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EXTREMELY CONCERNING
Student union president expresses tuition fee worries Oxford Half Marathon is back
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COMMENTS made by the vice-chancellor of Oxford University about charging higher ver tuition fees have been branded tuit as ““extremely concerning” by the president of the university’s stud student union. Professor Andrew Hamilton Pr believes institutions that provide superior education should be allowed to charge higher tuition fees despite students already paying £9,000 a year at Oxford. According to Prof Hamilton, the new system introduced by the government in 2012 has done little to help the fi nancial position of the university, which must currently address a shortfall of more than £70m every year in its undergraduate teaching income. Now, he wants top universities such as Oxford to be allowed to
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charge higher tuition fees in comparison with institutions who do not achieve the same academic standards. However, Tom Rutland, president of the Oxford University Student Union expressed displeasure with Prof Hamilton’s comments, which were made in the vice-chancellor’s annual oration to the university on Tuesday. “Students’ pockets and futures have already been raided when the government trebled tuition fees in 2010,” he said. “The idea of students paying even more is unthinkable and will be opposed by students in Oxford and across the country. “This generation is paying more and more, even as graduate employment prospects are worsening and the cost of living is rising. “It is extremely concerning to hear talk of fees potentially increasing, especially from the
vice-chancellor of our university.” Prof Hamilton said that the current system “seems out of kilter” and tuition charges closer related to “the true cost of the education provided” is something he believes will certainly have to be considered in the future. He continued: “What matters surely is that an institution’s charges are clearly aligned with what it offers and that they are demonstrably not a barrier to student access. “In other words that robust and generous fi nancial support remains readily available for students who most need it.” However, Mr Rutland said: “With such strides forward in our access schemes and bursary packages in recent years, the discussion about increasing fees further risks alienating and pricing out those people we are reaching out to.” Prof Hamilton was keen to point out that an increase in tuition fees would not prevent • Continued on Page 3