Graduates and universities share burden of Browne recommendations

13 Oct 2010 02:14 PM

Under proposals released yesterday by the Browne Review of higher education funding and student finance, graduates would expect to pay on average at least £5,300 more for their degree, according to analysis by IFS researchers. However, the lowest-earning graduates would be protected from the burden of increased debt and would actually pay less than under the current system.

Despite the proposed increase in tuition fees to £6,000 or above, universities would not be likely to see any benefit: they would need to charge fees of £7,000 or more in order to recoup their losses from proposed cuts in public funding. The real winner of the proposed reforms is the Exchequer, which would save up to £6,000 on the cost of a degree for each student.

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