Top-up fees
Encyclopedia
Tuition fees were first introduced across the entire United Kingdom in September 1998 as a means of funding tuition to undergraduate and postgraduate certificate students at universities, with students being required to pay up to £1,000 a year for tuition. However, as a result of the establishment of devolved national administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, different arrangements now exist with regard to the charging of tuition fees in each of the countries of the United Kingdom
.
In England, developments in the funding of higher education were announced in January 2004 when the UK government increased the level of tuition fees that universities were allowed to charge, to £3,000 a year. By 2010/11, maximum fees had increased to £3,290 .In 2009, further calls for more funding to be made available to universities resulted in the commissioning of a report from the former chairman of BP
John Browne
to look into the future of higher education funding. The Browne Review
was published on 12 October 2010 and contained proposals to remove the cap on tuition fees. The resulting debate on the proposals sparked protests from students opposed to any rise in tuition fees. Despite these protests the government won a vote in the House of Commons which would result in universities eventually being able to charge students up to £9,000 a year for the annual tuition costs of students. Sixty four universities have announced their intention to charge the full £9,000 allowed by the government from 2012.
Following devolution, tuition fees were first abolished in Scotland and replaced with charge after graduation - the graduate endowment - to help pay for tuition. The endowment system itself was later abolished so that all students domiciled and studying at Scottish universities did not have to pay any fees towards their tuition costs. The Welsh Assembly, because of its limited powers in comparison with their Scottish counterparts, remained with the caps imposed on the level of tuition as established by the United Kingdom government. However, whereas the United Kingdom government chose to replace means-tested maintenance grants for living expenses whilst at university with a student loan scheme, the Welsh Assembly re-introduced these for Welsh students either studying in Wales or anywhere else in the United Kingdom.
commissioned an inquiry, led by Sir Ron Dearing
, into the funding of British higher education over the next 20 years.The Dearing Report - Members of the Committee Members on the Dearing committee were Sir Ron Dearing (Chairman); Ms Judith Evans Departmental Director of Personnel Policy, Sainsbury’s; Sir Ron Garrick Managing Director and Chief Executive of Weir Group; Sir Geoffrey Holland Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter; Professor Diana Laurillard Pro Vice-Chancellor (Technology Development) of the Open University; Mrs Pamela Morris Headteacher, The Blue School, Wells; Sir Ronald Oxburgh Rector of Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine; Dr David Potter Chairman of Psion plc; Sir George Quigley Chairman of Ulster Bank; Sir William Stubbs Rector of the London Institute; Sir Richard Sykes Chairman and Chief Executive of Glaxo Wellcome plc; Professor David Watson Director of the University of Brighton; Professor Sir David Weatherall Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford; Professor Adrian Webb Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glamorgan; Mr Simon Wright Academic Affairs Officer, Students Union, the University of Wales College of Cardiff
Published on 23 July 1997, the Dearing report made 93 recommendations. It estimated additional funding of almost £2 billion would be needed over the next 20 years, including £350 million in 1998-9 and £565 million in 1999-2000, in order to expand student enrollment, provide more support for part-time students and ensure an adequate infrastructure.
The inquiry favoured means tested tuition fees and the continuation of the means tested maintenance grants as well as student loans. It recommended that graduates made a flat rate contribution of 25 percent of the cost of higher education tuition and that a mechanism for paying for this should be established by 1998-9. Following the publication of the report, the Labour education secretary David Blunkett
announced the introduction of means tested tuition fees to begin in September 1998. He also announced that the student maintenance grant would be abolished and replaced by student loans.
The government issued a response entitled "Higher Education in the 21st Century" to the Dearing Report. It stated "The Government plans to introduce an annual tuition fee of £1,000, representing about a quarter of the average cost of a course. Tuition will continue to be free for students from lower income families. Other full-time students will pay up to £1,000 per year depending on parental income. The cost of the fees will be balanced by increased loans for maintenance, also related to parental income. The overall effect will be that the total contribution required from the parents will be no greater than it is now."
and Wales, introduced measures to reform the teaching profession and gave a provision for certain young workers to have time off for study. Prior to the passing of the act, the House of Lords
passed three successive amendments to the bill which would have meant that English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying in Scotland would pay a total of £3,000 for a four-year course to bring them in line with Scottish students. The amendments were overturned in the Commons but only after David Blunkett promised an independent review of tuition fees and how they operated in Scotland. The length of a typical honours degree in Scotland was four years compared to three years elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The difference presented a potential anomaly for when fees were introduced. It meant that students studying at Scottish universities would be charged an extra year of tuition fees compared with students studying a comparable course elsewhere in the UK. An independent review was led by Sir George Quigley, the Chairman of Ulster Bank
, looked into the issue and reported on 29 March 2000. It recommended that a fees concession should be given to students studying at Scottish universities in the final year of a four-year honours degree, if they were domiciled in other parts of the UK. It also recommended that the cost of meeting this provision should be born by the newly established Scottish Executive. The recommendations of the report were accepted by the executive at an estimated cost of between £2.5 million and £3.2 million a year.The Independent review into the funding of tuition fees in Scotland (The Quigley Report) was established as part of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 which introduced tuition fees in the UK. However following the passing of the Scotland Act 1998 devolved parliament was established in Scotland. The first meeting of the new Scottish executive was held on the 12 May 1999 with responsibility for tuition fees passing from the parliament in Westminster to Scotland. The Quigley report published on 29 March 2000 meant that its recommendations were now the responsibility of the Scottish and not the Westminster governments House of Commons - The Scottish Debate
The act introduced a means-tested method of payment for students based on the amount of money their families earned. Students whose families earned less than £23,000 would be exempt from fees whilst those families earning between £23,000 and £35,000 a year would be charged a percentage of the fees on a sliding scale. Those families who earned over £35,000 a year would be charged the full fees which amounted to £1,000 a year. The maximum fees rose in line with inflation, reaching £1225 in 2007–08. Starting with 1999-2000, maintenance grants for living expenses would also be replaced with loans and paid back at a rate of 9 percent of a graduate's income above £10,000. All loans would be government funded and administered by the Student Loans Company, the organisation responsible for administering loans throughout the UK.The Student Loans Company was established in order to administer the Student Loans Scheme introduced as a result of the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990 and the Education (Student Loans) Northern Ireland Order 1990. It administers tuition fee loans to cover the cost of tuition fees; maintenance loans to cover the cost of living expenses; grants for living costs to cover the cost of living expenses and bursaries and scholarships from universities. It also administers the repayment of loans through the tax system via a method known as income-contingent repayment (ICR) meaning that the obligation to repay the loan is dependent on the gross income of the account holder Student Loans Company - About Student FinanceStudent Loans Company - Remit
. Former Labour education secretary Ted Short said that he was ashamed to be a member of the party and Ken Livingstone
accused ministers of "whipping away a ladder of opportunity which they themselves had climbed". On the other side of the argument top universities in the United Kingdom actually wanted to raise tuition fees further so that they could compete more on the global stage. Some universities argued for a "United States-style" system where institutions were able to charge fees at whatever rate the "market will bear". Howard Newby, the President of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals said that the challenge for universities would be in ensuring new income was "recycled" into bursaries for poorer students. Blunkett said that after the next general election it would be likely that there would be another debate on the issue revisiting the issue of university funding but that whilst he was Secretary of State there would be no top up fees. Howard Newby acknowledged that any further changes to the public funding of universities would need to wait "until after the General Election" although he added "Afterwards, the question is how to bring more resources into higher education. Fees have to be part of the equation."
