The Honest Marketer

Monday 14 November 2011

Don’t let fees put you off…

You can still afford to go to University. That was the resounding message from the panel of experts at Birmingham’s launch of National Student Finance Day today.

The local event, spearheaded and hosted by Birmingham City University, was attended by over 80 teachers, parents and pupils from seven of the region’s schools and colleges. Events are being held up and down the country as part of the first ever National Student Finance Day, which has been initiated by the Independent Taskforce on Student Finance.

Former NUS Presidents Aaron Porter and Wes Streeting joined Birmingham City University Vice-Chancellor Professor David Tidmarsh, Aston University Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Helen Higson, University of Birmingham Guild President Mark Harrop and BCU’s Director of Student Services Pamela Bell-Ashe to share their views on the new system of student finance to be implemented in 2012.

Wes Streeting, Deputy Head of the Independent Taskforce on Student Finance, announced a raft of new information, including a mobile phone app ‘unifees2012‘, with helpful hints and plain-speaking guidance on student finances now available at
www.unifees2012.com.

The main advice given to the audience was to ’do your homework’ when you are considering university - to find out as much information as possible from the universities themselves, from the many user review websites and sources like moneysavingexpert.com. Aaron Porter was quick to stress that “visiting universities is the best way to get a sense of whether going to university is the right decision for you”.

A quick straw poll of the audience by David Tidmarsh, whose daughter is in the process of applying to university, revealed that there are a number of individuals who feel uncertain about the new finance arrangements and as such are having second thoughts about university. David summed up the panel’s feelings when he said it would be a terrible shame if people were put off going to university because of the cost, not only for the individuals themselves, but also because of the serious impact it will have on the country’s economy and skills capabilities.

Aaron felt that the natural ‘complexity’ of the funding arrangements was to blame for the confusion and misunderstanding. Research conducted recently by the Independent Taskforce found that 59% of people in England have little or no understanding of the new fee arrangements. One college said that many of its students were now giving real consideration as to whether or not to go to university because of the rising cost.

Mark Harrop viewed this tendency towards greater consideration as one of the positives of the changes to the system. He said that individuals are more likely to spend more time researching their options to find the course and the university that is right for them, which can only be a good thing. Helen Higson felt that another positive would be the focus by universities in delivering better teaching and learning and providing more financial incentives to help those from poorer socio-economic backgrounds.

Speaking about the practicalities of the new student finance arrangements, Wes noted that “students under the new regime will actually pay less in monthly repayments than students currently do now”. He relayed some of the key facts of the new system - that students don't have to pay anything up front, they will only start repaying when they are earning above £21,000 and will then only pay 9% of anything over £21,000. He pointed out that the debt is written off after 30 years and that the monthly repayments are the same regardless of whether the tuition fee is £6,000 or £9,000.

One prospective student raised concerns about the size of debt that would be accrued. Wes acknowledged that if fees were higher and the debt was therefore larger, students would be paying it off over a longer period of time, but he re-iterated the fact that the debt is wiped out after 30 years. David added that this is where 'value for money' comes into the equasion; students should be looking at what they are getting for the different fees being charged.

Another concern from the audience related to portraying the value of Higher Education over a lifetime. One college tutor, who is a strong advocate of university education, shared his own experience of leaving school with two GCSEs and now being in his fifties with a son who, by comparison, has recently graduated and is now earning £30 per hour, which is more than he has ever earned. “I wish I’d known then what I know now” were his words of advice to the many prospective students in the room.

Answering the question of value, Aaron explained that the standard figures given are that graduates will on average earn around £100,000 more than their non-graduate counterparts over a career, but for some professions, such as doctors or lawyers, the sums are even greater. Wes added that while there has been much publicity about unemployment, it is important to remember that while there is 20% youth unemployment, the outlook for graduates is actually more positive with around 10% unemployment for those aged 21 and over. “There’s never been a better time to be in education or training,” he advised, though he did stress that this didn’t just mean a university education and that young people should consider other options, like college or apprenticeships.

There was concern raised about the fact that some universities are seeking to change their fees and how individuals would be able to find out which universities were doing this. Aaron said that he was working with the Office of Fair Access, which was currently considering how best to relay the information without providing an unfair advantage to those universities who will effectively be announcing their fees for a second time. Helen also pointed out that universities will not be able to disadvantage students when changing their fees.

One prospective student raised the issue of studying abroad with many universities in Europe offering substantially lower fees. Pamela said that those considering studying abroad should do their research in the same way they would if they were looking at a British university - to make sure the course is taught in English, to investigate the teaching and learning quality and so on. David added that if prospective students are looking at European universities they should be asking how many students usually complete their studies and the time it takes to complete study as this is often longer in Europe.

