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How high will tuition fees go?

With the debate over lowering tuition fees over (at least judging by the Labour hustings) I wonder how high will they go?

Considering the US it's about £20k my guess is a lot higher.

Since the implementation of fees students are increasingly looking at value for money. This will result in more students wanting STEM courses which cost considerably more than humanities/social science which will in turn mean fees will rise again.

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hoping it would be around 18k per year.
It isn't so much the fees that matter as much as the repayment method. Though fees are now higher than pre-2012, students are better off for repaying, such as the fact that the threshold for repayments to commence being £21k, not £18k.

At the end of the day, what students in the current system are getting is a graduate tax. The repayment will be taken from your wages before you even see it, as with other taxes.
Original post by Paralove
It isn't so much the fees that matter as much as the repayment method. Though fees are now higher than pre-2012, students are better off for repaying, such as the fact that the threshold for repayments to commence being £21k, not £18k.

At the end of the day, what students in the current system are getting is a graduate tax. The repayment will be taken from your wages before you even see it, as with other taxes.


So I guess they could lower the threshold at which payment starts. That might even be politically easier than raising fees
Reply 4
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Gax
16
they'll rise as long as inflation is a thing
Original post by skeptical_john
So I guess they could lower the threshold at which payment starts. That might even be politically easier than raising fees


It isn't so much raising fees as reducing the amount the government pays and increasing the amount on the student. It still costs whatever amount to educate someone, a rise in fees is just a reduction in the proportion subsidised by the government.

Lowering the threshold is one thing that has been talked about I believe. I don't think the government would ever try for a system like the States though, where you're being chased for money as soon as you graduate and which (afaik) is irrelevant to income - whilst if you fall below the threshold here, you stop paying until you're above it again.

With more people than ever at university it's unsurprising that fees have been introduced and increased.
Original post by Paralove
It isn't so much raising fees as reducing the amount the government pays and increasing the amount on the student. It still costs whatever amount to educate someone, a rise in fees is just a reduction in the proportion subsidised by the government.

Lowering the threshold is one thing that has been talked about I believe. I don't think the government would ever try for a system like the States though, where you're being chased for money as soon as you graduate and which (afaik) is irrelevant to income - whilst if you fall below the threshold here, you stop paying until you're above it again.

With more people than ever at university it's unsurprising that fees have been introduced and increased.


You say that but all it would take is privatising the debt company which I believe has been mooted.

I'm not against fees by the way, I think our higher education system is a very dated and needs some huge reforms but neither do I want to see a states style system.
Reply 7
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miser
20
It wouldn't surprise me if the current government would want to raise it until it's wholly paid for by the students. That's not a politically acceptable proposition at present, but so far we are swallowing austerity rhetoric hook-line-and-sinker.
Reply 8
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jamestg
21
If they're going to rise, they'll do it at some point in 2015.

However seeing as the coalition government tripled them I find it unlikely they'll increase it if they want to stand any chance of being in government in 2020.

If they do rise it'll be around the £12,000 mark with changes to how they are paid - perhaps a higher threshold for the payment of them...
Might be worth a mention that they could struggle to get any raise in this parliament through the house of lords where tories are not in majority and as this was not a manifesto pledge are under no duty to put it through.

On other hand fees is a devolved issue so with no SNP vote quite easy to get it through parliament.
Can't believe it used to be 3k 3 bloody k.

The tax will be deducted before its on your payslip so I guess that's ok
They will go as high as the top universities want them to go. There will probably come a point where the top unis cut ties with the government so they can charge whatever they want.
Reply 12
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Bahcaci
1
And they wonder why some university subjects/degrees are losing people.. If you charge £12k+ a year, and the average course being 3 years, thats £36k... To go into a job with about £25k per year.. For me, I was to go into medicine, which is a six year course, so thats £72k! And thats just the university fee, no accommodation, no leisure, nothing. They need to make it reasonable and custom to whoever it is and based on their household income, otherwise it would not work..

Original post by Jammy Duel
They will go as high as the top universities want them to go. There will probably come a point where the top unis cut ties with the government so they can charge whatever they want.


Very good point JD, I think this does need to happen as soon as possible.. Because the way the government is going right now, the investment in university will not be worth it..
I put 75% on not rising at all
I put 25% on rising to 10k in 2018 - 2020

Other than that, no.
Reply 14
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poohat
18
For reasons which are fundamentally stupid, the fee cap (£9k) doesn't rise with inflation so universities are losing money in real terms each year. As such, its hard not to see them rising again in the future, even though there are no immediate plans. It would have made more sense if the original cap had just rose with inflation.

On the other hand, the threshold where people start making repayments doesn't rise with inflation either, so over time people are paying more each year in real terms, and are more likely to repay the full amount.
Nice to know that the whole university system is basically broken and destined for the gutter. Fact of the matter is that too many people are going to university. More people are doing fluffy courses and costs are rising. And when you graduate, because their are too many other graduates, you just end up being scrap heap trash thats not different than anyone else. The University system is a broken one because too many are going. An oversupply of people in a job market that hasn't really expanded and in most cases has retreated in the last 10 years. I'm not even at uni yet, not until September, and I'm strongly considering bailing on it given the insane risk it is. University used to be a safe option and was valued. Its now nothing more than a ticking box for employers which is a great shame. Even though I would be studying a STEM, I feel unsafe about life as a graduate given the weakening state of the job market(don't believe the false unemployment figures, those zero hours contracts and the stipulation that uni students aren't a part of those figures means the figures are at least a few percentage points greater). If you're one of the unlucky people who don't get a graduate job, you'll find it impossible to retrain because you have a degree. Add many jobs turning people away for being overqualified and you have a grand disaster in the making
Reply 16
Avatar for poohat
poohat
18
Original post by Jammy Duel
They will go as high as the top universities want them to go. There will probably come a point where the top unis cut ties with the government so they can charge whatever they want.

Yeah this isn't going to happen, universities depend on government money for too many other things (e.g. research funding).

What you actually see is the best UK universities massively increasing the number of international students they take in, since they can charge them full fees. At places like Imperial/LSE/UCL, over 30% of the student body is non-EU, and the rest of the Russell Group hovers around the 15-25% mark. This makes things substantially more competitive for UK students (its much harder for British students to get into top places than it used to be, although increased competition from within the EU is also a factor here), and has a whole bunch of knock-on effects which aren't particularly good for the UK.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by miser
It wouldn't surprise me if the current government would want to raise it until it's wholly paid for by the students. That's not a politically acceptable proposition at present, but so far we are swallowing austerity rhetoric hook-line-and-sinker.


At least you can escape to Japan :indiff:
Can't just price students out, or make them think it simply isn't worth the investment. The current price of a degree I feel is pushing it.
The problem is the govt is losing out because more people are not having to pay more of their student loans because not everyone earns over £25k where I think repayments are £360 a year or more. I am more worried about scrapping grants or reducing loans apparently this could happen very soon I don't want uni to be just a middle class/rich man's game we need to be more inclusive

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