, devolved government was established in Scotland with the first meeting of the new Scottish Parliament
taking place on 12 May 1999. The parliament had been given primary legislative powers meaning that over many areas elected representatives were able to pass their own laws. In particular its responsibilities included student fees, school standards and the training and supply of teachers.
formed a coalition government
. The Liberal Democrats had made tuition fees a "non-negotiable" element of their election manifesto and therefore a potential stumbling block to forming the coalition. Labour, the majority party in the coalition had, only one year previously, introduced tuition fees in the United Kingdom of up to £1000 a year and had also abolished maintenance grants. The Cubie committee led by the lawyer Andrew Cubie was formed in July 1999 to look into the funding of higher education in Scotland to try to find a solution to the issue of student financing which threatened to destabilise the coalition.
The Cubie report recommended that tuition fees should be replaced with an endowment scheme with the Scottish Executive paying the fees up front with students only required to pay back £3,000 worth of fees when their earnings reached £25,000. It also recommended that poorer students would be entitled to a bursary similar to the old maintenance grant. The estimated cost to the Scottish government of the recommendations were set at £71 million. In the end the government announced that students would only pay back £2,000 of their fees but starting when their earnings reached £10,000 a significant drop on the recommended £25,000. With such changes, the Scottish executive estimated that the scheme would cost £50 million.
Speaking following the publication of the report the Liberal Democrats deputy first minister Jim Wallace
said "we welcome the fact that Cubie recommends the abolition of tuition fees. This remains the party's policy... Andrew Cubie and his team have done a thorough job over the last six months. As he himself says, the extent of the need for change would not have been identified if the committee had not been established." The Scottish National Party's
(SNP) John Swinney
described the report as a "humiliation" for Labour saying that it left their policy on student financing in "tartan tatters". The Conservatives Brian Monteith
was sceptical of the report saying "the Cubie Committee says it is abolishing tuition fees but they will be replaced with a graduate tax that recovers exactly the same amount that would have been paid in fees." The findings of the report were considered by a joint ministerial working group established by Scottish First Minister Donald Dewar
. The abolition of tuition fees would commence in August 2000 with the endowment scheme taking their place the following year. Scottish students studying elsewhere in the United Kingdom would still be required to pay fees but Scottish students choosing to study in Scotland would not. English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying in Scotland would be liable to pay tuition fees but would not be required to pay the graduate endowment. Students from outside the United Kingdom but from within the European Union
would not be required to pay tuition fees if studying in Scotland but would be required to pay the graduate endowment upon graduation. In order to qualify as a Scottish student and be exempted from paying tuition fees, the student must have lived in Scotland for at least three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the course. Students would also be exempt if they were classed as "ordinarily resident" in the country on the first day of their course. This meant that those students who had moved to Scotland for a reason other than study would be also be exempt.
at an institution funded by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council or the
Scottish Further Education Funding Council. This is in recognition of the fact that
many students study for their first degree at a further education college.
Regulations to be made under the Bill will establish further criteria for eligibility:
Liable individuals will be:
- Scottish-domiciled or EU students.
- Students whose full-time degree study exceeds a specified minimum period.
- Those who have satisfied the criteria for being awarded a degree – i.e. to
prevent students from not graduating when they complete their course.""page 2" who had undertaken a first full-time degree course on or after 1 August 2001 were eligible to pay the endowment. On completion of their degree, students would pay a fixed amount initially set by the Scottish government at £2000 and later rising to £2289 for students commencing their studies during the academic year of 2006-07. The amount would become payable after the student successfully completed their degree and could be paid either by taking out a student loan, paying a lump sum or by a combination of both. The first students began paying back the endowment on 1 April 2005.
Not all students had to pay. Those taking qualifications below degree level were exempt as were mature students over the age of 25, lone parents in receipt of a lone parent grant and those in receipt of Disabled Student Allowance. Students who dropped out of university would also not have to pay as they would be allowed "one false start". Certain courses, such as teacher training courses, were also exempt from the endowment.
In the summer of 2007, the Scottish government proposed the Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill that would scrap the graduate endowment altogether. It meant that no future students would pay the endowment and that would also apply to graduates who graduated on or after 1 April 2007. On 28 February 2008 the bill was approved in a move which restored free higher education in Scotland. The Scottish education secretary Fiona Hyslop
speaking at the time said "We believe access to education should be based on ability to learn, not ability to pay. Today's removal of the graduate endowment fee is great news for current and future students and last year's graduates, helping to significantly reduce their debt burden." Labours education spokesperson Rhona Brankin
however said that its abolition would not tackle student poverty. Voting against the measure she said that ministers had "failed miserably" to produce evidence that scrapping the endowment would increase the numbers of people going to university.
Following devolution, the Welsh Assembly was given what were known as secondary legislative powers which meant that unlike their Scottish counterparts, they were only able to vary some laws set by Parliament
in London. The assembly could vary specified devolved issues including setting and monitoring school standards, the content of the national curriculum and the training and supply of teachers. The cap on the amount of tuition fees that Welsh universities could charge rose to £3000 in the academic year of 2007-08 bringing Wales in line with England and Northern Ireland although the Welsh Assembly up until 2010-11 gave all Welsh students studying in Wales a grant of £1890 towards their fees.
, said that £41 million had been ring-fenced for less well off families meaning that up to 250,000 Welsh students would be eligible for a means-tested grant of up to £1,500. Welsh students studying outside of Wales would also still be eligible for the grants if studying within the United Kingdom. Students from the rest of the United Kingdom or the European Union however would not be eligible for assistance from the Welsh Assembly if studying in Wales. At the time the National Union of Students president Owain James welcomed the move saying "this is a great victory for Welsh students.... Maintenance grants are crucial to keep students in education." Speaking about the re-introduction of maintenance grants, the Conservatives education spokesperson Jonathon Morgan said that Labour had performed a U-turn and said that the party should apologise for introducing tuition fees in the first place.
On 22 January 2003 the new Labour education secretary Charles Clarke
published a white paper with proposals allowing universities to set their own tuition fees up to a cap of £3000 a year. The proposal was controversial as during the election campaign for the 2001 General Election
their manifesto stated that Labour "will not introduce top-up fees and has legislated against them." The white paper stated that the fees would only be repaid once the graduate earned over £15,000 a year. The likelihood of a backbench rebellion from Labour MPs forced Clarke to introduce a number of concessions to the rebels in order to avoid a Commons defeat in a vote held on 27 January 2004. Amendments to the bill included an increase in the amount poorer students could claim in a maintenance grant, a promise to review the £3,000 cap after three years and the promise to write off all student debt after 25 years.Think Money - Student Debt Guide - Is there a `cut-off point` for Student Loan repayments?"Your Student Loan will eventually be written off if you never earn enough to make payments, or if you haven`t repaid the full amount within a certain period. For loans issued before September 2006, any remaining debt will be written off when you reach 65, while loans issued after September 2006 will be written off 25 years after the first April of your graduation." Eventually the vote was passed with Labour winning by 316 votes to 311 with 71 Labour MPs voting against and 19 Labour MPs abstaining. The result provided relief for Tony Blair
in what had been seen as his biggest test yet as Prime Minister. Education Secretary Clarke said "had we lost it, it would have been a blow to our authority but as it is we have the ability to take the legislation forward." The Conservatives shadow education and health secretary Tim Yeo
said the result was an "utter humiliation" for ministers and said that the vote had only been won because of the votes of Scottish MPs who had voted to impose fees on English students which would not apply north of the border. The Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy
said that "nobody has emerged from this shabby compromise with any credit." He added "it took a dodgy deal between the prime minister, the chancellor and backbenchers to get this Bill through." The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) however said before the vote that the plans were "essential" for the revitalisation of British universities. University vice-chancellors meanwhile had previously warned the government that universities were facing a shortfall in funding. In their submission to the governments 2004 comprehensive spending review, the lobby group Universities UK requested a further £8.79 billion, a figure it was feared would grow should legislation to increase tuition fees fail. Such was the level of underfunding, vice chancellors argued, and assuming that all universities would charge the full £3,000 a year, the measures would only "ameliorate, not solve, the funding crisis" recouping only £1.4 billion extra revenue a year. Michael Driscoll, chair of the Coalition of Modern Universities, said "Universities face a financial black hole, but the real black hole is in teaching. We do not have enough money to pay our staff."
said in a point of order "It is completely wrong that a bill which imposes higher charges on students attending the English universities should only be carried by this house using the votes of Scottish MPs when the students attending universities in the constituencies of those Scottish MPs do not have to pay those higher charges." In all 46 Scottish Labour MPs voted with the government with the 5 SNP and 10 Liberal Democrat MPs representing constituencies in Scotland voting against. Labour's Frank Doran, a Scottish MP who voted with the government said "my fundamental objections were about the variable fees and the effect on Scottish universities, but I think the effect of the variable fees has been mitigated in a huge way by the various concessions the government has made."
