University fee increase given the go ahead

Agreements to improve access of poorer students into higher education have been approved by the Office for Fair Access (Offa). This means that 47 out of 123 institutions will charge the maximum amount of £9,000 a year from September 2012 across all courses. Over one third of English universities will be charging the full amount during 2012 as will 8 out of 10 universities in Wales.

However, due to waiver discounts and support for poorer students ‘fewer than half’ of students will pay the full fee say Offa. The average fee will now be £8,393 a year, dropping to £8,161 when waivers are included. All institutions wishing to charge fees above £6,000 have been made to sign an ‘access agreement’ by Offa which sets goals to improve access to less affluent students.

A full list of university fees is available online here.