Vice-Chancellor warns: tuition fees will rise again
Hood, right, believes students should pay more than £3000 a year
University Vice-Chancellor Dr. John Hood has unleashed a fresh debate over tuition fees after announcing that further increases were “inevitable”. The comments came at the end of Freshers’ Week, which welcomed the first wave of new Oxford students to pay the controversial new top-up fees. Speaking at his annual oration, Dr. Hood said that tuition fees would have to rise considerably above their £3,000-a-year current level if the University was to avoid bankruptcy.
Hood claimed Oxford faced a “grave” financial situation. Hood insisted that the fees would have to be raised in order to “sustain the exceptional quality of the student body and the educational experience we offer”. The rector of Imperial College London, Sir Richard Sykes, has already admitted that they may charge as much as ten thousand pounds a year if the cap on tuition fees were removed. Oxford would almost certainly follow suit.
Oxford, along with other top universities in the country, have already began attempts to persuade the government to raise, or abolish altogether, the cap placed on university fees in 2004. Recently, ministers have promised to review fee levels again in 2009, despite predictions from finance experts that current first year students could leave university with debts as high as £22,000.
Bill Rammell, Minister for Higher Education said, “No real terms increase will be possible before 2010, and only after then if there is a vote passed by both houses of parliament.” Freshers who are already facing the prospect of these debts have been critical of the proposals. James Rawles, a Biology student from Balliol, slammed the potential increases. He said, “This is a terrible idea that will greatly discourage people from applying to University.
OUSU President Alan Strickland is planning to submit a motion to OUSU council this week condemning any potential rise in tuition fees. He said, “The proposals would hinder fair access, and encourage students to choose a course based on financial cost, rather than academic benefit.” Strickland said he wants “complete transparency” from Dr. Hood about his position on the fees, and the future of Oxford University tuition charges.
NUS National President Gemma Tumelty said, “They say that a rise in fees is a forgone conclusion, but we beg to differ. We all want to see excellence in teaching and research but the cash crises in UK universities should not be burdened on students in this way.” Hood’s latest comments on tuition fees add to the growing furore surrounding him as he builds towards a crucial vote by the University’s Congregation of dons in sixth week.
Hood hopes to pass a motion granting majority control of the University’s executive to outsiders, breaking 800 years of tradition.
11th Oct 2006