University of York in tuition fees battle (From York Press)
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University of York in tuition fees battle
9:23am Wednesday 16th March 2011 in News
Dr Jane Grenville: Pro-vice chancellor for students
THE University of York is resisting pressure to confirm whether it will triple its tuition fees to £9,000 a year.
The university plans to announce its decision on tuition fee levels for 2012 in June or July, when delayed Government plans for higher education are released. York St John University was also “unable to confirm” what its tuition fees would be.
But students have criticised the delay for giving students less time to make higher education decisions. Several universities have already announced their intentions to charge the maximum £9,000, in line with Government plans to raise tuition fees to between £6,000 and £9,000.
Timothy Ngwena, University of York Student Union president, said: “I can understand why the university like most other institutions, wants to wait for this paper before making a firm commitment on its fee level. It does, however, add to the anxiety of current and future students.
“This will require the university to engage in an ongoing dialogue with current and future students, alongside their representatives, to ensure their short and long term plans, do not cause detriment to the reputation, value and worth of a University of York degree in parallel with the student experience.“
Dr Jane Grenville, the pro-vice chancellor for students at the University of York, is reported to have said no university will charge less than £7,500 as “the current cost of educating an undergraduate is about £6,800 – no one is going to charge less than that”.
The Government has used average fees of £7,500 to model its proposals, but higher education experts have suggested that most universities will want to charge near to £9,000 to avoid being seen as a poorer option.
A spokesman for the University of York said: “We expect to make a decision for 2012 onwards at the university council meeting in June or July. That’s depending on Government legislation.”
It was revealed yesterday that according to leaked documents, Leeds University plans to charge students the maximum £9,000 tuition fees.
Exeter University, Imperial College London and Oxbridge have all confirmed plans to charge £9,000 a year.
Comments(24)
yorknights
says...
9:50am Wed 16 Mar 11
MrsHoney
says...
10:23am Wed 16 Mar 11
As for money grabbing, someone has to pay for the students! Do you think it costs nothing to educate them?
Mentos
says...
10:29am Wed 16 Mar 11
"And as for the staff...."
Go on, you have ranted enough, say what you mean by this phrase
metsaagain
says...
10:34am Wed 16 Mar 11
metsaagain
says...
10:38am Wed 16 Mar 11
G.Caprichos
says...
10:49am Wed 16 Mar 11
metsaagain wrote:Seriously? You can't believe it? Researching something like that is far too much effort. Much easier to reprint emails from councillors or press releases from supermarkets...
and while we're at it, how come the Press is reporting a non-story about university fees, whilst the national press is reporting a story about a significant breach in data confidentiality on the University of York's website! Have a look on the BBC news site under local news from York! I can't believe that someone at the Press doesn't at least have an RSS feed to pick up things like this or even occasionally reads the York students newspapers....
Pete the Brickie
says...
10:57am Wed 16 Mar 11
MrsHoney wrote:Excellent comment, another thing I would say is if students don't know whether York or any university is going to charge any less than the maximum why don't they just assume the worst case when planning until they find out any different?
Dear me, sounds like someone has a chip on their shoulder about what class they were born into!! Actually, people who can't afford the fees, and don't get a reasonably paid job, will never have to pay their loan back!! So it's not just the middle class who can go to Uni, it's anyone. As for money grabbing, someone has to pay for the students! Do you think it costs nothing to educate them?
YSTClinguist
says...
11:28am Wed 16 Mar 11
At York St John's, the uni has been keeping tight lipped about fees, although the YSJSU President did once come into a Green party meeting and hint at a specific figure, but that was a long time ago now and things could have changed. Look at Leeds uni and the recent leaked document, they are discussing charging £9,000 as they think their courses are worth it!
ElsieLady
says...
12:46pm Wed 16 Mar 11
MrsHoney wrote:According to Nick Clegg on the BBC website he thinks "60% of graduates will never have to pay off the full value of their loans... They will be paying out much less. After a certain period of time they won't have to pay it off at all." So who is paying for universities? Are they charging twice as much because they are expecting to get only half the money in? Its shambollic.
