More Yorkshire Uni's Announce Fee Hikes
Hull, Bradford and Lincoln are the latest universities to announce plans to charge up to £9,000 from next year.
York St John and Sheffield Hallam have announced they plan to charge £8500 and Hull University is the latest to reveal it plans on charging students the maximum £9,000 a year in tuition fees.
Hull joins Lincoln University on a growing list of institutions including Leeds and Sheffield, which intend to set their fees at the highest possible level.
After MP's voted to allow universities to charge up to £9,000 in "exceptional circumstances" from 2012 at the end of last year, most universities are now grouping around the maximum allowed.
Hull vice-chancellor Professor Calie Pistorius said: ``The university believes that the headline fee of £9,000 is necessary to ensure our commitment to quality of teaching and student experience, given the nature of the new policy landscape, and that the figure reflects the value of a degree from the University of Hull.''
Meanwhile, York St John vice-chancellor Professor David Fleming said: "Students are at the heart of all we do and we are passionate about providing them with an exceptional experience both now and in the future.
"This principle has guided our development of the fee proposals and is informed by the current economic and funding context."
The proposed higher fees have raised concerns about would-be students being put-off higher education by the prospect of graduating with a large debt, although Nottingham University claims it's had a 48% increase in the number of people attending it's open days.
The following Yorkshire universities have announed their proposed fee increases:
Bradford University - £9000
Huddersfield University - £7950
Hull University - £9000
Leeds University - £9000
Leeds Metropolitan University - £8500
Sheffield University - £9000
Sheffield Hallam University - £8500
York St John University - £8500
York University has said it does not plan to release the figure they plan to charge from 2012 until June.
The decision by universities to charge the maximum amount possible could affect their funding from the Government, with ministers warning that if the majority set fees at or close to the maximum then they will face further cuts to funding and student places.
Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students, said: ``When the Government forced these ill-considered plans through Parliament, they claimed that fees above £6,000 would be the exception rather than the rule, but that was quite clearly a pipe dream.
``Ministers have claimed that Offa has the power to regulate fees, when in reality this process is nothing more than one of rubberstamping vice chancellors' attempts to charge as much as they can get away with. With no one to stop them, universities are rushing to charge the maximum £9,000.''