Understanding whether fee arrangements will change once a student begins studying was one parent’s primary concern. Pamela pointed out the fee regime under which student first enter higher education will remain throughout their studies. Other than inflationary rises, the cost will not increase substantially and the same financial regulations will apply throughout the duration of study.

And finally the point was made that universities are fairly good at targeting prospective students with information, but that it is parents and teachers who have a real influence over the end decision. One parent was worried that if parents or teachers don’t fully understand the implications of the new fee system, they could deter individuals from going to university because of the worry of debt. Helen said that in Birmingham four of the universities have teamed up to ensure that the work of Aimhigher continues which provides information and activities to schools and colleges. She added that most universities already work with schools and colleges and are increasingly providing tailored information for parents too. Parents were urged to visit the university websites; Birmingham City University offers a Parents’ Guide (see
http://www.bcu.ac.uk/_media/docs/Parents-Guide-2011-spr.pdf)

 

4 comments:

  1. Very well written and informative piece. Thank you.

    FYI there are iPhone and Android versions of the app are also available on their stores.

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  2. Sorry, cannot agree with the previous comment of congratulation. You seem to have completely avoided the elephant in the room question. Namely - In this ever-so-equal United Kingdom. why is it fair that English students pay up to 9 grand pa tuition fees while Welsh & NI students pay only 3.5 grand pa max and Scottish students don't pay anything at all?

    Why is that acceptable in a caring-sharing 'union of equals'?

    'You can still afford to go to University'.... Certainly true in Scotland, Wales & NI but England?

    Instead of the don't worry too much happy clappy explanations as to why a 27k debt isn't sooooo bad - I tend to get as mad as hell that people in England are being so discrimated against. Yet hardly anyone seems to notice, do they? Much better apparently to keep schtum....

    Government Ministers like to lecture the English population that there is no such thing as a free lunch or even a free further education - when quite plainly, there is - just north of Carlisle....

    Next, you have to ask yourself how they can afford such luxuries when south of the border it's so off limits.... (big clue; Joel Barnett, Labour's Chief Sec' to the Treasury, 1978)

    Anyway can't type any more - off to the Chemist to get 2 prescriptions. Grand total of £14.80 - yet another thing we have to pay for but is free, free, free in Scotland, Wales & NI.

    I love being part of this 'sharing the spoils', 'stronger and fairer together' UK, don't you?

    Oh, almost forgot - maybe your younger readers might want to study in Scotland to take advantage of all that lovely free tuition learning? Yeah, well they can forget that right away. If you're English and you want to study at a Scottish Uni' they will charge you the full 9 grand pa fee. If however, you come from anywhere in the EU you get your degree free gratis and for nowt.....

    Like I said, 'elephant in the room' alert.

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  3. @Alfred the ok - I don't think it is an elephant in the room and I think you are quite right to raise the fundamental issue of students having to pay higher fees.

    Unfortunately, I was unable to write up all the comments from the one-hour event, but it did start with our Vice-Chancellor explaining that the rise in fees was not the choice of unviersities and is something that has been forced on the sector as a result of the Government deciding to no longer fund Higher Education through teaching grants.

    All of the issues you raise - in terms of the differential fees and prescription charge policies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - relate to political decisions that have been taken by the relevant Governments. As such, it's up to people like you (and I) to continue to show our disapproval of these political decisions by lobbying MPs and, when the time comes, through voting.

    There has and continues to be strong protest against the fees, most recently with protests in London last Wednesday. Mark Harrop, the Guild President at the University of Birmingham, updated us on the continued protest at the event - he took a party of students to the protest from Birmingham - and the fact that we should continue to fight a decision that potentially damages access to Higher Education.

    We fundamentally believe in the value of a university education. At the moment, the situation we are in is that students will have to pay higher fees from September 2012. Without public funding, the universities have no other option - the money to pay for lectures, facilities, equipment, student support etc has to come from somewhere. We don't want people to be put off by this. Whether you agree with it or not, the repayment scheme is manageable and that is the message we want to get across. That's not to say we agree with it or that we shouldn't still continue to protest against higher fees and make the point that students shouldn't be put in a position of such large debts in the first place.

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  4. Nicely written. Thank you.

    But I still have some reservations pertaining to BCU. I am an international student just concluded my masters with a tuition fee of 10,350. I however have an outstanding balance of 2,000 to complete the tuition fees. I immediately got an offer after my course with a world IT organisation here in UK and I'm on the verge of losing the job as BCU is not ready to furnish them with my educational information.

    Though, its not reasonable to owe the university but I believe that there are certain situations that the school need to look into as a form of supporting few students in my case.

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