On 1 July 2004 legislation to enable the introduction of variable tuition fees was given royal assent
and became the Higher Education Act 2004. Under the Act, universities in England could begin to charge variable fees of up to £3000 a year for students enrolling on courses as from the academic year of 2006-07 or later. This was also introduced in Northern Ireland in 2006-07 and introduced in Wales in 2007-08. In 2009-10 the cap rose to £3225 a year to take account of inflation. Students from the European Union (EU) would be eligible for the same level of tuition fees as students from within the United Kingdom. Students from outside the EU would have to pay the fees set by the individual university.UK Council for International Student affairs International students can be charged fees from £4000 to £18,000 a year depending on the university. All publicly funded educational institutions have two rates that they charge students, a lower "home" rate and a higher "overseas" rate. International students from outside the UK or the European Union will pay the overseas rate unless they meet certain other criteria which would enable them to become a home fee payer. UK Council for International Students Affairs - Advice for International Students
To cover the cost of the fees UK and EU students could take out a tuition fee loan
meaning that there wold be no requirement to pay fees upfront. The loan, which would not depend on household income, would be paid directly to the university or college from the student loans company.
The act also established the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) in an effort to ensure that the "introduction of higher tuition fees in 2007-08 did not deter people from entering higher education for financial reasons". It also would ensure that "universities and colleges were explicitly committed to increasing participation in higher education among under-represented groups". The fees also became known as top up fees as prior to September 2006 the amount paid for tuition would be a flat rate whereas from September 2006 the fees became variable and would help universities to "top up" the shortfall in funding to cover the cost of certain degrees. Speaking about the introduction of variable tuition fees in 2005, Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell
, claimed that the changes were necessary saying "I think we have to get real. In an ideal world you wouldn't bring in these changes, but we don't live in an ideal world. To maintain and develop a world class system of higher education would cost the equivalent of 3p or 4p on the standard rate of tax".
, Director General of the Russell Group
who represent 20 British universities, said "There is a growing consensus that without increased investment, there is a real danger that the success of our world-leading universities will not be sustained. In a difficult economic climate there is even greater urgency to find additional funding". She quoted research from the Higher Education Funding Council for England
(HEFCE) which said that universities needed an additional 15-20 percent worth of funding for current teaching levels to be sustained and suggested that an increase in tuition fees should be something that should be an option as the increase in 2006 had no adverse impact on recruitment.
announced a further review into fees and university funding in England, led by John Browne
, former chief executive of BP
. Browne, a cross-bencher in the House of Lords
and also known as Lord Browne of Madingley, was joined on his panel by David Eastwood
, vice-chancellor of the University of Birmingham
and Julia King
, vice-chancellor of Aston University
as well as a number of other professionals.The Times - Lord Browne of Madingley heads team to look at raising tuition fees Members on the Browne inquiry were Lord Browne of Madingley former chairman of BP; Sir Michael Barber former chief advisor to David Blunkett; Diane Coyle former journalist and Treasury economist; Professor David Eastwood vice chancellor of Birmingham university; Julia King vice chancellor of Aston university, Peter Sands chief executive of Standard Chartered Bank, Rajay Naik UK board member of the Big Lottery Fund Speaking at the launch, Mandelson said that the review would take into account the goal of widening participation in higher education, the need for affordability and the desire to simplify the student-support system. He said that variable tuition fees currently provided universities with a secure income of £1.3 billion a year and "since they were introduced, student numbers have continued to rise, along with the numbers coming from lower-income backgrounds." The review would look at funding for both full time and part time students, considering tuition fees and alternatives to them, such as a graduate tax. It would not be published until after the 2010 General Election.
Speaking on the launch of the review, National Union of Students President Wes Streeting said "there is a real danger that this review will pave the way for higher fees and a market in prices that would see poorer students priced out of more prestigious universities and other students and universities consigned to the 'bargain basement'". However, the Russell Group's Wendy Piatt
argued that the current level of funding was inadequate, saying "as universities are facing severe economic conditions and ferocious global competition it is clear that the status quo is not viable".
. With David Cameron
installed as Prime Minister and Nick Clegg
as Deputy Prime Minister the two men produced a coalition agreement setting out how the two parties would work together. In response to the issue of university funding and higher education, the agreement said that higher education policy would have to await the outcome of the Browne report which had not yet been published. The agreement also made mention of the desire to increase the number of university places available. For the Liberal Democrats the findings of the review were a big unknown and potentially problematic for the party as they had made the abolition of student tuition fees within a period of six years one of their manifesto commitments and many of the party's MPs had signed a National Union of Students pledge
stating that they would not vote for any increase in tuition fees. As a result of this potential conflict, the agreement stipulated that the Liberal Democrats could abstain on any vote which may require fees to be increased.
into the future of Higher Education Funding published its report on 12 October 2010 in a document entitled Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education. The report based its recommendations on six principles which were:
The main recommendations of the report were:
however in an interview with BBC Breakfast
predicted that few institutions would put fees up very high. For the Liberal Democrats in particular it was predicted that the review would cause deep political divisions both within their own party and within the coalition government as many had signed a pledge promising not to vote for any increase in tuition fees prior to the election. Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, said the proposals were "probably on the right lines" whilst the Liberal Youth section of the party described the fee rise as a "disaster". Backbench Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland
immediately said he would vote against the plan. Within the media the Financial Times
called the report by Lord Browne a "genuinely radical document that would, if implemented, lead to a free-market revolution in higher education provision". David Blackburn of the Spectator
called the proposals a "sustainable and permanent solution" and described the plan as "progressive". The Guardian's
Martin Hall however said that there would be a "social cost of variable tuition fees" and said that institutions rated highest in the league tables would be able to charge more and so force out poorer students. Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, also defended the report saying "Everybody wants the same thing, not only sustainable funding for universities, but also a system where the teaching you receive at university, the upfront costs of it are free at the point of use, that we encourage more students from poor backgrounds into university than is presently the case and, crucially, that when people pay back for their university tuition, they only do it when they can afford to do it and that people who earn more pay a bit more back than others. I think that is a fair and sustainable approach and that is what we are looking for in the Browne report today." For Labour, the shadow Business Secretary John Denham said that the report deserved "careful study" and said that it was "right that some students make some contribution towards their education". However he added
"We are concerned that many graduates will be shackled by debt for the majority of their working lives; that those on middle incomes in typical graduate jobs may pay more than their fair share and the highest earners will pay less and be free of debt much earlier."
, the Universities Minister claimed that the "progressive package" would put universities on a sustainable footing with extra freedoms and less bureaucracy. However in return for that he stated that there would be "greater choice for students with a stronger focus on high quality teaching."
