Tuition fees charged to full-time
undergraduate
(first cycle) home and EU students are regulated by government. Fees
charged to part-time students, all overseas students and all postgraduate students are not regulated and are determined by the institution.
Under
the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998, full-time undergraduate
students beginning a course in the academic year 1998/99 were required
for the first time to pay means-tested tuition fees. For the academic
year 2005/06, fees stood at £1,175.
England
The
Higher Education Act 2004 allowed institutions in England to set
variable tuition fees for new students of up to £3,000 per year from
2006/07, with any increases linked to the level of inflation. The
maximum tuition fee for 2007/08 is £3,070. In practice almost all
institutions charge the maximum.
Eligible students are entitled
to a student loan to cover the full amount of tuition fees. The Student
Loans Company (SLC), responsible for administering government-funded
loans and grants, pays the fees direct to the institution on students'
behalf. Students repay these loans once they have left university and
are earning over £15,000. Interest on the loan is linked to inflation.
Full
details of tuition fees and financial support arrangements for students
beginning higher education courses in England in 2007 is available from
the Directgov student finance website:
The
Higher Education Act 2004 gave responsibility for the tuition fee
regime to the National Assembly for Wales (NAfW). The Welsh Assembly
Government (WAG) then ruled out variable fees in Wales until 2007. From
2007/08, Welsh higher education institutions are able to charge fees of
up to £3,070, as in England, but students living in Wales and studying
in Wales have to pay only £1,250, the rest being met by a non
means-tested fee grant of £1,845 paid directly to the institution. As
in England, eligible students are entitled to a student loan to cover
tuition fees payable.
Full details of tuition fees and financial
support arrangements for students beginning higher education courses in
Wales in 2007 is available from the Student Finance Wales website:
The
Higher Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 was passed in April
2005. This introduced variable deferred tuition fees from 2006 (as in
England). Arrangements are similar to arrangements in England.