£14,000 tuition fees planned for shorter courses

Proposals for a ‘short course’ degree programme has been put forward by the government, in order to offer students the option of a more intense, more expensive but shorter degree.

University Minister Jo Johnson has announced the proposal today, in an attempt to offer students more choice when it comes to their higher education plans. Instead of paying £9,000 per year for the usual, three-year long course, students would pay up to £14,000, which is a higher fee than some courses in the USA.

Johnson says the proposal comes in response to students “crying out for more flexible course and modes of study which can fit around work and life.” But a spokesman from the Russell Group advise that the most appropriate way for students to study for research-intensive degrees, is full-time across three years.

The Mancunion asked University of Manchester students what they thought to the prospect of putting their three year course into two years at a more expensive rate.  Riannan Singh, Third year Maths student said “I could not imagine the pressure a student would feel if they were to try and cram my course into two years — and to have to fork out more debt for it at the same time? I think it would be a lose-lose situation for students. For maths, that is anyway.”

In response Johnson says, “I absolutely recognise that for many students the classic three-year residential model will remain the preferred option. But it clearly must not be the only option”.

There is a further concern, displayed by The University and College Union that it would do little to open up the university experience to more students. They suggested the government should avoid a “pile ’em high and teach ’em cheap” approach to students’ education.

On the other hand, students and parents would have one year less to pay for accommodation and other living fees. Students would also have the opportunity to increase their earnings by entering the job market a year earlier than before.

The government would have to vote on the proposal and consider to advise from education professionals during the parliamentary process before it became a solid piece of legislation.