. Three junior ministerial aids acting as Parliamentary Private Secretaries also chose to defy the government with Liberal Democrat aids Michael Crockart
, Jenny Willott
voting no whilst Conservative Lee Scott
chose to abstain. All three did so knowing that in order to defy the government whip they would also have to resign from the positions they held. Speaking on the governments victory Business Secretary Vince Cable said the coalition had been through a "difficult test" and added "I think the job now is to try and explain this policy to the country. It is nothing like as threatening to young people going to university as has been portrayed." Universities Minister David Willetts
said the proposals struck the "right balance" and said "The package is fair for students, fair for graduates and affordable for the nation". Speaking against the proposals during the debate MP Greg Mulholland
however said that sometimes governments get things wrong and added "I am voting against the government today because I simply cannot accept that fees of up to £9,000 are the fairest and most sustainable way of funding higher education." Labour's shadow Business Secretary John Denham said that the fees increase had been driven by the governments decision to make deep cuts in university funding alleging that "Even if they had just cut universities the way they are cutting other public services, students would be facing fees of no more than £4,000." Peers in the House of Lords
voted to approve the plans on 14 December 2010 by a clearer majority of 283 to 215. Speaking during the debate, the author of the report on which the government proposals were based, Lord Browne
, said that he believed the reforms were "essential for this nation to maintain its hard-won pre-eminence in higher education".
Countries of the United Kingdom
Countries of the United Kingdom is a term used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These four countries together form the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is also described as a country. The alternative terms, constituent...
.
In England, developments in the funding of higher education were announced in January 2004 when the UK government increased the level of tuition fees that universities were allowed to charge, to £3,000 a year. By 2010/11, maximum fees had increased to £3,290 .In 2009, further calls for more funding to be made available to universities resulted in the commissioning of a report from the former chairman of BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
John Browne
John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley
Edmund John Philip Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley, FRS FREng is President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and was group Chief Executive of BP until his resignation on 1 May 2007...
to look into the future of higher education funding. The Browne Review
Browne Review
The Browne Review or Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance was a review to consider the future direction of higher education funding in England. It was launched on the 9 November 2009 and published its findings on 12 October 2010. It was chaired by Lord Browne of...
was published on 12 October 2010 and contained proposals to remove the cap on tuition fees. The resulting debate on the proposals sparked protests from students opposed to any rise in tuition fees. Despite these protests the government won a vote in the House of Commons which would result in universities eventually being able to charge students up to £9,000 a year for the annual tuition costs of students. Sixty four universities have announced their intention to charge the full £9,000 allowed by the government from 2012.
Following devolution, tuition fees were first abolished in Scotland and replaced with charge after graduation - the graduate endowment - to help pay for tuition. The endowment system itself was later abolished so that all students domiciled and studying at Scottish universities did not have to pay any fees towards their tuition costs. The Welsh Assembly, because of its limited powers in comparison with their Scottish counterparts, remained with the caps imposed on the level of tuition as established by the United Kingdom government. However, whereas the United Kingdom government chose to replace means-tested maintenance grants for living expenses whilst at university with a student loan scheme, the Welsh Assembly re-introduced these for Welsh students either studying in Wales or anywhere else in the United Kingdom.
The Dearing Report
In May 1996, Conservative Prime Minister John MajorJohn Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
commissioned an inquiry, led by Sir Ron Dearing
Ronald Dearing, Baron Dearing
Ronald Ernest, Baron Dearing, CB was a senior civil servant before becoming Chairman and Chief Executive of the Post Office Ltd.-Early life:...
, into the funding of British higher education over the next 20 years.The Dearing Report - Members of the Committee Members on the Dearing committee were Sir Ron Dearing (Chairman); Ms Judith Evans Departmental Director of Personnel Policy, Sainsbury’s; Sir Ron Garrick Managing Director and Chief Executive of Weir Group; Sir Geoffrey Holland Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter; Professor Diana Laurillard Pro Vice-Chancellor (Technology Development) of the Open University; Mrs Pamela Morris Headteacher, The Blue School, Wells; Sir Ronald Oxburgh Rector of Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine; Dr David Potter Chairman of Psion plc; Sir George Quigley Chairman of Ulster Bank; Sir William Stubbs Rector of the London Institute; Sir Richard Sykes Chairman and Chief Executive of Glaxo Wellcome plc; Professor David Watson Director of the University of Brighton; Professor Sir David Weatherall Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford; Professor Adrian Webb Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glamorgan; Mr Simon Wright Academic Affairs Officer, Students Union, the University of Wales College of Cardiff
Published on 23 July 1997, the Dearing report made 93 recommendations. It estimated additional funding of almost £2 billion would be needed over the next 20 years, including £350 million in 1998-9 and £565 million in 1999-2000, in order to expand student enrollment, provide more support for part-time students and ensure an adequate infrastructure.
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
announced the introduction of means tested tuition fees to begin in September 1998. He also announced that the student maintenance grant would be abolished and replaced by student loans.
The government issued a response entitled "Higher Education in the 21st Century" to the Dearing Report. It stated "The Government plans to introduce an annual tuition fee of £1,000, representing about a quarter of the average cost of a course. Tuition will continue to be free for students from lower income families. Other full-time students will pay up to £1,000 per year depending on parental income. The cost of the fees will be balanced by increased loans for maintenance, also related to parental income. The overall effect will be that the total contribution required from the parents will be no greater than it is now."
The Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998
The teaching and higher education bill was passed into law on 16 July 1998. In addition to introducing tuition fees, it established General Teaching Councils in EnglandGeneral Teaching Council for England
The General Teaching Council for England is the professional body for teaching in England. The GTC was established by the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 which set two aims:...
and Wales, introduced measures to reform the teaching profession and gave a provision for certain young workers to have time off for study. Prior to the passing of the act, the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
passed three successive amendments to the bill which would have meant that English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying in Scotland would pay a total of £3,000 for a four-year course to bring them in line with Scottish students. The amendments were overturned in the Commons but only after David Blunkett promised an independent review of tuition fees and how they operated in Scotland. The length of a typical honours degree in Scotland was four years compared to three years elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The difference presented a potential anomaly for when fees were introduced. It meant that students studying at Scottish universities would be charged an extra year of tuition fees compared with students studying a comparable course elsewhere in the UK. An independent review was led by Sir George Quigley, the Chairman of Ulster Bank
Ulster Bank
Ulster Bank is a large commercial bank, one of the Big Four in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Ulster Bank Group is subdivided into two separate legal entities, Ulster Bank Limited and Ulster Bank Ireland Limited...
