Tuition Fees

Before the vote on tuition fees, I was contacted by many constituents about the government's tuition fees proposals and also had some very articulate young people from a local school make a dignified protest about the proposals at my Marlborough Office (in welcome contrast to the pointless and counter-productive violent demos in Westminster). I therefore thought it was worth posting some detailed information about the proposals on my website and expose some of the myths that are circulating about them.

How much will it cost students? 

Following the advice of the independent funding review, set up by the last Labour Government, the upper limit on tuition fees is being raised to £9,000 with a lower threshold of £6,000. Courses charging between £6,000 and £9,000 will be subject to new requirements on widening access to the poorest students.

When and how will students pay their loan back?

Students will pay nothing up front, and will only start paying the money back once they've left university and are earning over £21,000 a year. The repayment rate will remain at 9 per cent. This means that no one earning under £21,000 will pay anything and graduates earning over £21,000 will pay back £45 less each month.

Support for poorer students?

There will be more support for students on low incomes: there will be a new £150 million National Scholarships Programme to help the poorest students into the top universities; maintenance grants for students from lower-income families will increase from £2,906 to £3,250; and partial maintenance grants will be available to students from families with incomes between £25,000 and £42,000.

For the first time, part-time students will be eligible for student loans. Until now, part-time students have had to pay fees upfront. Part-time students on their first degree will no longer have to pay anything until they have graduated and entered well-paid work, so long as they are studying a quarter as much as a full-time student.

How will the government afford it?

Interest rates will gradually rise to a maximum of RPI (Retail Price Index) plus an additional 3 per cent for those earning £41,000 or more. This will provide extra revenue from better-off graduates, ensuring other aspects of the new system, such as raising the earnings threshold for repayment to £21,000, are affordable for the taxpayer.

Although reductions in government spending on higher education will help reduce the budget deficit, there will continue to be substantial public funding for universities. The balance of university funding will shift from 60 per cent government, 40 per cent private to approximately 40 per cent government, 60 per cent private.

Helping Graduates

Our plans will make paying off tuition fees more manageable and affordable for graduates.

By increasing the income threshold for repayment to £21,000 a year, we are protecting those graduates on the lowest wages, whilst also reducing everybody else's monthly repayments by up to £45.

This table shows how graduates joining some typical professions will pay less each month (although most graduates will have to pay over a longer period):

For more information visit: http://www.factsonfees.com/

View comments

Post a comment

Back to all posts