NEWS WHEREâ€™S MY MONEY? UNIVERSITIES TO FACE FINES FOR CHARGING ÂŁ9,000 TUITION FEES The Coalition is currently debating [OL WVZZPIPSP[` VM PTWVZPUN Ă„ULZ \WVU universities deemed to be charging â€œunreasonably highâ€? tuition fees from next year. Nick Clegg has expressed concern at the possibility that some universities may charge the maximum rate in order to improve their prestige, whilst Vince Cable worries that too many will charge ÂŁ9,000 to subsidise revenue lost as a result of the new cap on international students. The emergence of this proposal in itself raises an important question: on what grounds will universities justify the introduction of the maximum ÂŁ9,000 fee? Ministers have said that the maximum fee should only be charged in â€˜exceptional JPYJ\TZ[HUJLZÂť I\[ UV JSLHY KLĂ„UP[PVU of this term has been provided. Russell Group universities such as Oxford and *HTIYPKNL TH` HYN\L [OH[ [OLPY WYLZtige demands high fees, or that the high quality of facilities and teaching that they provide demonstrate exceptional circumstances. However, Exeter recently ILJHTL [OL Ă„YZ[ UVU 9\ZZLSS .YV\W PSSL[[Z HYN\LZ [OH[ \UP]LYZP[PLZ HYL ILPUN MVYJLK [V ÂşĂ…` ISPUKÂť HUK urges the government to delay their plans until the consequences of the proposed changes have been â€˜coherently and rigorously examinedâ€™. The government has been further criticised for creating an unrealistic budget. Plans to fund student loans have been based on a national average fee of ÂŁ7,500. Therefore, if too many universities charge the maximum fee, funding for loans may quickly be exhausted, and it TH` IL KPMĂ„J\S[ [V Z\IZPKPZL HU` KLĂ„JP[ from elsewhere. Worryingly, Ministers will have no legal power to set the fee that an individual university can charge. However, Vice *OHUJLSSVYZ OH]L ILLU ^HYULK [OH[ Z[\dent places and research funding could be cut if they charge ÂŁ9,000 without adLX\H[L Q\Z[PĂ„JH[PVU