Teesside announces tuition fees for 2012/13

The University has announced proposals for a new fee strategy and access agreement for implementation from 2012 onwards.

The two key elements concerning fees for full time UK and EU students are:

That with effect from September 2012, the University intends to charge a fee of £8,500 per annum for all full time degree programmes.

That the fee for full time foundation degrees, full time HNDs and any other full time qualifications below degree level should be £6,000 per annum.

The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Graham Henderson, explained that given significant cuts in public expenditure and the major anticipated reduction in funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), it is important for our continued success that the University charges a fee that not only meets our costs, but also:

• provides a platform for the maintenance, and where possible further enhancement, of the quality of the student learning experience • enables us to continue to invest in the quality of our campus and • offsets the likely loss of other income streams.

Continuing to provide an outstanding student experience Professor Henderson said: ‘Today’s announcement is the culmination of several months of consultation and planning and our decision to charge £8,500 per annum for degree courses from 2012 has been chosen to both reflect the value of a Teesside University degree and our desire to continue to provide our students with an outstanding student experience.

‘It is important that this new level of fee is seen in the context of the associated package of grants, scholarships, loans and other support measures that will be made available to students which, in many cases, will make higher education much more accessible and affordable than it is at the present time.

‘There is no doubt that gaining a higher education adds significant value to the careers of most graduates and we genuinely hope that once potential students are made aware of the whole range of changes being proposed they will still recognise the value of higher education at Teesside.’

The proposed new fee level is conditional upon the approval of the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) who will notify all English universities of their decisions in July, 2011. The £8,500, if approved, will be for new UK and EU undergraduate students starting full-time undergraduate degree courses from the autumn of 2012.

Students on full time foundation degrees, full time HNDs and any other full time qualifications below degree level would be charged £6,000 per annum, whether studying at the University or off-site at a partner college, from September 2012.

Explaining the key elements Professor Henderson said it was important that universities helped to explain key elements of the new university fee levels and overcome some of the misunderstanding surrounding the new measures.

He emphasised that under the new fees system:

• all full time students will receive a full fee loan and University education will continue to be ‘free at the point of entry’

• most students will receive a loan towards their living costs and students from low income families will also receive additional financial support in the form of a non-repayable grant

• as a result, most students, with the exception of those from relatively high income families, will have more income to support them throughout their studies than equivalent students do at the present time

• only graduates, not students, will make payments towards the cost of their education

• no repayments will need to be made until a graduate is earning at least £21,000 per annum and repayments will then be made at the rate of 9% of salary above that level. So, a graduate earning £23,000 a year would pay 9% of £2,000, namely £180 per annum or £3.46 per week)

• all students will therefore repay less per month after graduation under the new scheme than they do now, given that under the current system the threshold for beginning to repay is set at only £15,000 per annum

• many students from low income backgrounds will also have access to relatively generous scholarships under the National Scholarship Programme to further assist them during their time at university.

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Watch Vice-Chancellor, Professor Graham Henderson's interview on the BBC Politics Show (from 28 min)