Aliens do exist
Redbrick Film meet Simon Pegg and the cast of Paul Page 10
Redbrick
The University of Birmingham's Student Newspaper since 1936
Friday 18th February 2011 Volume 75 | Issue 1385 redbrickonline.co.uk
What will Birmingham charge? Imperial confirms it will charge £9,000, Oxbridge likely to follow
Should convicted criminals get the vote? Pressure from the EU, anger from MPs which side do you lie on? Features, page 8
Watch This: The Lion King 48 hours to rehearse, ten days to learn lines, yet another hilarious 'Watch This presents...' Freddie Herzog & Tom Byrne Reporters
Signs are already emerging that most universities will raise fees above the £6,000 minimum from 2012 onwards, with Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial announcing that their fees will rise to the maximum of £9,000. Cambridge has said that it would be 'fiscally irresponsible' not to raise fees when its competitors would be. It also appears that it is not just the top three universities who will charge the maximum fee; most will and for several reasons. Imperial College's rector, Sir Keith O'Nions argues that the University is being forced to charge the maximum fees in order to 'maintain the excellence of the education' that they provide to their students. Firstly with the teaching grant being cut by 80%, universities estimate they need to charge at least £7,500 just to maintain their current income levels. Research intensive universities (such as the University of Birmingham) say that their 'standstill fee' is even higher if they are to
compensate for losses to research funding. Secondly, the maximum fee will be judged as a badge of quality as no university would want to be perceived as second rate by charging less. This lesson was learnt by the few universities who didn't charge the initial £3290 when the fee cap was raised back in 2002. As the NUS President Aaron Porter said to an audience of university advisors last week: 'Price will be set as a proxy for academic league table standings'. He also said: 'Prices are set on things like perceived prestige and also the desirability of the location, so the demand for London will hold up well despite the increase in fees.' Students may also feel that they are less employable if they have been to a university charging less than other institutions. The situation is worse for universities than it may first appear because of the so called 'claw back'. At a meeting last week between Nick Clegg and vice-chancellors, it emerged that the Treasury has modelled its future spending on average fees being £7,500, which
would mean the cost of funding student loans would be £3.6bn. However, if the average fees are anything more than £7,500 (as they are likely to be), the Treasury will be losing money on student finance. Where the problem lies for universities is that the Treasury would claw back any excess spending on student loans from university teaching grants; so if fees rise anything above £7,500 universities will be cut even further. While Cambridge may be leading the way in charging the maximum fee, it has also set out access plans in the form of a large waiver of £3,000 off the fee for students coming from households earning less than £25,000 per year. Students were said to be 'furious' about the waiver plan which would cut the present maximum bursary of £3,400 to £1,625 (excluding the fee waiver). President of the Student's Union at Cambridge's Sidney Sussex College Charlotte Binstead said: 'All the University has succeeded in doing is playing the game David Willetts asked of it: namely shifting the 'bursaries' so that they benefitted the Treasury's borrow-
ing figures instead of poor students' bank balances.' This news comes at the same time that government guidance has suggested that universities may be stripped of the power to charge fees above the minimum of £6,000 if they fail to submit sufficient student numbers from poorer backgrounds. Any institution wanting to charge higher fees than the minimum will have to negotiate an annual access agreement with the Office for Fair Access (Offa). Offa could impose a fine of up to £500,000 if the access agreement is broken. In a letter to Offa, David Willetts, Universities Minister, said: 'This is a valid and appropriate way for institutions to broaden access while maintaining excellence, so long as individuals are considered on their merits and institutions' procedures are fair, transparent and evidence based'. Despite this, additional government guidance says that universities can admit poorer students with lower grades than other candidates if they show potential.
Arts, page 11
Amazing comeback at Munrow
Men's football storm back from 2 down to win 7-2 Sport. page 27
Continued on Page 3
INSIDE RECIPE OF THE WEEK >> Page 23 | BAFTAS >> Page 10 | PICTURE OF THE WEEK >> Page 14 | TECHNOLOGY >> Page 17