tuition fees demo

The rise of tuition fees has been covered at great length recently and there are lots of conflicting ideas about how people will be affected by the changes.  There are also a lot of concerns over whether students will still be able to get financial support in the form of government grants or student loans.  The situation regarding part-time students of universities is also being addressed by the proposed Government changes, with the possibility of them receiving funding to help with their studies which has not happened in the past.

The rise in tuition fees is still not a set item.  The plan is still subject to Parliamentary approval and then will not be rolled out until 2012.  The fee increases are subject to intense scrutiny by governing bodies and any university wishing to raise their fees above the £6,000 have to show what they are using the extra money on and to ensure that it includes proper programmes of inclusion for all applicants.

There are numerous funding schemes available to students who wish to attend university to ensure that as many students as before can still enrol into the higher education system.  The government is trying very hard to ensure that all applicants have the necessary help available to get into university and to help more students from poorer backgrounds to attend, where they might not otherwise have been able to.

There is a £150m Scholarship currently being made available to potential students from less advantaged backgrounds to give them the option of a free first or foundation year.  Part-time students will also be able to apply for student loans  – this is the first time they have been eligible to do this, although they will not be eligible for a maintenance grant.  Part-time students need to be studying for 25% of their time.  The nature of their type of study is why they are not eligible for a maintenance grant, as it will be felt that many students who are part-time do this for a reason which is more likely to be work related.

The repayment system has also been overhauled, with some very good points being included.  The loan is no longer repayable at £15,000, this has been raised to £21,000 and this will increase each year in line with earnings from 2016.  Students who do not earn over this amount will not be charged a “real” rate of interest on their account, however, students earning over £21,000 will be charged a proper rate and will have to pay back their loan at a repayment rate of 9%.  The amount of interest charged on the loan balance will increase as the graduates income increases – with the highest rate earners paying back the most money.  All loans are written off after 30 years, irrespective of outstanding payments.  This ensures that a graduate who suddenly might start earning a large amount of money after 25 years will only have to pay back their loan for 5 years before their loan is then written off and is not therefore punished for their good fortune.

Overall the new system covers as many eventualities as are foreseeable and hopes to address the current problems that a lot of graduates face that as soon as they start earning a semi-decent wage, they have to start making large contributions to their student loan accounts.  The new system works so that any graduate that stays as a lower end wage earner will not necessarily ever have to pay back their loan.