Vice chancellor defends £9k tuition fee plan
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by Trevor Sturgess
tsturgess@thekmgroup.co.uk
Kent University's vice chancellor has defended its controversial
decision to charge students £9,000 a year from 2012, warning
a lower fee would mean job losses and other cutbacks.
But Professor Julia Goodfellow insisted a rise in fee waivers
and bursaries, especially for students from poorer backgrounds,
would reduce the average to around £8,000.
The government had expected most universities to charge £6,000,
with only a handful going for the permitted maximum of £9,000.
However, ministers have been surprised by the high number opting
for the higher fee, alarmed by a potential massive loan bill.
It has prompted a veiled threat from Business Secretary Vince
Cable to cap student numbers.
Prof Goodfellow said the university faced steep cuts in
Government grants towards teaching and capital investment and a
lower fee risked the university's future.
It already cost between £10,000 and £12,000 to educate a
student.
"We would have become a non-sustainable institution if we'd
charged £6,000," she told the Gazette in an exclusive
interview."
"It became clear to us that in order to sustain the university
on this wonderful campus in Canterbury and the campus in Medway, we
would have to charge the higher rate."
She added:"A lower fee would mean fewer jobs and not as good an
experience for the student at a time when they are going to be
demanding more. That's certainly not good for the region."
Asked what she thought about the new system of student and
university financing, she replied: "Our democratically-elected
government has chosen this system and we will obviously work with
it."
She accepted that parents and young people would be worried
about the new fees but said more help would be available for
students from poorer backgrounds.
Loans would only be repayable when the graduate earned more than
£21,500, and at nine per cent of income above that level.
It was hard to calculate how the fee would affect student
applications, but she accepted there could be a small
reduction.
However, Kent University was popular and she did not expect that
to change.
All the evidence showed that despite the current economic
situation, graduates still had a better chance of a good job with
higher pay than young people without a degree.
She had this message for anxious families: "Come and talk to us.
See what the reality is. Don't automatically write it off."
The university has an annual turnover of £170m and employs
nearly 3,000 people.
Its case for higher fees will be considered by the Office for
Fair Access (OFFA), with a decision due by mid-July.
Tuesday, April 12 2011
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