, looked into the issue and reported on 29 March 2000. It recommended that a fees concession should be given to students studying at Scottish universities in the final year of a four-year honours degree, if they were domiciled in other parts of the UK. It also recommended that the cost of meeting this provision should be born by the newly established Scottish Executive. The recommendations of the report were accepted by the executive at an estimated cost of between £2.5 million and £3.2 million a year.The Independent review into the funding of tuition fees in Scotland (The Quigley Report) was established as part of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 which introduced tuition fees in the UK. However following the passing of the Scotland Act 1998 devolved parliament was established in Scotland. The first meeting of the new Scottish executive was held on the 12 May 1999 with responsibility for tuition fees passing from the parliament in Westminster to Scotland. The Quigley report published on 29 March 2000 meant that its recommendations were now the responsibility of the Scottish and not the Westminster governments House of Commons - The Scottish Debate
Payment arrangements
The act introduced a means-tested method of payment for students based on the amount of money their families earned. Students whose families earned less than £23,000 would be exempt from fees whilst those families earning between £23,000 and £35,000 a year would be charged a percentage of the fees on a sliding scale. Those families who earned over £35,000 a year would be charged the full fees which amounted to £1,000 a year. The maximum fees rose in line with inflation, reaching £1225 in 2007–08. Starting with 1999-2000, maintenance grants for living expenses would also be replaced with loans and paid back at a rate of 9 percent of a graduate's income above £10,000. All loans would be government funded and administered by the Student Loans Company, the organisation responsible for administering loans throughout the UK.The Student Loans Company was established in order to administer the Student Loans Scheme introduced as a result of the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990 and the Education (Student Loans) Northern Ireland Order 1990. It administers tuition fee loans to cover the cost of tuition fees; maintenance loans to cover the cost of living expenses; grants for living costs to cover the cost of living expenses and bursaries and scholarships from universities. It also administers the repayment of loans through the tax system via a method known as income-contingent repayment (ICR) meaning that the obligation to repay the loan is dependent on the gross income of the account holder Student Loans Company - About Student FinanceStudent Loans Company - Remit
Reaction to the introduction of tuition fees
The decision signalled the end of the principle of free higher education and was met with concern by some in the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. Former Labour education secretary Ted Short said that he was ashamed to be a member of the party and Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
accused ministers of "whipping away a ladder of opportunity which they themselves had climbed". On the other side of the argument top universities in the United Kingdom actually wanted to raise tuition fees further so that they could compete more on the global stage. Some universities argued for a "United States-style" system where institutions were able to charge fees at whatever rate the "market will bear". Howard Newby, the President of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals said that the challenge for universities would be in ensuring new income was "recycled" into bursaries for poorer students. Blunkett said that after the next general election it would be likely that there would be another debate on the issue revisiting the issue of university funding but that whilst he was Secretary of State there would be no top up fees. Howard Newby acknowledged that any further changes to the public funding of universities would need to wait "until after the General Election" although he added "Afterwards, the question is how to bring more resources into higher education. Fees have to be part of the equation."
Scottish Parliament
Following the passing of the Scotland Act 1998Scotland Act 1998
The Scotland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is the Act which established the devolved Scottish Parliament.The Act will be amended by the Scotland Bill 2011, if and when it receives royal assent.-History:...
, devolved government was established in Scotland with the first meeting of the new Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
taking place on 12 May 1999. The parliament had been given primary legislative powers meaning that over many areas elected representatives were able to pass their own laws. In particular its responsibilities included student fees, school standards and the training and supply of teachers.
The Cubie Report
University funding became an issue following Scottish devolution when the Labour Party and Liberal DemocratsLiberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
formed a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
. The Liberal Democrats had made tuition fees a "non-negotiable" element of their election manifesto and therefore a potential stumbling block to forming the coalition. Labour, the majority party in the coalition had, only one year previously, introduced tuition fees in the United Kingdom of up to £1000 a year and had also abolished maintenance grants. The Cubie committee led by the lawyer Andrew Cubie was formed in July 1999 to look into the funding of higher education in Scotland to try to find a solution to the issue of student financing which threatened to destabilise the coalition.
Recommendations of the Cubie report
The Cubie report recommended that tuition fees should be replaced with an endowment scheme with the Scottish Executive paying the fees up front with students only required to pay back £3,000 worth of fees when their earnings reached £25,000. It also recommended that poorer students would be entitled to a bursary similar to the old maintenance grant. The estimated cost to the Scottish government of the recommendations were set at £71 million. In the end the government announced that students would only pay back £2,000 of their fees but starting when their earnings reached £10,000 a significant drop on the recommended £25,000. With such changes, the Scottish executive estimated that the scheme would cost £50 million.
Response to the Cubie report
Speaking following the publication of the report the Liberal Democrats deputy first minister Jim Wallace
Jim Wallace
The Rt. Hon. James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, PC, QC , is a British politician, currently a life peer in the House of Lords and the Advocate General for Scotland...
said "we welcome the fact that Cubie recommends the abolition of tuition fees. This remains the party's policy... Andrew Cubie and his team have done a thorough job over the last six months. As he himself says, the extent of the need for change would not have been identified if the committee had not been established." The Scottish National Party's
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
(SNP) John Swinney
John Swinney
John Ramsey Swinney is the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth in the Scottish Government and the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Perthshire North, having previously represented North Tayside...
described the report as a "humiliation" for Labour saying that it left their policy on student financing in "tartan tatters". The Conservatives Brian Monteith
Brian Monteith
Brian Monteith is a Scottish public relations consultant, politician and commentator, who was a Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament between 1999 and 2007.-Education:...
was sceptical of the report saying "the Cubie Committee says it is abolishing tuition fees but they will be replaced with a graduate tax that recovers exactly the same amount that would have been paid in fees." The findings of the report were considered by a joint ministerial working group established by Scottish First Minister Donald Dewar
Donald Dewar
Donald Campbell Dewar was a British politician who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament in Scotland from 1966-1970, and then again from 1978 until his death in 2000. He served in Tony Blair's cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997-1999 and was instrumental in the creation...
. The abolition of tuition fees would commence in August 2000 with the endowment scheme taking their place the following year. Scottish students studying elsewhere in the United Kingdom would still be required to pay fees but Scottish students choosing to study in Scotland would not. English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying in Scotland would be liable to pay tuition fees but would not be required to pay the graduate endowment. Students from outside the United Kingdom but from within the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
would not be required to pay tuition fees if studying in Scotland but would be required to pay the graduate endowment upon graduation. In order to qualify as a Scottish student and be exempted from paying tuition fees, the student must have lived in Scotland for at least three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the course. Students would also be exempt if they were classed as "ordinarily resident" in the country on the first day of their course. This meant that those students who had moved to Scotland for a reason other than study would be also be exempt.
The graduate endowment and its abolition
The Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) Act 2001 established the criteria by which the graduate endowment would be paid. Scottish domiciled or European Union students from outside the United Kingdom - "The Scottish Parliament information centre", "The Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) Bill", "research paper 00-18", "page 2" The GE will be paid by those who have undertaken a full-time first degree courseat an institution funded by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council or the
Scottish Further Education Funding Council. This is in recognition of the fact that
many students study for their first degree at a further education college.
Regulations to be made under the Bill will establish further criteria for eligibility:
Liable individuals will be:
- Scottish-domiciled or EU students.
- Students whose full-time degree study exceeds a specified minimum period.
- Those who have satisfied the criteria for being awarded a degree – i.e. to
prevent students from not graduating when they complete their course.""page 2" who had undertaken a first full-time degree course on or after 1 August 2001 were eligible to pay the endowment. On completion of their degree, students would pay a fixed amount initially set by the Scottish government at £2000 and later rising to £2289 for students commencing their studies during the academic year of 2006-07. The amount would become payable after the student successfully completed their degree and could be paid either by taking out a student loan, paying a lump sum or by a combination of both. The first students began paying back the endowment on 1 April 2005.
Not all students had to pay. Those taking qualifications below degree level were exempt as were mature students over the age of 25, lone parents in receipt of a lone parent grant and those in receipt of Disabled Student Allowance. Students who dropped out of university would also not have to pay as they would be allowed "one false start". Certain courses, such as teacher training courses, were also exempt from the endowment.
In the summer of 2007, the Scottish government proposed the Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill that would scrap the graduate endowment altogether. It meant that no future students would pay the endowment and that would also apply to graduates who graduated on or after 1 April 2007. On 28 February 2008 the bill was approved in a move which restored free higher education in Scotland. The Scottish education secretary Fiona Hyslop
Fiona Hyslop
Fiona Hyslop is the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs and Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Linlithgow.-Family life and background:...
speaking at the time said "We believe access to education should be based on ability to learn, not ability to pay. Today's removal of the graduate endowment fee is great news for current and future students and last year's graduates, helping to significantly reduce their debt burden." Labours education spokesperson Rhona Brankin
Rhona Brankin
Rhona Brankin is a former Labour Co-operative Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Midlothian constituency. She was first elected in 1999 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007...
however said that its abolition would not tackle student poverty. Voting against the measure she said that ministers had "failed miserably" to produce evidence that scrapping the endowment would increase the numbers of people going to university.
