University tuition fees to rise to £9,535 in England next year – Irvine Times

Bridget Philipson said increasing the maximum tuition fees from £9,250 for local students to £9,535 next year “wasn’t an easy decision”.

University tuition fees will rise for the first time in eight years to help universities facing “severe financial challenges”, the Education Secretary has said.

It comes after university leaders warned of significant financial concerns as a result of frozen tuition fees paid by domestic students and a drop in international students.

The previous government raised the cap on university tuition fees in England to £9,000 a year in 2012, but it has been frozen at £9,250 for domestic students since 2017.

In a statement to the House of Commons on Monday, Ms Phillipson also announced that student maintenance loans in England would increase next year, which the government said would give students an extra £414 a year.

University tuition fees will rise in line with inflation by 3.1%, with the changes coming into effect from the 2025/26 academic year.

Announcing the rise, Ms Phillipson told MPs: “We will fix the foundations, secure the future of higher education so that students can benefit from a world-class education for generations to come.”

She added: “Raising the fee cap was not an easy decision, but I want to be crystal clear that it will not cost graduates more each month when they start repaying their loans.

“Universities are responsible for managing their own finances and must act to remain sustainable.”

Maintenance loans available to low-income families will also increase in line with inflation from next year to help students with living costs.

The Education Secretary said: “There’s no point in keeping tuition fees low for prospective students if universities aren’t there for them to attend, nor if students can’t afford to support themselves while they study.”

She added that the maximum tuition fees for foundation classroom courses will be reduced to £5,760 from the 2025/26 academic year.

The Government is calling on universities to step up their work to increase access for disadvantaged students in exchange for increased tuition fees.

The Department for Education (DfE) will announce a package of higher education reforms in the coming months.

In its assessment of university finances in May, higher education regulator the Office for Students (OfS) said 40% of universities in England were expected to be in deficit in 2023/24.

Universities UK (UUK), which represents 141 universities, recently called on the government to increase funding for teaching in England by linking tuition fees to inflation and restoring the tuition grant.

The plan from UUK, published in September, said funding for tuition per pupil in England was at its “lowest point since 2004” and the current fee of £9,250 would cost £5,924 in 2012/13.

Earlier this year, the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) warned that universities faced “disaster” if they were not given an emergency bailout.

Following Monday’s announcement, Joe Grady, UCU general secretary, said the tuition fee increase was “both economically and morally wrong”.

She said: “Taking more money from debt-ridden students and giving it to overpaid vice-chancellors is ill-conceived and will not come close to solving the sector’s fundamental problems.”

Alex Stanley, vice-president of higher education at the National Union of Students (NUS), said: “Higher education is currently in crisis.

“Students are being asked to foot the bill to keep the lights and heating on in their university buildings and prevent their courses from being closed.

“It is and can only be a sticking plaster. Universities cannot continue to be funded by an ever-increasing student debt burden.

But Vivienne Stern, chief executive of UUK, said the government’s decision was “the right thing to do”.

She added: “England’s decade-long freeze has seen inflation erode the real value of student fees and maintenance loans by around a third, which is completely unsustainable for both students and universities.

“Keeping pace with inflation stops the value of fees from falling year on year.

“Importantly, this change will not make students pay more for upfront tuition; repayments are linked to earnings above the £25,000 threshold. The increase in maintenance loans is also welcome and important.’