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.