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HIGHER EDUCATION REFORMS WILL PROTECT STUDENTS AND GRADUATES AND GIVE INVESTMENT AND FREEDOM TO UNIVERSITIES - CLARKE
08 January 2004
Education and Skills Secretary Charles Clarke today published reforms to higher education that will protect the poorest students and graduates, help parents of students, and give universities the investment and freedom they need to compete with the best in the world.
Introducing the Higher Education Bill to Parliament, Mr Clarke said that the reforms mean that from 2006, 30% of the poorest full time students will be guaranteed at least £3000 in financial support per year, including bursaries where universities are charging the highest fees. To protect the poorest students: · From 2006 30% of the poorest full-time students will be protected through a guarantee of at least £3000 a year in help, through:· £1500 a year HE grant (increased from £1000 a year)· £1200 fee grant, meaning that the poorest students don’t pay the first £1200 of their fees.
And, where their university decides to charge £3000 for their course, students in receipt of maximum state support (i.e. £2,700) will not have to take out any additional loan to pay their tuition fees. So if these students are on a course costing £3,000, the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) will expect them to receive financial support of at least £300 from the university. Mr Clarke also made clear that the Government supports in principle moving to combine the £1500 a year maintenance grant with the £1200 fee grant, giving students a single grant of £2700 a year. The Government will produce a discussion paper and hold a seminar before the Second Reading of the HE Bill.To protect all students:· The student loan will be increased to meet the basic living costs of the average student. The Government wants to ensure that there is no need for any student to take on additional commercial loans to enable them to pay for essential living costs. This is in response to the recent Student Income and Expenditure Survey (SIES), a comprehensive survey of full time undergraduate students’ income and expenditure patterns. Final year full time students studying away from home will now see their loan increase by £340 in 2006/7; · All students will be protected by abolishing upfront tuition fees from 2006. Graduates will only pay when they earn over £15,000 a year (increased from £10,000 at present), at a rate they can afford through the tax system like national insurance and pension contributions; · Variable fees will be capped at £3000, rising only with inflation. The Bill ensures that the fee cannot be raised above inflation unless the Government secures the approval of Parliament by a vote in both Houses. The Government will not raise the cap in real terms through the next Parliament. The Government will establish an independent review, working with OFFA to report to Parliament based on first 3 years of their operation;
To protect graduates:· The average student will expect to repay their loan in around 13 years. However, for some it may take longer. Those who choose to take lower paid jobs, those in and out of work and those who take time out to raise a family will have any amount outstanding after 25 years wiped out· The point at which graduates start paying back their debt will rise from £10,000 at present to £15,000, with no real rate of interest. This means that a graduate earning £20,000 will pay just £8.65 per week no matter what they owe, against £17.31 per week under the current scheme.To protect freedom for universities and give them much–needed investment to compete in the world:· All universities will be able to vary fees from £0 to £3000 for any course. Variability can be between courses within universities not simply between universities – universities will be free to decide.· A fair university bursary system. To provide the minimum £300 bursary for courses of £3000, no university would have to use more than 10% of its additional fee income – even those with the highest percentage of students from the poorest backgrounds.
Charles Clarke said:“Under our new proposals 30% of the poorest full time students will be guaranteed at least £3000 per year. Disadvantaged students will get financial support to study what they want when they want. “We will also protect all students by abolishing upfront fees. This means no student – or their family – has to find tuition fees before they start their course. And we will help them further by increasing the student loan in line with living costs. Students shouldn’t have to rely on credit card and commercial debt.“Universities will be able to vary fees from £0 to £3000 – but fees can vary between courses, not just between universities. The bursary system will also be fair on both students and the universities who will use some of their extra income to provide them. . “Variability remains key. We do not agree that a substantially higher fixed fee would be the way to raise additional resources. It would be deeply damaging.“ We would be denying Universities the freedom to incentivise industrial, vocational, scientific, technical, engineering and sandwich courses, or foundation degrees, which are vital for the economic future of this country. “
Editor's Notes
This press notice relates to England
1. The new HE Grant, increase in student loan, ceiling on student loan repayments, fee remission and increase in repayment threshold to £15,000 are not part of the Bill and do not need primary legislation to introduce. They can be introduced through secondary legislation. The increased grant and the ceiling on repayments will be introduced for new students from 2006, who will be the first students asked to pay the higher variable fees. The increased loan will be available to all students from 2006.2. The Student Income and Expenditure Survey was published on 18 November 2003 and is available at www.dcsf.gov.uk/research. 3. The new student loan figures are below. The Student Loan will be increased to meet the basic living costs expenditure of the mid-range student in the recent Student Income and Expenditure Survey. The loan for final year full time undergraduate students will now increase by £340 in 2006/7. Category of Student Maximum Loan in 04/05 Maximum loan in 2006/07 (before increase) New Maximum Loan for 2006/7
First and Second Year Students
Living away from home outside London (max) £4095 £4300 £4405
Living at home (max) £3240 £3405 £3415
Living away from home in London (max) £5050 £5305 £6170
Final Year Students
Living away from home outside London (max) £3555 £3735 £4075
Living at home (max) £2830 £2975 £3085
Living away from home in London (max) £4380 £4600 £5620
4. The Bill includes provisions to:a. Transform the existing Arts and Humanities Research Board into an Arts and Humanities Research Council, to be set up by Royal Charter in the same way as the existing research councils, under the auspices of the Office for Science and Technology.b. Allow the Secretary of State to designate an independent provider for the review of student complaints not related to academic matters, and restrict the powers of university Visitors to deal with such complaints.c. Allow universities to set their own variable fees, between £0 and £3,000, which will be repaid by graduates in line with their income once they are earning over £15,000.d. Require institutions to have an access agreement with a new Office for Fair Access, setting out their approach to widening participation, before being allowed to charge fees above the standard rate.e. Prevent student debt being written off on discharge from bankruptcy, reflecting the non-commercial nature of that debt.f. Transfer student support functions to the National Assembly for Wales, giving them overall responsibility for student support in Wales.g. Permit data sharing with other government bodies and external organisations, with the consent of the person to whom that information relates, in order to simplify student support arrangements, and arrangements in other Government and HE bodies.
Click link below to view the Higher Education Bill and the Regulatory Impact Assessmenthttp://www.dcsf.gov.uk/hegateway/hereform/index.cfm
Contact Details
Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Press Notice 2004/0005
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