Welsh Assembly
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
in London. The assembly could vary specified devolved issues including setting and monitoring school standards, the content of the national curriculum and the training and supply of teachers. The cap on the amount of tuition fees that Welsh universities could charge rose to £3000 in the academic year of 2007-08 bringing Wales in line with England and Northern Ireland although the Welsh Assembly up until 2010-11 gave all Welsh students studying in Wales a grant of £1890 towards their fees.
Maintenance grants in Wales
Maintenance grants, initially up to £1,500 were re-introduced by the Welsh Assembly in 2002 in a move that was, at the time, seen to put pressure on the United Kingdom government who still favoured the use of student loans. The Welsh education secretary, Labour's Jane DavidsonJane Davidson
Jane Davidson, AM was the Labour Assembly Member for Pontypridd and the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in the Welsh Assembly Government. She lives in Gwaelod-y-Garth with her husband and three children...
, said that £41 million had been ring-fenced for less well off families meaning that up to 250,000 Welsh students would be eligible for a means-tested grant of up to £1,500. Welsh students studying outside of Wales would also still be eligible for the grants if studying within the United Kingdom. Students from the rest of the United Kingdom or the European Union however would not be eligible for assistance from the Welsh Assembly if studying in Wales. At the time the National Union of Students president Owain James welcomed the move saying "this is a great victory for Welsh students.... Maintenance grants are crucial to keep students in education." Speaking about the re-introduction of maintenance grants, the Conservatives education spokesperson Jonathon Morgan said that Labour had performed a U-turn and said that the party should apologise for introducing tuition fees in the first place.
Introduction of variable tuition fees
Charles Clarke
Charles Rodway Clarke is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, and served as Home Secretary from December 2004 until May 2006.-Early life:...
published a white paper with proposals allowing universities to set their own tuition fees up to a cap of £3000 a year. The proposal was controversial as during the election campaign for the 2001 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
their manifesto stated that Labour "will not introduce top-up fees and has legislated against them." The white paper stated that the fees would only be repaid once the graduate earned over £15,000 a year. The likelihood of a backbench rebellion from Labour MPs forced Clarke to introduce a number of concessions to the rebels in order to avoid a Commons defeat in a vote held on 27 January 2004. Amendments to the bill included an increase in the amount poorer students could claim in a maintenance grant, a promise to review the £3,000 cap after three years and the promise to write off all student debt after 25 years.Think Money - Student Debt Guide - Is there a `cut-off point` for Student Loan repayments?"Your Student Loan will eventually be written off if you never earn enough to make payments, or if you haven`t repaid the full amount within a certain period. For loans issued before September 2006, any remaining debt will be written off when you reach 65, while loans issued after September 2006 will be written off 25 years after the first April of your graduation." Eventually the vote was passed with Labour winning by 316 votes to 311 with 71 Labour MPs voting against and 19 Labour MPs abstaining. The result provided relief for Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
in what had been seen as his biggest test yet as Prime Minister. Education Secretary Clarke said "had we lost it, it would have been a blow to our authority but as it is we have the ability to take the legislation forward." The Conservatives shadow education and health secretary Tim Yeo
Tim Yeo
Timothy Stephen Kenneth Yeo is an English Conservative politician, Member of Parliament for South Suffolk and the current Chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee.-Early life:...
said the result was an "utter humiliation" for ministers and said that the vote had only been won because of the votes of Scottish MPs who had voted to impose fees on English students which would not apply north of the border. The Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy
Charles Kennedy
Charles Peter Kennedy is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who led the Liberal Democrats from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006 and is currently a Member of Parliament for the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency....
said that "nobody has emerged from this shabby compromise with any credit." He added "it took a dodgy deal between the prime minister, the chancellor and backbenchers to get this Bill through." The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) however said before the vote that the plans were "essential" for the revitalisation of British universities. University vice-chancellors meanwhile had previously warned the government that universities were facing a shortfall in funding. In their submission to the governments 2004 comprehensive spending review, the lobby group Universities UK requested a further £8.79 billion, a figure it was feared would grow should legislation to increase tuition fees fail. Such was the level of underfunding, vice chancellors argued, and assuming that all universities would charge the full £3,000 a year, the measures would only "ameliorate, not solve, the funding crisis" recouping only £1.4 billion extra revenue a year. Michael Driscoll, chair of the Coalition of Modern Universities, said "Universities face a financial black hole, but the real black hole is in teaching. We do not have enough money to pay our staff."
Scottish MP vote controversy
The vote on 27 January 2004 caused controversy as because of the close nature of the result, the votes of MPs with constituencies in Scotland proved crucial in terms of getting it through. With university funding devolved in Scotland, the result of any increase in tuition fees would not affect students who chose to live and study in Scotland. Peter Duncan, the Conservatives' only Scottish MP, had abstained from the vote saying "This is a dark day for British democracy, and the actions of Scottish MPs are reprehensible.... The constitutionally cavalier actions of Scottish MPs undermine the devolution settlement and play into the hands of the separatists on both sides of the border.... Those Scottish MPs who walked through the lobbies today should hang their heads in shame." Shadow Education Secretary Tim YeoTim Yeo
Timothy Stephen Kenneth Yeo is an English Conservative politician, Member of Parliament for South Suffolk and the current Chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee.-Early life:...
said in a point of order "It is completely wrong that a bill which imposes higher charges on students attending the English universities should only be carried by this house using the votes of Scottish MPs when the students attending universities in the constituencies of those Scottish MPs do not have to pay those higher charges." In all 46 Scottish Labour MPs voted with the government with the 5 SNP and 10 Liberal Democrat MPs representing constituencies in Scotland voting against. Labour's Frank Doran, a Scottish MP who voted with the government said "my fundamental objections were about the variable fees and the effect on Scottish universities, but I think the effect of the variable fees has been mitigated in a huge way by the various concessions the government has made."
Higher Education Act 2004
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
and became the Higher Education Act 2004. Under the Act, universities in England could begin to charge variable fees of up to £3000 a year for students enrolling on courses as from the academic year of 2006-07 or later. This was also introduced in Northern Ireland in 2006-07 and introduced in Wales in 2007-08. In 2009-10 the cap rose to £3225 a year to take account of inflation. Students from the European Union (EU) would be eligible for the same level of tuition fees as students from within the United Kingdom. Students from outside the EU would have to pay the fees set by the individual university.UK Council for International Student affairs International students can be charged fees from £4000 to £18,000 a year depending on the university. All publicly funded educational institutions have two rates that they charge students, a lower "home" rate and a higher "overseas" rate. International students from outside the UK or the European Union will pay the overseas rate unless they meet certain other criteria which would enable them to become a home fee payer. UK Council for International Students Affairs - Advice for International Students
To cover the cost of the fees UK and EU students could take out a tuition fee loan
Student loans in the United Kingdom
Student loans and grants in the United Kingdom are primarily provided by the government through the Student Loans Company , a non-departmental public body. It has been the subject of much discussion whether or not the SLC is a bank, however these claims are entirely unfounded and The Student Loans...
meaning that there wold be no requirement to pay fees upfront. The loan, which would not depend on household income, would be paid directly to the university or college from the student loans company.
