UK student fees for University in England are set to rise as of next year, for the first time in 8 years. Undergraduate tuition fees are set to rise to £9,535 a year. This is an increase of £285 on the fees, which were frozen at a maximum of £9,250 since 2017, until now. Maintenance loans are also set to rise, as confirmed by education secretary Bridget Phillipson, in order to help students manage the cost of living. It’s been reported that, for Universities, the higher fees are a cash injection to assist with their most immediate financial challenges.
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00:00I think what's most important for prospective students and current students to know is this
00:07isn't really, for the vast majority of them, going to have any impact on what they pay
00:11back over time, which is largely symptomatic of the problems we have with our current system
00:17with the interest rates on student fees being so high. So adding a few hundred extra pounds
00:22onto the fees isn't going to make much difference. The only difference that is going to be felt
00:26are those that are paying it off in full, which are usually the wealthiest, the highest
00:29earners, and they're able to pay back more. So for most students, the fee change really
00:35isn't going to make any difference. So don't let it be concerning or off-putting. And it's
00:40really important to recognise that student loans are different from normal consumer loans
00:44in terms of the fact that they're secure, they don't affect your credit score in the
00:48same way, they get written off after a certain point when you reach a certain age, there's
00:54a minimum earning threshold before you have to start paying back compared to other loans
00:58where they're constantly taking money from you despite your circumstances. So it's an
01:03incredibly secure loan, so don't be off-put or worried about it. So we're somewhat relieved
01:09by the rise because we recognise that the higher education sector has been in need of
01:14some financial investment for quite a while. So this investment is really going to help
01:20keep universities afloat, but we do think it's a bit of a short-term solution rather
01:24than a long-term solution.
01:26It's reported that the university fee changes will affect students starting university next
01:31year, as well as current students, though it can be noted that some universities can
01:36have contracts that protect their students from fee hikes part way through a course.
01:42It helps institutions, but I don't think it's going to go far enough, but it might help
01:46them get back to where they were a few years ago before the pandemic where they were able
01:51to strategically invest to support students as best they could. But I think broadly it's
01:55important students know there is so much support available.