Dear me, sounds like someone has a chip on their shoulder about what class they were born into!! Actually, people who can't afford the fees, and don't get a reasonably paid job, will never have to pay their loan back!! So it's not just the middle class who can go to Uni, it's anyone. As for money grabbing, someone has to pay for the students! Do you think it costs nothing to educate them?
Pete the Brickie
says...
1:09pm Wed 16 Mar 11
ElsieLady, Selby says...
12:46pm Wed 16 Mar 11
According to Nick Clegg on the BBC website he thinks "60% of graduates will never have to pay off the full value of their loans... They will be paying out much less. After a certain period of time they won't have to pay it off at all." So who is paying for universities? Are they charging twice as much because they are expecting to get only half the money in? Its shambollic.
No the students borrow money from the government and use it to pay the University. The government is also supposed to be stopping Universties from overcharging or profiteering by cutting their grants if they do. In answer to your question we are all paying for universities, the government is simply trying to get those who gain from them to shoulder the burden more.
Phantom1974
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2:17pm Wed 16 Mar 11
Jennifer Hunter
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2:18pm Wed 16 Mar 11
When I went to Uni (1982-86), only the top few per cent of my peer group achieved university places. Leeds Education Authority paid my tuition fees and I was awarded a maintenance grant. I lived within my income and did vacation jobs to subsidise my studies and travels. I was awarded a 2:1 class of degree which, at that time, was a prestigious achievement. Bring back the following:
(a) proper courses with stringent standards
(b) fewer places
(c) abolish 'doss courses'
That would be a good starting point for getting higher education back on track.
MrsHoney
says...
3:26pm Wed 16 Mar 11
No University will be allowed to put it's fee up to the maximum unless it can prove that it's worth the money. In other areas of life you pay for quality why not at University? Think of the higher salaries needed to attract really good lecturers and staff. It's not down to greed it's about providing a quality service.
Jennifer I totally agree and have been saying this all along, there is absolutely no need for so many people to go to University. It was Tony Blair pushing for more and more people to go that's been a major cause in the rise in tuition fees. We simply can't pay for that many people to go to Uni, especially to do degrees that are more recreational than useful. Are there really that many jobs that require someone to have a degree? Or will people find (like I did and it was over 15yrs ago I graduated) that there aren't enough graduate jobs to go round and you're over qualified for other jobs.
As far as I can see we are going to end up not only paying for people's tuition fees because they'll not earn enough to pay back the loans, but we'll be paying for their income support as well! Some common sense is needed.
Phantom1974
says...
3:40pm Wed 16 Mar 11
Jennifer Hunter
says...
3:52pm Wed 16 Mar 11
I can only imagine that Universities such as York University will put up their tuition fees (a) because they can and (b) so that they are regarded as being prestigious institutions. Oxford etc. will charge maximum fees - this has also been announced recently.
A lot of people in universities have no idea of what happens outside universities. I should know - my brother-in-law is a university professor and his idea of cutbacks is from three bottles of champagne to two at the weekend!! :) In universities they seem to live in an ivory tower oblivious to what is really going on in the outside world.
Last summer I was doing some summer school work at York St. John's. I overheard a group of folks (probably lecturers, I'm not certain) talking about various issues while I was purchasing a coffee at the coffee bar. It made me realise how protected they are in their environments. They do not have to struggle to find their next work contract like people on the outside. Money has been poured into universities to improve their facilities/grounds etc. while outside contractors stuggle to make ends meet. This is just one example. At St. Johns they are (or were last summer) spending a fortune improving some car parking area on campus - I thought it looked fine the previous year when I was there.
metsaagain
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4:36pm Wed 16 Mar 11
Ignatius Lumpopo
says...
5:11pm Wed 16 Mar 11
Jennifer Hunter
says...