The act also established the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) in an effort to ensure that the "introduction of higher tuition fees in 2007-08 did not deter people from entering higher education for financial reasons". It also would ensure that "universities and colleges were explicitly committed to increasing participation in higher education among under-represented groups". The fees also became known as top up fees as prior to September 2006 the amount paid for tuition would be a flat rate whereas from September 2006 the fees became variable and would help universities to "top up" the shortfall in funding to cover the cost of certain degrees. Speaking about the introduction of variable tuition fees in 2005, Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell
Bill Rammell
William Ernest Rammell is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Harlow from 1997 to 2010, and has served as the Minister of State for the Armed Forces at the Ministry of Defence...
, claimed that the changes were necessary saying "I think we have to get real. In an ideal world you wouldn't bring in these changes, but we don't live in an ideal world. To maintain and develop a world class system of higher education would cost the equivalent of 3p or 4p on the standard rate of tax".
Calls for review in university funding
In their Changing Landscapes report published in 2009, Universities UK said that "in practice, although institutions theoretically had the choice whether to charge the full tuition fee, almost all chose to set the fee at the £3,000 cap". It also said that the "current fee arrangements" had not "created an economic market in which the price of an institution is a significant factor in how potential students choose the institution they want to go to and in which institutions compete on price to attract students." In their Conclusions on the Changing Market they said that raising tuition fees to £5,000 a year would be just the "maintenance of the status quo" and claimed that "students are insensitive to tuition fees below this level." The report suggested that "increasing fees above £5,000 would lead more and more institutions to review their practice of setting fees below the cap". Responding to the report Wendy PiattWendy Piatt
Wendy Piatt was appointed Director General of The Russell Group of UK universities in January 2007.-Life:Piatt was born on the Wirral, and went to convent school in Birkenhead....
, Director General of the Russell Group
Russell Group
The Russell Group is a collaboration of twenty UK universities that together receive two-thirds of research grant and contract funding in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1994 to represent their interests to the government, parliament and other similar bodies...
who represent 20 British universities, said "There is a growing consensus that without increased investment, there is a real danger that the success of our world-leading universities will not be sustained. In a difficult economic climate there is even greater urgency to find additional funding". She quoted research from the Higher Education Funding Council for England
Higher Education Funding Council for England
The Higher Education Funding Council for England is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in the United Kingdom, which has been responsible for the distribution of funding to Universities and Colleges of Higher and Further Education in England since...
(HEFCE) which said that universities needed an additional 15-20 percent worth of funding for current teaching levels to be sustained and suggested that an increase in tuition fees should be something that should be an option as the increase in 2006 had no adverse impact on recruitment.
The Browne Review
On 9 November 2009 Business Secretary Peter MandelsonPeter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, served in a number of Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and was a European Commissioner...
announced a further review into fees and university funding in England, led by John Browne
John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley
Edmund John Philip Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley, FRS FREng is President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and was group Chief Executive of BP until his resignation on 1 May 2007...
, former chief executive of BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
. Browne, a cross-bencher in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and also known as Lord Browne of Madingley, was joined on his panel by David Eastwood
David Eastwood
Professor David Stephen Eastwood is a British academic who became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham on 13 April 2009, taking over from Professor Michael Sterling upon the latter's retirement. Prior to this, he was Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England ,...
, vice-chancellor of the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
and Julia King
Julia King
Julia King CBE FREng is the Vice-Chancellor of Aston University.King graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in natural sciences. Her PhD degree, also from Cambridge, was in materials...
, vice-chancellor of Aston University
Aston University
Aston University is a "plate glass" campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966...
as well as a number of other professionals.The Times - Lord Browne of Madingley heads team to look at raising tuition fees Members on the Browne inquiry were Lord Browne of Madingley former chairman of BP; Sir Michael Barber former chief advisor to David Blunkett; Diane Coyle former journalist and Treasury economist; Professor David Eastwood vice chancellor of Birmingham university; Julia King vice chancellor of Aston university, Peter Sands chief executive of Standard Chartered Bank, Rajay Naik UK board member of the Big Lottery Fund Speaking at the launch, Mandelson said that the review would take into account the goal of widening participation in higher education, the need for affordability and the desire to simplify the student-support system. He said that variable tuition fees currently provided universities with a secure income of £1.3 billion a year and "since they were introduced, student numbers have continued to rise, along with the numbers coming from lower-income backgrounds." The review would look at funding for both full time and part time students, considering tuition fees and alternatives to them, such as a graduate tax. It would not be published until after the 2010 General Election.
Speaking on the launch of the review, National Union of Students President Wes Streeting said "there is a real danger that this review will pave the way for higher fees and a market in prices that would see poorer students priced out of more prestigious universities and other students and universities consigned to the 'bargain basement'". However, the Russell Group's Wendy Piatt
Wendy Piatt
Wendy Piatt was appointed Director General of The Russell Group of UK universities in January 2007.-Life:Piatt was born on the Wirral, and went to convent school in Birkenhead....
argued that the current level of funding was inadequate, saying "as universities are facing severe economic conditions and ferocious global competition it is clear that the status quo is not viable".
Political background prior to review publication
Following the 2010 General Election on 6 May 2010 no one party commanded a majority in the House of Commons and so following negotiations the Conservative and Liberal Democratic parties formed a coalition governmentUnited Kingdom coalition government (2010–present)
The ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition is the present Government of the United Kingdom, formed after the 2010 general election. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats entered into discussions which culminated in the 2010 coalition agreement, setting out a programme for government...
. With David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
installed as Prime Minister and Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
as Deputy Prime Minister the two men produced a coalition agreement setting out how the two parties would work together. In response to the issue of university funding and higher education, the agreement said that higher education policy would have to await the outcome of the Browne report which had not yet been published. The agreement also made mention of the desire to increase the number of university places available. For the Liberal Democrats the findings of the review were a big unknown and potentially problematic for the party as they had made the abolition of student tuition fees within a period of six years one of their manifesto commitments and many of the party's MPs had signed a National Union of Students pledge
Vote for Students pledge
The National Union of Students "Vote for Students" pledge is a pledge to vote against tuition fee increases that was signed by over 1000 candidates standing in the UK general election in 2010, notably including all 57 subsequently elected Liberal Democrat MPs.-The pledge:The pledge states:The NUS...
stating that they would not vote for any increase in tuition fees. As a result of this potential conflict, the agreement stipulated that the Liberal Democrats could abstain on any vote which may require fees to be increased.
Findings and recommendations of the review
The Browne ReviewBrowne Review
The Browne Review or Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance was a review to consider the future direction of higher education funding in England. It was launched on the 9 November 2009 and published its findings on 12 October 2010. It was chaired by Lord Browne of...
into the future of Higher Education Funding published its report on 12 October 2010 in a document entitled Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education. The report based its recommendations on six principles which were:
- More investment should be available for Higher Education
- Student choice should be increased
- Everyone who has the potential should be able to benefit from Higher Education
- No-one should have to pay until they start work
- When payments are made they should be affordable
- Part-time students should be treated the same as full-time students for the costs of learning
The main recommendations of the report were:
- Removing the cap of £3,290 a year that universities could charge for tuition
- Raising the point at which tuition fees loans are paid back from £15,000 to £21,000 a year
- Changing the repayment scheme such that loans were only to be paid back at 9% of any income earned over £21,000
- Giving part-time students equal entitlement to tuition under the Student Finance Plan
Reaction to the Browne Report
The recommendations contained within the report issued by the Browne commission contained one particularly controversial area in the removal of the cap on tuition fees. Lord BrowneJohn Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley
Edmund John Philip Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley, FRS FREng is President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and was group Chief Executive of BP until his resignation on 1 May 2007...
however in an interview with BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
predicted that few institutions would put fees up very high. For the Liberal Democrats in particular it was predicted that the review would cause deep political divisions both within their own party and within the coalition government as many had signed a pledge promising not to vote for any increase in tuition fees prior to the election. Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, said the proposals were "probably on the right lines" whilst the Liberal Youth section of the party described the fee rise as a "disaster". Backbench Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland
Greg Mulholland
Gregory Thomas Mulholland is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom, and is the Member of Parliament for Leeds North West. He was first elected at the 2005 general election, winning the seat from Labour and was re-elected with an increased majority at the 2010 general election. Before...
