Education Secretary Damian Hinds has told England's universities not to "scaremonger" over their finances, ahead of a review which is expected to call for a cut in tuition fees. There have been warnings that lowering the fees to £7,500 per year could put some at risk of going bust.
But Mr Hinds accused universities of "distorting the picture" and said the sector was in good financial health. The fees review is set to promise students better "value for money".
The review into student finance and university and college funding, chaired by Philip Augar, is due to report next week.
The review could include:
- Tuition fees lowered from a maximum of £9,250 per year to £7,500
- This fee income would be replaced by direct funding to universities from government
- More money in students' pockets while they are studying, with access to more maintenance loans and the return of means-tested grants
- Students on vocational courses having wider access to student loans and financial support
- Changes to the repayment terms and interest charges, such as lengthening the payback time beyond 30 years
- A way of limiting student numbers, such as a minimum grade threshold of three Ds at A-level
- An individual "lifelong" entitlement to student finance up to the value of an undergraduate degree, which could be used for vocational or academic courses
- Different levels of funding for different subjects, which would recognise that some degree courses, such as arts subjects, are much cheaper to deliver. Different levels of fees would be more controversial.
- More incentives for shorter, cheaper two-year accelerated degrees
- Centralise the budgets for widening access to university, rather than taking it from tuition fees
- Examine the cost of university accommodation
Commissioned by the prime minister, the review is expected to be one of the last major announcements before Theresa May leaves No 10.
