University Campus Suffolk's Waterfront building.
Ipswich: UCS tuition fee hike could lead to higher drop out rate
By Lizzie Parry
Friday, April 1, 2011
6:00 AM
STUDENTS paying the newly increased £8,000 fees to study at University Campus Suffolk (UCS) could drop out if they are not satisfied, the head of the Student’s Union (SU) has warned.
UCS announced plans to hike tuition fees to £8,000 for Bachelor degrees and £7,500 for Foundation degrees yesterday, an increase of more than £4,000 compared with the £3,375 fees currently paid.
University bosses said the move reflects “excellent value for money”.
But the SU president Andy Speed warned while it may not deter prospective students there is a danger it could make it harder for UCS to retain students.
The fees have been fixed for UK and European Union full-time undergraduates starting university in 2012, subject to approval by the Office of Fair Access (OFFA).
Professor Mike Saks, provost of UCS, said: “We are a new, can do Higher Education Institution with very good facilities, and we plan to deliver the best higher education for Suffolk.
“Our fees represent excellent value for money and will enable us to cover our costs in an increasingly tightly run and cost-effective institution.
“They should also allow us to deliver innovative initiatives to widen participation, improve our support and facilities for students, and build employability into the degree courses on offer.”
UCS’s fees are below the average of £8,600 being charged by universities across the country, with researchers estimating just 11 institutions will charge £7,500 or less, while almost half will charge the maximum £9,000.
Mr Speed said he was “taken by surprise” at the rise, but said UCS could not pitch their fees much lower than other rival institutions.
“We weren’t involved in conversations beforehand,” he said. “So I am waiting to find out a bit more, the devil will be in the detail.”
He said the university and college union had stated they believed fees would rise to £6,800 to account for the shortfall, now the Government will no longer be topping up the current fees.
“Effectively the extra £1,200 UCS will receive will go to making students’ experiences better, boosting resources, recruiting new lecturers for example,” he added.
“I don’t think the fee rise will affect applications, it is more likely to affect retention of students. I think a lot more students will drop out if they feel they are not getting value for money.
“UCS has wanted to expand, but I do question whether that is now going to be affected.
“The issue is going to be about balancing students’ expectations.”
Editorial comment – Page 24
lizzie.parry@eadt.co.uk
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8 comments
Which "we" do you speak for, Corporal Punishment? Is it the "we" that knows that everyone benefits from a better educated population as social and cultural achievement and aspiration are lifted across the board by a more learned and enlightened populace? Or is it a bitter "we" with no education beyond the compulsory minimum and a suspicion of those over-educated types with an unhealthy fondness for book learning?
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martha farquhar
Friday, April 1, 2011
The fact is that UCS thinks it is an establihed brand...Its not. This £8000 is not only being charged at the Ipswich campus but also at Bury St Edmunds, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Otley. These smaller campuses do not have fancy new buildings or large libraries and they cannot justify charging £8000. So much for UCS being a "Can Do" university widening participation and serving the needs of the local community.
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GScot
Friday, April 1, 2011
I think someone has missed out a decimal point!
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G C
Friday, April 1, 2011
We are responsible for providing education in schools. If people want to go and get a degree after leaving then they can pay for it not the tax payer. Either that or they do what we do and get a job and work for a living. Stop believing that we are going to pay for you. It's your choice and it's your cost.
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Corporal Punishment
Friday, April 1, 2011
Charging £8,000 out of the possible £9,000? Seriously?? As a new University their job is to convince students to choose them over the more established ones. As a new institution UCS have zero credibility at the moment. You have to build it over a number of years. Expecting to fill your halls by charging just short of what the country’s top Universities are charging is not only ridiculous, but also negligent. Whoever is advising them on what fees to charge sounds like a charlatan or a “Yes Man” and should have their employment terminated ASAP for the good of the University.
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Apollo
Friday, April 1, 2011
I've never felt inclined to comment on these boards before today but reading this has given me endless amounts of pleasure. Without wishing to sound like a misanthrope I must air my feelings; UCS, in the psyche of national recruiters is somewhat of a non-entity. No one has ever heard of it. Granted, it may take time to raise the 'university' profile but when it doesn't feature on league tables it doesn't count. And if UCS eventually does feature on these I would hazard a guess that it will be in the bottom 20 universities, and will consequently have a 'worse than an ex-poly university' tag. Now, I read, that they want to charge £8,000 pa to study towards a Bachelors degree here. Laughable. £24,000 for a degree from UCS? Not worth the paper it's printed on I'm afraid. To me, the very fact that Ipswich has a university is a symbol of what higher education has become; a massive money making exercise, promising would-be students that a degree is a worthwhile investment. Yes, perhaps it is, if you went to Oxford or Cambridge it would be worth £24k, but not UCS. Potential students be warned, it's not worth the money, they may tell you it is, but recruiters will laugh at you if you say you attended this place.
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colin.zeal
Friday, April 1, 2011
It's interesting that while Andy Speed knows nothing about the massive fee-hike, 'Mr Speed said he was “taken by surprise,”' he goes on to elaborate on an 'extra £1,200' and how it will be spent! He would also seem to be just as knowledgeable on the subject of consumerism and customer motivation. If students are paying £8,000 a year for two 15 week terms (about average for a degree), they are paying almost £300 a week. Obviously, they will want to get a reasonable return for a very substantial investment. Dissatisfied customers not getting "value for money" are hardly likely to walk away but will demand more. Degree level education has been reduced to a financial transaction. What a joke.
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martha farquhar
Friday, April 1, 2011
Is this an April 1st Fools joke?
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biggles the pilot
Friday, April 1, 2011