immediately said he would vote against the plan. Within the media the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
called the report by Lord Browne a "genuinely radical document that would, if implemented, lead to a free-market revolution in higher education provision". David Blackburn of the Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
called the proposals a "sustainable and permanent solution" and described the plan as "progressive". The Guardian's
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
Martin Hall however said that there would be a "social cost of variable tuition fees" and said that institutions rated highest in the league tables would be able to charge more and so force out poorer students. Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, also defended the report saying "Everybody wants the same thing, not only sustainable funding for universities, but also a system where the teaching you receive at university, the upfront costs of it are free at the point of use, that we encourage more students from poor backgrounds into university than is presently the case and, crucially, that when people pay back for their university tuition, they only do it when they can afford to do it and that people who earn more pay a bit more back than others. I think that is a fair and sustainable approach and that is what we are looking for in the Browne report today." For Labour, the shadow Business Secretary John Denham said that the report deserved "careful study" and said that it was "right that some students make some contribution towards their education". However he added
"We are concerned that many graduates will be shackled by debt for the majority of their working lives; that those on middle incomes in typical graduate jobs may pay more than their fair share and the highest earners will pay less and be free of debt much earlier."
Government response
On 3 November 2010 the government responded to the review by making a number of adjustments to the recommendations, the main one being the rejection of Browne's recommendation that the cap to Universities be completely lifted, instead agreeing a £9,000 per year cap. In terms of paying back the loan, Browne had suggested a flat rate of interest should be charged at 2.2% plus inflation. On this the government opted for a tapered rate which would rise to 3% depending on earnings in an effort to make the system more progressive. The earnings limit at which loans would begin to be paid back would rise in line with the Browne recommendations from £15,000 to £21,000. Business Secretary Vince Cable said that access to higher education would be on the basis of ability and not the ability to pay. He said "no-one will have to pay up-front tuition fees. We are extending loans for the cost of tuition to the majority of part-time students. No one will contribute until they can afford to do so – when they are in well paid jobs...The graduate contribution system that we have designed will protect the lowest earning graduates and ensure that their contributions are linked to their ability to pay; indeed, under our new more progressive repayment system, 25%, maybe as many as 30% according to the IFS, of graduates with the lowest lifetime earnings will pay back less than they do now." David WillettsDavid Willetts
David Linsay Willetts is a British Conservative Party politician and the Minister of State for Universities and Science. He is the Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Havant in Hampshire.-Education:...
, the Universities Minister claimed that the "progressive package" would put universities on a sustainable footing with extra freedoms and less bureaucracy. However in return for that he stated that there would be "greater choice for students with a stronger focus on high quality teaching."
Protests against the proposals
On 10 November 2010 students staged the first in a series of marches to demonstrate against the proposed increase in the rise in tuition fees. The demonstrations in London received negative publicity after a group of protesters attacked the Conservative party headquarters. The National Union of Students, who had staged the protests, condemned the violence as "despicable" with union president Aaron Porter saying "this was not part of our plan". Protests continued on 24 November 2010 with the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) organising a mass national walk out of education and protest. Faced once again with protesters on the streets of London and having being caught out by the violence on the previous march, the Metropolitan police deployed over 1000 officers to police the demonstrations. A total of 41 people were arrested on the day with seven police officers and 11 members of the public suffering injuries. The police also came under fire for the practice of "penning in" protesters for long periods with Simon Hardy, the spokesperson for NCAFC describing the tactics as "absolutely outrageous". He added, "that we were stuck for five or six hours, not allowed to leave, intimidated by hundreds upon hundreds of riot police and treated very badly when all we were doing was exercising our democratic right to protest I think is a real scandal." Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said however that the "kettling" was needed as there was a danger of protesters breaking through police lines and storming the Houses of Parliament. On 30 November 2010 further protests were held in London with demonstrators congregating in Trafalgar Square as well as in other cities around the UK. The protests in London resulted in 153 arrests and with the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts accusing the police of pre-emptively "blocking" the protest route and so keeping them in the square. The police replied that they never had "any intention to contain the protesters." On 9 December 2010, the day of the House of Commons vote on whether to approve measures which could see the rise in tuition fees, further demonstrations were held in London. The protests, this time policed by 2800 officers, saw tensions running high and angry scenes as the debate on the proposals was discussed in the Commons.House of Commons vote
On 9 December 2010, MPs approved raising the cap on tuition fees by a 323 to 302 vote. The result gave the Government a Commons majority of 21. The majority represented a substantial rebellion in the Government with the coalition's majority being cut by almost three quarters and with 21 Liberal Democrat and 6 Conservative MPs actually voting against the government. Amongst those voting no were former Lib Dem leaders Sir Menzies Campbell and Charles KennedyCharles Kennedy
Charles Peter Kennedy is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who led the Liberal Democrats from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006 and is currently a Member of Parliament for the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency....
. Three junior ministerial aids acting as Parliamentary Private Secretaries also chose to defy the government with Liberal Democrat aids Michael Crockart
Michael Crockart
Michael Bruce 'Mike' Crockart is a Liberal Democrat politician, and the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West. He was first elected on 6 May 2010 at the 2010 General Election....
, Jenny Willott
Jenny Willott
Jennifer Nancy Willott is a British politician and the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cardiff Central since the 2005 general election. She is the first woman and the first Liberal Democrat to represent her seat....
voting no whilst Conservative Lee Scott
Lee Scott (UK politician)
Lee Scott is a British politician. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Ilford North, and an officer of the Conservative Friends of Israel group.-Early life:Scott was born in the East End of London to a British Jewish family,...
chose to abstain. All three did so knowing that in order to defy the government whip they would also have to resign from the positions they held. Speaking on the governments victory Business Secretary Vince Cable said the coalition had been through a "difficult test" and added "I think the job now is to try and explain this policy to the country. It is nothing like as threatening to young people going to university as has been portrayed." Universities Minister David Willetts
David Willetts
David Linsay Willetts is a British Conservative Party politician and the Minister of State for Universities and Science. He is the Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Havant in Hampshire.-Education:...
said the proposals struck the "right balance" and said "The package is fair for students, fair for graduates and affordable for the nation". Speaking against the proposals during the debate MP Greg Mulholland
Greg Mulholland
Gregory Thomas Mulholland is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom, and is the Member of Parliament for Leeds North West. He was first elected at the 2005 general election, winning the seat from Labour and was re-elected with an increased majority at the 2010 general election. Before...
however said that sometimes governments get things wrong and added "I am voting against the government today because I simply cannot accept that fees of up to £9,000 are the fairest and most sustainable way of funding higher education." Labour's shadow Business Secretary John Denham said that the fees increase had been driven by the governments decision to make deep cuts in university funding alleging that "Even if they had just cut universities the way they are cutting other public services, students would be facing fees of no more than £4,000." Peers in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
voted to approve the plans on 14 December 2010 by a clearer majority of 283 to 215. Speaking during the debate, the author of the report on which the government proposals were based, Lord Browne
John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley
Edmund John Philip Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley, FRS FREng is President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and was group Chief Executive of BP until his resignation on 1 May 2007...
, said that he believed the reforms were "essential for this nation to maintain its hard-won pre-eminence in higher education".
External links
- Text of Higher Education Act 2004, which introduced top-up fees
- BBC News Q&A: Student Fees
- The Guardian: All Change (guide to fees)
- Student Loans Company (the body responsible for providing and administering student loans in the UK)
- Dearing Report