So uni fees are going to increase?

[nearlylovemyusername]

University sector calls on Labour to raise tuition fees to ‘stabilise the ship’ (ft.com)

Given paywall, the essence it this:

"One former university vice-chancellor said the fact that Labour had acknowledged the sector was “in crisis” indicated that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Phillipson, who have not ruled out a tuition fee increase, were likely to act.

“The short-term pain of putting up fees could be blamed on the Tory inheritance . . . and then traded against a transition to a better deal for young people, which Labour can deliver before next general election,” he said."

So it won't be limited by VAT on PS, uni fees will be up, potentially significantly and repayments for higher earning grads will go up much more - this is what artical says.

FFS, it's already ridiculous that students leave uni £50k+ in debt.

I can’t read the article but is it saying that universities are underfunded and fees need to go up? Or more tax payer money put in to them and so higher taxes? I don’t think it’s a big secret that education is underfunded so surely this is to be expected.

If it's true, it's hardly a surprise.

One thing Labour could do to help students, without impacting Universities, is to limit the interest rate that can be charged on student loans.

Yes I've been hearing the same rumours - can't come soon enough. Higher Education sector is on the brink of collapse. Fees are worth £5600 in 2012 values. Imagine trying to deliver the same service to more people with not much more than half the income you use to have.

Tories already did that when interest rates came down to inflation only.

Isn't this as a result of the changes the Tory Govt put in place to make the IK less attractive to international students - who pay more to offset the costs UK students pay?
The change in not allowing international students to bring partners and children (not their mums as Farage said) has seriously reduced the numbers applying.

This has been coming for a while. Universities are going to start going bankrupt soon unless something changes. The Tories have been kicking the can down the road rather than address the problem.

It doesn’t surprise me, pretty much everything else has gone up. Universities can’t not be affected by increased utility bills, wage bills etc

There is also this:

"More radical policies include “stepped repayments”, which would mean higher-earning graduates pay significantly more over their working lifetime than they borrowed in students loans."

So whatever you do to improve your financial situation will just lead to ever higher payments/taxes, there isn't even incentive anymore

I was too young to be aware of it at the time but - how did universities manage when there were NO tuition fees ?

Universities asking for this doesn't mean that this is what Labour would do. The Tories have a far worse record of bumping up tuition fees than Labour. The sector is also in a far worse state than it was under Labour. Id love my kids to have had student loans under Labour instead of the Tory ones they have!
I'm far more worried about what the tories would inflict on students and universities than Labour.
So it won't be limited by VAT on PS
I suspect this is the crux of your post. Another post by a private school parent trying to scaremonger people into not voting in Labour because they are worried about VAT.

Far, far fewer people went to university, so (presumably?) the government funded it.

There's so many learning resources these days that there's only really a justification for research driven rebdricks to continue.

Better off turning the universities that aren't into properties and tech hubs for the youngsters to be able to live independently and earn a living. We really need to move on and embrace technology more.

University is a choice.

And this is the position we need to get back to.

full article

https://archive.ph/EIy64

They were funded from general taxation.

Funding for universities needs to go up- fees have been frozen at the current rate for years. It’s completely unsustainable. I’d rather they were funded from taxation than fees but one way or another it needs to happen.

This article is 7 years old but still relevant, I think

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/oct/11/huge-increase-in-number-of-graduates-bad-for-uk-economy

UK uni fees haven't gone up for a decade. Fees have been eroded by inflation so yes unis are struggling. They do use fees from international students to cross subsidize. Whilst people complain about the loans - the tuition part hasn't gone up in years. It is the living cost loans that have increased due to everything else going up.

If labour would like to help unis - they should increase government funding part of it. Unis need more money, students already paying too much - the state should step in.

No one else in Europe has uni fees but they have just as many kids going to uni. Germany introduced them and then cut them again. Ideally, we'd the same. But more money does need pumping in. Student fees no longer cover how much it costs to educate the students.

What is all of the money being spent on? Certainly not teaching staff. There have been massive redundancies, and widespread criticism of the “Sports Direct” approach to education where universities employ teachers who are desperate for jobs and force them to accept zero hour contracts on barely more than minimum wage.

Interest rate of 6.25 or 7.39% is much higher than the rate of inflation or the BofE interest rate. It's just profiteering in a monopoly situation.
Plus by keeping extending the period it needs to be paid over and lowering the starting salary, it just increases the cost of the borrowing, more profiteering by a monopoly.

Something needs to change though, or else there won't actually be any places left for UK students at UK universities. UCL/LSE/KCL are already in the 60% area in terms of international students. Oxbridge are over 50%. Many others at 40%.
My young relative only had Asian food in their halls vending machines - a silly petty example I know, but it was a very alienating experience for an 18 year old to be in the UK and not really be at UK university. They didn't make any friends because the majority of students were international and honed in on students from their home countries forming very close-knit exclusive country-specific friendship groups, even though my relative tried to make friends. A disproportionate amount of university funds go to supporting international students compared to home students (e.g. the help with visas/settling in/banking/language vs mental health support for all students).

Labour did previous support replacement of student loans with a graduate tax - what happened to that idea. Anything is better than the current situation.

@Blimpton actually salaries have gone up in the last ten years. No in line with inflation (and as an academic I am cross about it) but still. Everything else has also gone up. Energy to keep all the labs and lecture halls running, real estate, chemicals and equipment necessary to teach STEM subjects, price of lab coats, test tubes, paper, computer and laptops used by lecturers to teach their students, redecorating costs to maintain offices. Price for us to hire the Excell centre for us to run our large in person exams that are necessary to avoid students using AI. The question is not whether money that comes to uni needs to go up, that's not in dispute. The question is how best to make it happen.

Most countries do have some sort of fees but it will be like €1000

Germany has lower fees but also far fewer people go to uni - about 34% compared to our 50%

In most of Europe unless you are going to a top uni or medicine or something you will stay at home to attend your local uni. No one is moving 200 miles away to study fashion journalism or golf studies.

Of course, but it shouldn’t only be for the wealthy. Education should be affordable (well free as far as I’m concerned but I accept those days are long gone).

@CraftyNavySeal I think kids going to their home unis is also fine. It is a very British (and American) idea that going away to uni makes you an adult or is the most fun you can have. That's ridiculous and costly. I stayed at home when I went to you. Granted I went to uni in London but still it did mean that I saved quite a lot of money.