Fees could rise to more than £9k with new Government reforms

The Government has announced plans today that will allow universities to raise their fees past the current £9,000 maximum rate if their teaching quality meets the national standard.

The reforms will compel universities to publish data on student contact hours, graduate job prospects as well as their average earnings.

Students have long-campaigned against tuition fees- a demonstration in 2000

The White Paper titled Success in a Knowledge Economy, follows a consultation last November following concerns of a rise in high-price degrees that offered little to students in terms of employability.

Ministers have defended the reforms arguing that it will encourage universities to improve their standards of teaching, giving students “better value for money”.

The proposed plans have already being met by critics who argue that students are already facing huge crippling loans. Sorana Vieru, the NUS Vice-President for Higher Education, said students “will understandably be outraged” by the prospect of increasing fees.

The reforms also propose that companies such as Apple and Google might be allowed to open up their own private, degree-awarding “challenger institutions” if the quality of teaching meets the national standard.

The educational publishing group Pearson already offers part-time degrees at Pearson College London for £6,000 per year where students also gain workplace experience and internships.

Jo Johnson, the Universities and Science Minister argues that private degree-awarding institutions will improve the employability of students, saying that reforms will:

“[Make] it easier for high-quality challenger institutions to start offering their own degrees will help drive up teaching quality, boost the economy and extend aspiration and life chances for students from all backgrounds.”

Mr Johnson, younger brother of Boris Johnson, has defended the reforms

However Ms. Vieru expressed concerns that students could be “ripped-off” by new private college. In a statement to the Press Association she said: “We have a lot of these new providers popping up – the sector is literally mushrooming right now.

“But they are not established and might not have the proper support in place for students.

“My concern is that these institutions could be short lived and that students who have been promised the opportunity of getting a degree could end up in institutions that end up folding because they are a business enterprise – an experiment.”

Representatives from universities from across the U.K. have stressed that they are waiting to see the precise details, published today.  Dame Julia Goodfellow, president of Universities UK , an organisation that represents universities across the country, said: “We support the Government’s aim to protect the interests of students, increase fairness and demonstrate the value of a university education.

“The university sector is an international success story in terms of the quality of teaching and research. It is important that any reforms recognise this and build on that strength.

“Established universities are not standing still and are always seeking to improve what they offer to students.”

The White Paper that contains the proposed reforms will be published later on today and will be available for download.