Fees of up to £9,000 for UK students at Scottish universities

Published on Wednesday 29 June 2011 16:59

Scottish universities will be allowed to charge students from other parts of the UK fees of up to £9,000 each year under Scottish Government proposals.

Education Secretary Michael Russell has launched a consultation on plans for secondary legislation to allow institutions to set their own fees for other UK students from the academic year 2012/13.

The government wants to bring in primary legislation capping the amount at a maximum of 9,000 from 2013/14, in line with the limit set in England.

Speaking at Holyrood today, Mr Russell said he had already secured an agreement with universities to voluntarily comply with the cap until such laws could be put in place.

He said the decision could see fees range from 1,800 to 9,000 per year, with a possible average of 6,375, which was a figure used by Universities Scotland's technical working group during research in the subject.

Mr Russell said he expected the average fee in Scotland to be lower than that in England but he offered reassurance that universities would still be able to offer non-fee paying Scottish students the same number of places next year as they did this year.

The plans for legislation come after MPs voted to increase fees south of the border earlier this year.

The SNP Government has maintained it will not introduce fees or a graduate contribution for Scottish students.

Mr Russell said: "Let me say at the outset, this is not a measure I take any joy in having to implement.

"Scotland welcomes students from all over the world. We want them to continue to come here because of the quality of what we offer and the quality of where we offer it.

"But we must be the best option, not the cheapest option. And we need to move quickly.

"If we did nothing, students from England in particular would pay only just over 1,800 per year to attend a Scottish university.

"That compares to five times the total - 9,000 - in their home nation.

"Action is essential to make sure Scottish students aren't simply squeezed out by students from elsewhere across the UK."

Mr Russell told MSPs the money generated from charging other UK students would be distributed fairly across the sector.

The consultation on the legislation will run until September 2, with the hope it will be approved by the Scottish Parliament by November.

The cabinet secretary also confirmed the government was continuing to pursue the possibility of introducing a management fee for European Union (EU) students, who under current regulations are required to be treated in the same way as Scottish students.

He said: "This is a complex area and we have to take our time to explore fully what might be possible.

"My officials are continuing to engage with the European Commission and other member states, and I expect to be able to say more about this later in the year."

Mr Russell also revealed plans to bring forward more detailed proposals in a pre-legislative paper in September for reform covering universities, colleges, skills and training.

He added: "There will be tough choices. We need to be much clearer about the provision on offer - both in the extent to which it is duplicated and the degree to which it helps people secure positive outcomes when their learning is complete."

Priorities for reform include revising student support, widening access and enabling more students to move "seamlessly" from school to college to university, and into jobs.

Responding to the fees announcement, Labour's education spokesman Ken Macintosh said other UK students coming to Scotland could face paying even more for their degree than if they attended an English university, given many Scottish degrees take four years compared to three years for the equivalent south of the border.

He said: "There is a real danger that the SNP's plans to overcharge students from the rest of the UK will be counter-productive.

"At this level, they risk deterring students from studying in Scotland altogether and having the perverse effect of making the funding gap bigger, not smaller."

Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said: "Mike Russell says he wants access to higher education to be based on the ability to learn, not on the ability to pay. It appears this does not apply to students from the rest of the UK.

"This measure is ill thought-out, vindictive and does nothing to address the long-term funding pressures faced by the higher-education sector in Scotland."

Liam McArthur, Liberal Democrat education spokesman, added: "SNP ministers have promised to keep higher education free for Scottish students by raising money from fee-paying English students.

"But today's announcement suggests that four-year degrees at Scottish universities may become more costly than options south of the border. That is a concern.

"While there were aspects of the cabinet secretary's statement that were welcome, not least the review of college governance, there was still a worrying lack of detail."

The National Union of Students (NUS) in Scotland said the government had made the wrong choice on fees but welcomed proposals to legislate for improved student support and plans to legislate for targets on fair access to university.

Robin Parker, NUS Scotland president-elect, said: "These proposals could make Scottish degrees the most expensive in the whole of the UK for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, going further even than what we've seen in England.

"There's more than an element of hypocrisy here. The SNP rejected a market in tuition fees for Scottish students prior to the election, only to introduce one immediately after for students from the rest of the UK.

"We're very concerned that these proposals may prevent many of the poorest, most talented students from coming to Scotland to study and contribute to Scottish society."

Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland, said universities would now give "careful consideration" to what fee level to set.

He said: "Principals have already given their assurance to voluntarily ensure that fees for rest-of-UK students do not exceed the English maximum.

"Universities will also be conscious that the clock will soon be ticking on student applications for next year and so will want to make their intended fee levels known no later than the end of September.

"I'm certain many universities will be making announcements ahead of this in order to ensure that applicants from the rest of the UK are as well-informed as possible as they make their choices."

Professor Anton Muscatelli, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: "No-one relishes charging fees, particularly the University of Glasgow with its strong track record of widening participation in higher education.

"However, we already provide a wide range of scholarships and bursaries - including 50 new talent scholarships for those facing financial difficulties - to help bright students benefit from our world-class education and we will seek to extend these.

"No-one should be prevented from attending the University of Glasgow because of economic hardship.

"The measures outlined by the Scottish Government will play a part in ensuring Scotland's universities maintain their world-class offering."