An official review of tuition fees led by Lord Browne, the former CEO of BP plc, is likely to call for the removal of the existing £3,225 cap.
The review is set to propose to raise fees by up to £1,000 annually from 2013 at the earliest for several years, said the Sunday Times. This would eventually lead to students being charged £7,000 a year for courses at leading universities, and up to £14,000 a year to study for a science degree.
A source told the Sunday Times that Lord Browne “wants the cap off altogether, but he will go by tiers. I’m pretty certain he will not go to a free market straight away.”
Proponents of the fee rise argue that it would counter the cuts that have recently been made to government funding to universities.
Lord Patten, Chancellor of Oxford University, has previously said current tuition fees are “preposterously” low.
He also said that fees must rise if British higher education is to remain world class, but indicated that he was expressing his own view, and not that of the University.
Students have voiced concerns over the possibility that “applicants might no longer be able to go to the university they wish to go to – they will have to go to the university they can afford.” Beth Maxwell, a student at St Hugh’s, said that “this would create a bias towards the course that people choose.”
Wes Streeting, president of the National Union of Students, said lifting the cap was a “nightmare scenario”.
“It would lead to students choosing courses on the basis of cost rather than suitability,” he said.
There is evidence of political opposition against the rise in tuition fees, with the NUS releasing the names of 1,000 parliamentary candidates who have agreed to vote against any rise in tuition fees in the next parliament.
The list includes more than 200 Labour candidates and 400 Liberal Democrats, including Nick Clegg and Vince Cable. Oxford candidates such as Labour’s Andrew Smith and Stephen Richard and Liberal Democrats Evan Harris and Stephen Goddard have also signed the pledge.
NUS President-elect, Aaron Porter, said “This is a time to continue pressurising politicians not to increase the cap on fees, and we will be publicly shaming those that refuse to sign. Students, families and the wider public overwhelmingly oppose higher fees and I will fight to ensure that politicians listen to them.”
Labour and the Conservatives have refused to state their policies on a fee rise in advance of the finalized review. The Liberal Democrats have promised to scrap all fees over a period of six years, however it is uncertain whether they will be prepared to abandon this policy in the event of a hung parliament.
Jonny Medland, OUSU VP for Access and Academic Affairs, said “The rumours over the weekend that the Browne review is considering removing the cap on fees should worry students everywhere. Fees of over £10,000 per year risk distorting students’ decisions over where and what they study, making what should be a decision based on academic interests one based on ability to pay.”
“Universities need funding as a matter of urgency but this should be done on the basis of how much graduates earn, not on where they went to university.”
Another issue facing the review is that fees cannot rise without an additional reform of low-interest student loans. While these are currently subsidized by the government, the Confederation of British Industry has said loan repayments should be set at commercial interest rates, with bursaries to ensure that applicants from poorer families were not put off university.
It has been suggested that if Lord Browne’s final report does support a move to full fees, it will be presented as a move that can promote social justice.
Some current students are not in agreement. Katie McInnes, a first-year student at Somerville, commented: “That is insane. The fees rise would mean that establishments like Cambridge and Oxford would become elitist again, and how does that promote fairness?”
Another student disagreed, saying that “even a significant fee rise would not deter applicants given the availability of grants, loans and bursaries – but there must be more transparency in the way this issue is dealt with. The government needs to be honest with students.”
The final report will make its recommendations public in autumn. A spokesman for the review said: “The review’s call for proposals is still open and the review has certainly not come to any conclusions yet.”
