University of Northampton tuition fees to be £8,500 per year
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STUDENTS starting degree courses at The University of Northampton in September 2012 can expect to pay £8,500 a year in tuition fees.
The fees were announced today and are a result of Government changes to the way universities are funded.
After a review of higher education funding by former BP boss Lord Browne last year, which resulted in major budget cuts, the cap on tuition fees was increased from £3,290 to £9,000.
Most universities were expected to charge between £6,000 and £9,000, but the majority have opted to set fees at the top of the scale.
After deliberations and talks with the students’ union, The University of Northampton has set its fees.
Professor Nick Petford, vice-chancellor of the university, said: “We looked at what we had to do to cover our costs, then we factored in what we needed in terms of investment to make sure the quality of the student experience was put to the forefront, plus we needed to have enough left over to cope with bursaries and scholarships. After all that, and looking at what our competitors were offering, we came up with the fee of £8,500.
“I think it is absolutely reasonable and represents excellent value for money. We could have gone for the full £9,000 and it makes no real difference to a student whether they are paying back £8,500 or £9,000, but our brand is not the strongest brand in the UK. However, we are making huge strides forward and we are the number one university for the ‘value added’ score.
“We decided to peg fees just below the £9,000 level in order to make sure we continue to attract the high volume of students we need.”
He added: “It is important to remember there is no up-front payment required for the fee. Most students will be able to take out a Government Tuition Fee Loan and will only make repayments after they have left university, when they are employed and their salary is £21,000 or more.”
The university’s new student fee is subject to approval from the Office for Fair Access.
Mr Petford admits the new higher fees could have a negative impact on the number of people embarking on degree courses.
He said: “Most commentators – and even the Treasury – expects that there will be a drop-off in the number of students applying to university.
“This might not necessarily be among 18-year-olds and the traditional school-leavers, but a lot of our students are mature students who decide to do part-time study, and those people will definitely be affected more by the new fees than the 18-year-olds.
“We will have money for scholarships, which will help some people with that.”
The decision to raise the cap on tuition fees sparked scenes of angry protest all over the country in December.
Many sixth-formers who will be the first to face the new fees said they may no longer be able to afford to go to university.
Mr Petford said: “We did consult the students’ union, and they appreciate the difficulty universities are facing. We are suffering severe cuts to our budget and education is not free. We now have to make sure we are providing a quality student experience.
“It is a difficult balancing act. There has been no drop-off in the number of people looking at courses, but it is not until 2012-13 that we will feel the full effect. Time will tell.”
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Comments
There are 24 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
Shalom
Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 02:19 PMThe fall out from the last governments disastrous education policies goes on and on. The massive expansion of the university sector, without the means to pay for it, is the enduring legacy of Labour's hubris. At least when less youngsters went to University, we could afford to pay their fees and even offer student grants ! But, along came Labour , with their delusional pie in the sky aspiration to get 50% of students into University. Talk about bricks without straw. willing the ends, but not the means ! And it is our current youngsters who pick up the bill ! those suitable for a University education, and those who most definitely are not !
MFergu
Friday, July 8, 2011 at 02:24 PMJust to be clear on the student loan side: "most students will be able to take out a Government Tuition Fee Loan and will only make repayments after they have left university, when they are employed and their salary is £21,000 or more". After 30 years any outstanding loan is written off.
lady muck
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 08:17 PMComment 21..Count..when you're dead..prepare for a man with a wooden stake.
TheCount
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 03:21 PMIt's truly shocking what the older generation has done to the young. They want the young to pay for their over-priced houses, pver-priced salaries and pensions...when do the young get there chance ?
TheCount
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 03:19 PMHAHA, funniest thing i've read in years. Poxy university offering nothing but a lifetime of debt to it's new students....you'd be better off getting a job ( if there were any about ) or just living on benefits....better still...move to Poland and pretend you're a builder.
.~* JEZ *~.
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 03:08 PMPending Moderation
lady muck
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 03:02 PMDMT48...not sure you're totally correct...many of the Media degree types simply won't get the jobs with salaries over £21,000 which require them to repay the loans. Somehow it seems inequitable for the young minimum wage worker to pay taxes to subsidise degree courses when the graduates will earn many thousands more over a lifetime. What is wrong with asking the graduates to repay something to the public purse ?
DMT48
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 02:47 PMWell I meant that under Thatcher, there was no discussion of charging students tuition fees - they were after all, introduced by Nu Labour and extended by Nu Tory. I would disagree about the small business issue - up until the post-war years, almost all businesses were small businesses, and they all trained youngsters (many of who left school even unable to read or write), to do skilled work. Nobody paid them to do it - they did it because they ultimately benefitted from the skills transfer to the new employee. Modern businesses cannot be bothered with silly things like training - they just complain that they can't find trained staff and get agencies to send bodies instead. The government should not interfere - businesses took advantage of it last time, by taking them on at £100 a week, and then making them redundant shortly before they were due to qualify, and get a new apprentice with government benefits. We need to cut taxes so that businesses can afford to spend time training, but it would help if schools actually taught children some manual skills, so that the non-academic children have a chance to make money for themselves. Is this difficult? You would think so...
.~* JEZ *~.
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 02:29 PMVery true DMT48, but who will pay for the apprenticeships? Thatchers deregulation of the market has culminated in lots of small to medium sized businesses that can't afford to set-up these training schemes, let alone run the risk of training someone who might depart the company at any time. If you did your research you would find that the only person to take this issue with any seriousness in recent times was Gordon Brown when he set-up the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, but of course people didn't like how he looked so they kicked him into touch. P.S. Local Education Authority grants were nothing to do with Thatcher, they were already in place before her. By the way, isn't she dead yet?
DMT48
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 02:00 PMYes, the fees won't be a deterrent - so all students will be running up £50k debts whether it is a media studies degree, or a medical degree. It's the worst con trick against young people I've ever seen, even worse than the last ten years of persuading youngsters to borrow money to take degrees that will never even get them a job, let alone a job with sufficient income to start repaying their debt. It would be far better to go back to the Thatcherite days, where fees were free because only worthy students could get on a degree course doing something that would add value to the country. Employers now say they want experience, so apprenticeships would be a far better way for most young people to go.
willi eckaslyke
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 01:32 PMOnce upon a time, you could join - no questions asked....Now, you've got to have a degree to get into the Foreign Legion....perhaps Northampton could go for that market.
North_Ants
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 01:26 PMSorry, but are most people commenting on this missing the point? MOST unis will be charging £8500. Havent you been paying attention to the ones that have decided? Secondly, if I am researching universities and I am looking for one that offers value for money, I think I would look at one offering a degree for £8,500 and another offering the same degree for £5,000 and guess which one I will 'think' is has a better quality? Lastly, remember that you will be getting a student loan for this, most likely, so cost of tuition will also be the last thing you will be thinking of when you decide on where you are gonna study. You do realise that Northampton Uni is one of the fastest growing in the country and the fees wont be a deterrent, when everyone else is charging the same.
sparky73
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 01:05 PMPending Moderation
lady muck
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 12:49 PMIf the fees are pitched too high, then Prof Petford's assertion that the degree is 'excellent value' will be proven incorrect as students will go elsewhere. It's the old 'supply and demand' equation again. The straight truth is that nowadays anybody without a degree from somewhere will be hard pressed to find a worthwhile career in law, medicine, teaching etc.
NN3man
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 12:19 PMAgree with DMT48.
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