Tuition fees are never far from news headlines – should they be increased? Decreased? How do we make them fair? No one quite seems to quite know how to answer what is the best way to fund higher education sustainably in the UK. The possibility of differential tuition fees was a prominent topic at this year’s Universities UK conference in Exeter, but what does this mean? In simple terms, students would pay different prices, depending on their degree and quality of education. Sounds confusing? Let’s break it down.
What is Meant by Differential Fees
Currently, undergraduate tuition fees sit at £9,535 annually in England and Wales, an increase of 3% from the previous year’s £9,250. Differential fees would change this. Under this system, tuition costs would vary based on factors such as teaching standard, subject, and institution ranking.
The office for students (OfS), which regulates higher education, has been floating the idea of differential funding. Right now, it ranks universities into 4 categories according to the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) – gold, silver, bronze and requires improvement – hypothetically, this framework could be the basis of a tiered pricing system, where ‘gold’ institutions charge more, and lower rated ones less.
Why it is being Considered Now
If you are a student, you know how financially draining the university experience can be. Rising living costs, inflation and tight government funding have left universities struggling financially, hence the steady increase in tuition fees. More than 40% of universities in England are running financial deficits now, and over half have closed courses and shed staff in an attempt to save money.
As university chancellors press for clearer funding strategies, skills minister Jacqui Smith confirmed a higher education white paper will be published on the issue this autumn – this could provide us some more clarity on what this financial approach would mean.
Pros
Those in favor of this strategy argue that this is the fairer and more transparent approach. Some universities consistently rank high in terms of student satisfaction, teaching quality, and graduate prospects, so why shouldn’t they be able to charge more for what they offer? Furthermore, if tuition was linked to quality of education, institutions could better be held accountable for underperforming.
There is the economic logic too that some courses cost more to teach, such as engineering or medicine due to their resource heavy content, so to maintain high quality education in these fields, higher costs should be applied.
Cons
Critics warn that differential fees could increase inequality. If better universities cost more, those from disadvantaged backgrounds may be unfairly priced out, despite their passions and potential. According to a poll by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), two thirds of students believe courses should all have the same fees, and student voices matter regarding these decisions. Less costly programmes – mostly creative subjects and humanities – may be perceived as less valuable, potentially deterring applicants.
What these differential fee levels could look like in practice is yet to be determined. For example, would the cheapest remain at the current fee level, or would that be the most expensive? There are many questions unanswered by this new proposal, and it is important to remember this is just a proposal, not a guaranteed plan. However, the debate is heating up. For students, this outcome and these discussions will directly affect how they finance their university experiences, and the cost of their degrees will depend on what they study, where and how well they are taught.