make me feel that even if they charge £6K, it may not be worth the money. they have also been in the news for making huge redundancies (across the board, not just teaching staff) whilst paying senior staff 'secret' bonuses. i don't know much about it, but they don't look hugely financially stable....

Taiko

They're potentially another London Met in the making with their finances.

melancholly

Taiko wrote: »

They're potentially another London Met in the making with their finances.

although that went bad because they 'mis-reported' about student numbers... i'd like to hope that not too many other unis made that epic a 'mistake' (£56million is more than a small admin error!)

GothicStirling

Expect a rush of English students trying to get into Scottish Uni's. Not official, but we're expecting to set fees at c.£3000.

Except, they are also reducing the number of undergrad places.

The_One_Who

^ They've been expecting this rush of English students for a while now and it hasn't really materialised. Scottish universities have always been cheaper, and often have lower grade requirements. Sure, Edinburgh and St Andrews have attracted a lot of public schooled students, but they always have done.

Anyway, Scotland are looking into their own funding mechanisms, with students having to pay back around £13,000 once they are earning over a certain amount, I think £21,000.

cgk1

setmefree2 wrote: »

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/liverpool-hope-will-not-charge-top-tuition-fee-2222630.html

Well he's done that because he knows that absolutely nobody in their right mind would pay that to go to Liverpool Hope - which is pretty much bottom of the league.

I doubt Hope will exist in four years.

setmefree2

The Government is facing a legal challenge to its plans to raise tuition fees to up to £9,000 a year.
Lawyers are planning to seek a judicial review of the decision on the grounds it contravenes human rights law because it could discriminate against poorer pupils.
The legal firm Public Interest Lawyers said it was bringing the case on behalf of two sixth-formers, Callum Hurley and Katy Moore, who would be due to start university when the rises come into force in September 2012.
PIL said it had sent the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, a "pre-action protocol letter" about the rises – seen as the first step to seeking a judicial review.

The legal firm's action coincides with a request from Gareth Thomas, Labour's shadow universities spokesman, to the Universities minister David Willetts, to spell out details of any further cuts to university budget if too many universities opt to charge the maximum £9,000 figure.
Mr Willetts has indicated that he believes £9,000 should only be charged in "exceptional circumstances". However, all members of the 20-strong Russell Group are expected to seek to charge the maximum. Ministers have made it clear the Treasury has only budgeted for an average £7,500 loan to be paid to students to help them meet the cost of the fees.
If the average is higher, it could mean further cuts to university budgets.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/legal-challenge-launched-over-tuition-fees-2223828.html

The application for a judicial review will be lodged in the high court in March.

Meanwhile, Labour's shadow universities minister, Gareth Thomas, has said the government may be forced to cut student places and research grants because it has "significantly under-estimated" how much institutions will charge in tuition fees.
The government pays students' tuition fees in the first instance and students pay the government back when they graduate and earn £21,000 a year or more. Ministers predicted that, on average, universities would charge £7,500. If this is too modest an estimate, the government will have higher up-front costs and will be forced to cut other areas of the higher education budget, Thomas said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/24/tuition-fees-human-rights-university

Taiko

That will be thrown out, as it's proven that there's no barriers to those low-income people to entering university. What a waste of taxpayers cash.

melancholly

i think anything that prolongs this 'up in the air' stage is a bad thing. unis need to state what fees they want and the government needs to accept that they should have expected more than an average of £7500 and cut their losses. trying to tack on new regulation is mad. it just needs to be laid out so that people can plan. it's completely unfair to prospective students to not know the costs and completely impossible for universities to plan if the goal posts keep moving.

for once i agree with a labour education spokesperson (not that i think i'll ever forgive them for breaking the election pledge to bring in fees in the first place) - willetts needs to stop grandstanding and start giving out some specifics. it's what, 11 weeks since the vote? time to clarify things, asap.

setmefree2

25th Feb. David Willetts speech to VCs (The Spring Conference of Universities) = more of the same. A Little bit more detail on the Students Charter

Universities must reveal far more information about the courses they offer, and will soon have to publish the number of hours that students spend in seminars and lectures for every degree course, Willetts said.
"There are few things that cost as much as higher education where the costs are so murky," he told the spring conference of Universities UK – the umbrella group for vice-chancellors – in London.
He said universities would have to publish 17 pieces of information, including data on how satisfied students are with their courses, the number of graduates out of work for each course and the hours students spend in seminars and lectures.
In return, students could be expected to sign a charter – or contract – promising to attend lectures and be a responsible part of their university's community.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/25/few-universities-justified-charging-maximum-fees