Issue 147 ·Wednesday, January 29, 2003
UEA's independent student newspaper
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But poorer students could be BETTER off under the new education funding system UEA IS aiming to compete with the top-ten universities, which could mean charging the maximum of £3,000 tuition fees per year in 2006. In light of last week's white paper, students could now find themselves in debts of up to £21 ,000, after they graduate. Vice-chancellor David Eastwood claims UEA is a high quality University and it will need to reflect that in its position with other universities, when deciding the amount UEA will charge. "lt is quite probable that a lot of universities will charge £3,000, and we will re-invest some of that in facilitating access."
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REBECCA LAWRENCE News Editor "It's possible you will end up with a rather large number of universities saying we will go for the top of the band. We'll need to get a feel for that before we finally position ourselves." The Vice-chancellor aims to get UEA in the top ten universities in the next few years. "I think we are on a roll. I have ambitious plans for the University. We can and want to compete with the top universities." Speaking exclusively to Concrete, Charles Clarke said he had no idea what UEA might consider charging. "I think there will be more varied fees than people think. It is difficult to say what
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UEA will do. Universities can put fees down and I think some will do that, but I think more will put them up." In a message to UEA students Charles Clarke said he hoped students at the University will look at many of his proposals. "Both about the future of universities and about student finance in the round and I hope they will come to a balanced judgement." Union Finance Officer Michelle Pratt said she thinks UEA will charge the maximum for some courses. "UEA classes some of its schools, such as ENV, as world class. At Union Council we discussed charging in line with top universities in order to compete. If UEA wants to compete, we've got to charge the same amount, in order to have the same resources
Richard Herring, Big Brovaz and Dedbeat weekender
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