Tuition fees (please can someone clarify this urgently)

Tuition fees
UK and EU students

Durham University will be charging new UK and EU students £3,070 per year for all undergraduate courses in 2007-08 apart from its Foundation Programme, which will charge £1,225 for the Foundation Year alone, after which the standard tuition fee will apply for the remaining years of the course. Students on placements will pay one half of the standard tuition fees for the year of their placement.

I sent off my PR1 to my LEA and I got a letter back saying that my tuition fees for next year are £3070. I'm confused because last year it was £3000 and all my friends applied for £3000 as well. I checked the Durham website and apparently only NEW students for 2007/2008 should be charged £3070. Now my first instinct was, they think I'm a first year and they've screwed up my application but the letter says my course year is second year so how is that possible???

Do they mean NEW students as in first year students for 2007/2008 or NEW students as in those who are now paying tuition fees as part of their degree?

Any advice would be useful.

Reply 1

Christophicus

OP

18

Widowmaker

I sent off my PR1 to my LEA and I got a letter back saying that my tuition fees for next year are £3070. I'm confused because last year it was £3000 and all my friends applied for £3000 as well. I checked the Durham website and apparently only NEW students for 2007/2008 should be charged £3070. Now my first instinct was, they think I'm a first year and they've screwed up my application but the letter says my course year is second year so how is that possible???

Do they mean NEW students as in first year students for 2007/2008 or NEW students as in those who are now paying tuition fees as part of their degree?

Any advice would be useful.

Does no-one know?

Reply 2

croissantfever

12

I have a feeling that the tuition fees go up slightly every year, the same as college bills go. Like first year i think i paid £1050, second year around £1100, dunno bout this year, didn;t pay it :P

Reply 3

iliketurtles

12

Yeah, the fees go up slightly to cover inflation - although £3000 to £3070 is 2.3% increase so you're actually very slightly better off than last year if you believe the figure of 2.8% (CPI) inflation figure over the past year.

Reply 4

Popcorn

bigred

Yeah, the fees go up slightly to cover inflation - although £3000 to £3070 is 2.3% increase so you're actually very slightly better off than last year if you believe the figure of 2.8% (CPI) inflation figure over the past year.

Okay I did my research and it shouldn't increase at all.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/FinanceForNewStudents/DG_10034860

Full-time students in 2006/2007

If you are starting a course from September 2006 onwards, the tuition fees you are charged can be up to a maximum of £3,000 a year, depending on your university, the course you choose and where in the UK you study.

If you are starting your course having taken a gap year in 2005/2006, different rules apply.

If you started your course before September 2006, the tuition fee contribution you can be charged will be up to a maximum of £1,200 a year in 2006/2007. How much you pay will depend on your personal circumstances.

Hence technically Durham University is breaking the law by doing this.

Reply 5

RobbieC

15

If in doubt ask Rayner. He's the one to ask. I have no idea. Sorry.

How are the exams and whatnot going Chris?

Reply 6

Popcorn

RobbieC

If in doubt ask Rayner. He's the one to ask. I have no idea. Sorry.

How are the exams and whatnot going Chris?

(My other screen name) :smile:

Exams are going okay Rob. Algebra lecturer was an idiot and left halfway through the course so I basically had to figure it all out myself, probability isn't my strong point either but I reckon I passed that one. The other paper for core A (calculus and geometry) was fantastic, so I reckon I passed core A on that paper alone. :biggrin:

Foundations of Physics 1 was again okay in most parts. Optics was a complete bitch and no-one I know knew how to do it. ANP was okay/not as good but Dr Flower really did have some poor notes going on there.

I've definitely passed them all so far, so I'm happy. :smile:

Reply 7

DrEvil

The £70 charged on the titution fee is a signing up charge. ALL other Universities charge this as well. It has nothing to do with the course fee, it is the signing up fee which is treated as a seperate amount. Hope that helps!

Reply 8

Popcorn

DrEvil

The £70 charged on the titution fee is a signing up charge. ALL other Universities charge this as well. It has nothing to do with the course fee, it is the signing up fee which is treated as a seperate amount. Hope that helps!

Well why didn't I pay this last year then? And why have my friends all applied for £3000 tuition fee loans then?

Reply 9

iliketurtles

12

DrEvil

The £70 charged on the titution fee is a signing up charge. ALL other Universities charge this as well. It has nothing to do with the course fee, it is the signing up fee which is treated as a seperate amount. Hope that helps!

No, the maximum tuition fee for 2007/2008 students is £3,070. It's not an additional 'signing up charge' at all :confused:

direct.gov.uk

Full-time students in 2007/2008

If you are starting a course from September 2007 onwards, the tuition fees you are charged can be up to a maximum of £3,070 a year.

Alex

Reply 10

Popcorn

I keep getting conflicting answers. I'll just go and see Steve Rayner tomorrow. Thanks for the help guys.

Reply 11

Toffeemuffincupcake

I just got my assessment back for my 2nd year from Student loans, and £3,070 is this year's maximum tuition fee, which has (as suggested) gone up due to inflation - as the cost of staff wages go up with inflation, so must the contribution made by students. Same applies to college rents and stuff.
The maximum loan is the same though, so don't worry about it - you only need to worry if you don't qualify to go through student finance (e.g. an internation student).

All of us who started our courses this year will be paying that amount, so dw you're not being treated any differently to any other undergrad on the top-up fees.
If your friends say they're only paying £3,000, no offence but they're either lying, haven't checked what next year's fee is, or their university (for instance I believe Reading is one) doesn't charge the full fees anyway.

Reply 12

Itchynscratchy

10

*feels ever so slightly smug that he avioded top-up fees and hence only pays a fraction of what the freshers do*

:biggrin:

Reply 13

Popcorn

Toffeemuffincupcake

I just got my assessment back for my 2nd year from Student loans, and £3,070 is this year's maximum tuition fee, which has (as suggested) gone up due to inflation - as the cost of staff wages go up with inflation, so must the contribution made by students. Same applies to college rents and stuff.
The maximum loan is the same though, so don't worry about it - you only need to worry if you don't qualify to go through student finance (e.g. an internation student).

All of us who started our courses this year will be paying that amount, so dw you're not being treated any differently to any other undergrad on the top-up fees.
If your friends say they're only paying £3,000, no offence but they're either lying, haven't checked what next year's fee is, or their university (for instance I believe Reading is one) doesn't charge the full fees anyway.

Lol, they're at Durham too. :biggrin:

Reply 14

Jelkin

17

Itchynscratchy

*feels ever so slightly smug that he avioded top-up fees and hence only pays a fraction of what the freshers do*

:biggrin:

That is SUCH a sore point with me. I am getting exactly the same education as everyone else on my course and in the years before, so why am I paying three times as much as some people? It's not like I get enough contact time to make it worth it. And WTF are they actually DOING with this money?