Over the last few weeks students that been rigorously protesting against the unpopular bid to increase the cap on university tuition fees. Despite, their best non-violence (and even in some cases violent efforts), the government narrowly voted in favour of this controversial bid...
This means that from 2012 some students will be charged up to £9,000 per year, which Vince Cable suggests is a progressive result and will maintain the high standards of universities in the long-term.
So what does this mean for students? Well, today MPs in England had to cast their vote to decide whether universities would be able to increase the current fee cap of £6,000 and £9,000 in extreme cases from 2012.
This could mean that in some cases students will have to face tuition fees of £27,000 before any accommodation and living expenses are taken into consideration. However, there will be more grants and bursaries available for students that cannot afford the increased fees. Graduates will be expected to start to repay their loans once they are earning over £21,000 per annum compared to £15,000 currently.
This proposal will have a significant impact on the future finances of graduates who will be charged a ‘progressive’ interest rate which will be over and above the retail prices index. Those who earn less than £21,000 per annum will be charged the RPI flat rate. However, once a graduate is earning over £41,000 per annum they will be charged the maximum of RPI plus three percentage points.