University of Bristol Independent Student Newspaper
www.epigram.org.uk
16th November 2015
Issue 293
Philip Brulard
Tuition fees set to rise under new government proposals
Features
Bea Gentilli investigates the rise in burglaries of student houses
Government green paper outlines plans to allow ‘best’ universities to increase fees in a controversial shake up of higher education in England
On 6th November, the government released a green paper outlining proposals for controversial changes to higher education in the UK. Although the focus on teaching quality and improving the student experience has been welcomed, the suggestions have provoked strong criticism, especially for increasing marketisation of higher education in the UK. The new plans would introduce a stronger correlation between teaching standards and tuition fees, with the highest ranking universities in England able to increase fees in line with inflation from 2017/18. Universities would be ranked according to the quality of teaching, student experience, graduate job prospects and drop-out rates under a
and former Bristol SU Postgraduate Officer commented that the plans put ‘a particular kind of student at the heart of the system: those who can afford higher fees and study fulltime.’ The green paper, which was released the same week as a mass student demonstration in London against rising costs of higher education, also outlined proposals to replace current university agencies with an Office for Students (OfS), which would oversee the ranking process. A spokesman from the University of Bristol told Epigram that higher education funding was a ‘national issue’, as increases in fees did not increase the amount of money universities received, but instead passed part of the ‘burden’ of funding from the government to students. ‘Universities must be sufficiently funded to ensure we can deliver
the high quality education students need and expect, and the value of the tuition fee has been eroded by inflation. ‘We do however recognise the effects that any rise in fees would have on all our students, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are making progress in attracting students from widening participation backgrounds: in 2014-15 we saw increases in the percentage of applications and intake in several widening participation categories. We realise however there is more to be done.’ The plans also included the prospect of exempting universities from Freedom of Information (FOI) requests ‘to level the playing field’ with private education providers, who are not subject to the legislation. continued on page 4
Letters A love letter to Epigram / Sophie Hunter
Sarah Newey Editor
new Teaching Excellence Framework. Institutions which performed best in these areas would subsequently be able to increase fees above the current limit of £9,000. ‘It seems ridiculous that different universities would be allowed to charge different prices,’ one student told Epigram, questioning whether this would lead to a more ‘elitist’ educational system. Tom Phipps, Union Affairs Officer at Bristol SU, told Epigram that ‘measures used to determine teaching excellence seem flawed. It is unclear how graduate employment earnings are a good way of measuring teaching quality.’ Similarly, Gordon Marsden, Labour Shadow Higher Education Minister, called the proposals a ‘Trojan Horse for increased tuition fees and a twotier system,’ while Sorana Vieru, NUS Vice-President for higher education
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Clifton Village Page 16
Travel
Which is better, Bristol or Australia? There’s only one way to find out... Page 24