West Midland universities hike tuition fees to maximum £9k per year

The University of Wolverhampton had previously charged £8,900 for an undergraduate degree but this will rise to £9,000 from September 2015.

The maximum fees for foundation or HND qualifications will also go up from £7,375 to £7,570.

Staffordshire University was already charging £9,000 for an undergraduate degree since the Coalition Government tripled fees.

But it will now also charge it for all other undergraduate qualifications, an increase of £380 for many courses. And it is adding £200 for the fee charged for a sandwich placement year, where a student spends a year in industry rather than studying at the university.

Birmingham City University had three separate charges for different types of course, starting at £7,500 and rising to £8,200 or £9,000 depending on what people wanted to study.

It is now charging £9,000.

But in documents submitted to the Office for Fair Access (Offa) the university said it had made no difference to the courses its students were choosing.

It had offered the lowest rate in courses such as computing, health and social care and business and management, the middle rate for law, engineering, art and design and the top rate for jewellery, music, acting and stage management.

In its document Birmingham City University said: "The evidence now suggests that young full-time applicants, even those from disadvantaged or low income groups, have not been deterred by the higher fees and that applicants will not allow fee levels to compromise their choice of course.

"Indeed, it has been found that the introduction of variable tuition fees in 2012 was not associated with any substantial changes in applicant course choices or any change in the share of applications for live at home study."

Neither the University of Birmingham nor Aston University have changed their fees, which remain the full £9,000 a year.

Jane Nelson, deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Wolverhampton, said: "The £100 increase in our fees for the 2015-16 academic year represents a below inflation rise and is in line with the rest of the higher education sector. We have also maintained a significantly lower tuition fee for part-time students so that there is a lower fee route available, and this also allows for increased flexibility for learners with other commitments.

"We are committed to enhancing the life chances of people within our communities, creating jobs and supporting the regional economy.

"We reinvest funds back into the student experience, and are currently undertaking ambitious redevelopment plans with our £22 million Science Centre and £18 million Business School in Wolverhampton. We are also opening a new learning hub in Stafford and investing in facilities at our Telford Innovation Campus."

Chris Parsons, spokesman for Staffordshire University, said: "We changed the fees as the evidence shows that students are interested in ensuring universities are investing in teaching and learning rather than finding the cheapest degree. Also students understand the fee system and regard university education as affordable with the student loan system. Staffordshire University has invested over £40m in improving the university in the last few years and is currently undertaking plans for a new city centre campus in Stoke-on-Trent."

Offa said universities were spending more to entice students from poorer backgrounds and were investing in fee waivers, scholarships, grants and bursaries.

OFFA said that universities were spending more on reaching out to potential students from poor backgrounds, as well as investing more on fee waivers, scholarships, bursaries and grants for existing poor students.

Professor Les Ebdon, director of Offa, said: "I am pleased with the increasingly strategic, evidence-led approach we are seeing in the access agreements that universities and colleges submit to us.

"Most notably, we've seen a clear change in investment patterns, with universities and colleges following Offa guidance to identify the areas in which they most need to improve and then to focus the balance of their effort accordingly, making sure they are investing in approaches and activities likely to have the greatest impact."

Toni Pearce, president of the National Union of Students, said: "Our research shows that students prefer regular cash support to waivers or vouchers of any kind, and the significant shift away from fee waivers is testament to the hard work done by students' unions to ensure students get the support they need, when they need it."