The University Council met today and officially accepted the proposals to charge fees of £9000 per annum to new undergraduates starting in 2012 for all courses. The council also recommended a support package of £4,625 of fee waiver and bursary for students from low income backgrounds.

The announcement was not a surprise as a working paper for the proposals was published last week (see: http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/3208). The final proposals will be have to be approved by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA).

According to the proposals, students from household incomes of less than £25,000 will receive a fee waiver combined with a bursary totaling £4,625. The total fee waiver and bursary will reduce linearly to zero once household incomes are above £42,000.  The working paper explained: “The fee waiver will ensure that the cost of tuition fees for low income students at Cambridge is no higher than the standard minimum tuition fee at any other English university.”

Oxford University announced that it would have to charge at least £8,000 a year to make up for the cuts to the teaching budget.

The working paper also addressed concerns regarding state-school student admissions. Currently the proportion of state-educated UK students admitted to Cambridge is 58%. After a description of  A-level grade statistics for state-school pupils the report stated: “Noting that the proposed fee increase would also have a negative impact on our ability to attract students from the state sector, the Working Group were unanimous in their view that a target of more than 64% was not achievable without lowering admissions standards.”

Rahul Mansigani, CUSU President, told Varsity: "We are delighted that the University has backed away from its proposal to slash the money given to students. Cambridge's maintenance bursaries are hugely important to thousands of Cambridge students who depend on them, as well as to potential applicants.

We have secured an increase in the total spend on bursaries and fee waivers to at least £4,600 per eligible student. This is an improvement, but is only the beginning: students rightly expect this figure to be pushed up further still, especially in the context of the disastrous introduction of £9,000 fees. CUSU will continue fighting not only to increase the amount spent on supporting our poorest students, but that this be spent in the way that most  benefits those who rely on it.”

The CUSU Council is meeting today at 7.15pm at the Small Examinations Hall to discuss further the impact of the University’s decision to approve the proposals.

The decision to officially recommend the highest possible fee coincides with reports that the Government will require universities to publish detailed descriptions of what exactly students will receive in return for the fees, -including reports on amount of contact hours in form of lectures, seminars and tutorials students can expect. This is so potential students can compare different universities for best value for money. The Times estimated that with the introduction of the new fee of £9000 a year, home students would pay, on average, £70.50 for each contact hour they receive at university.