5:34pm Wed 16 Mar 11
It wasn't people like me who took/led us into recession. I was brought up to cut my suit according to my cloth - very apt as some of my forebears were weavers. I have neither overspent nor spent others' money. As for leading people out of recession -well, I made some useful suggestions earlier. Universities have had money thrown at them over the years. They have run useless, impractical courses which have obviously been a waste of money. Many in universities have had a comparatively 'cushy number' compared to people in industry for rather a long time.
As for being analytical - I am in a better position than you to be analytical. I have time to be analytical because my country has thrown me and my skills on the scrapheap. The scrapheap is growing larger every day and patronising academics are very welcome to experience the scrapheap for themselves. In fact, it may be a rather humbling experience for them, teach some of them humility.
I wish you good luck re: your contract. The real world is tough and when a person's contract is not renewed, it's difficult to find alternative employment. I've been educated in that respect as well.
metsaagain
says...
9:01pm Wed 16 Mar 11
Finally, I fully expected to you to use and understand the word 'extrapolate'; that's why I used it! It's hardly a complex, technical term- I remember using it doing O level maths. I know this isn't the Times Literary Supplement, but surely its better to use a wide vocabulary than to 'dumb down'; that really would be patronising ; )
Mentos
says...
9:29pm Wed 16 Mar 11
Mentos wrote:Still waiting yorknights, york.
yorknights, york - I don't want to quote all of your post but what do you mean by the sentence: "And as for the staff...." Go on, you have ranted enough, say what you mean by this phrase
Or have you run out of words. Justify this or withdraw it
AdoptedbyYork
says...
9:41pm Wed 16 Mar 11
Secondly, the university is one of the biggest employers in the city, before you start slagging off the university perhaps you should think about anyone you know who may work there...?
Thirdly when you check the facts the reason the sector as a whole has to charge more money is that the government has cut the HEFCE teaching budget and therefore has to make the shortfall somewhere. The actual cost of teaching a student is more than the current £3k that is is at the moment. If the government pull the funding/subsidy then that money has to come from somewhere. Universities dont want to do this but they've been made to do this. In the Browne report he explicitly stated that there shouldnt be an upper limit. The coalition ignored this and look at where we are.
It certainly seems that Higher Education is taking a kicking from the public and the media. Without it we wouldnt have doctors, nurses, dentists, teachers, paramedics etc. The new system (whilst i may not agree with the methods) is in reality a tax for those who benefit from a degree and will repay it when they can afford it.
Jennifer Hunter
says...
12:01pm Thu 17 Mar 11
The tuition fees and funding issue will start warming up. I've just read that it has been announced that £940 million has been slashed from university funding. We do need universities and we do need good people in higher education (students and tutors) - that's obvious. I would never have aspired to go to university when I was young and spent years studying had I believed otherwise. I just wish that individual institutions could make sensible cut-backs (eg. stop running doss courses and not waste money on improving facilities which don't NEED improving). Some expenditure has just been 'plain daft'!!
I've enjoyed the debate, however, and it's always good to listen to/read other people's opinions and perspectives. I learn a lot by doing that. If politicians were to do that, we'd encounter fewer problems and more problems could be sorted out. I do feel sympathy for many who teach in higher education today because so many young people achieve the highest grades at school. When I was at school, it was not the case and the 'top-notch' students could be identified more easily.
Jennifer Hunter
says...
12:01pm Thu 17 Mar 11
The tuition fees and funding issue will start warming up. I've just read that it has been announced that £940 million has been slashed from university funding. We do need universities and we do need good people in higher education (students and tutors) - that's obvious. I would never have aspired to go to university when I was young and spent years studying had I believed otherwise. I just wish that individual institutions could make sensible cut-backs (eg. stop running doss courses and not waste money on improving facilities which don't NEED improving). Some expenditure has just been 'plain daft'!!
I've enjoyed the debate, however, and it's always good to listen to/read other people's opinions and perspectives. I learn a lot by doing that. If politicians were to do that, we'd encounter fewer problems and more problems could be sorted out. I do feel sympathy for many who teach in higher education today because so many young people achieve the highest grades at school. When I was at school, it was not the case and the 'top-notch' students could be identified more easily.
G.Caprichos says...
9:39am Wed 16 Mar 11