The University’s plan to charge a £9,000 fee for undergraduate courses has been accepted by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA). The fee will allow the institution to invest further in its student experience and build on its reputation as a leading Russell Group university for widening access.
The University intends to commit more than 30% of its additional fee income in 2012-13 to supporting students from lower income backgrounds and will offer enhanced outreach activities alongside new measures to support retention.
Around 28% of students joining the University in 2012 will qualify for a financial support package totalling £3,000 in their first year of study and £2,000 per year for the rest of their course. In addition, fee waivers/bursaries of £1,000 per year will be available to UK students with a family income of between £25,000 and £35,000. Qualifying students will also receive more generous state maintenance grants.
As is the current case, students will not be required to pay any tuition fees upfront – repayments will only begin when a graduate is earning above a Government-set threshold which is currently £21,000. Existing undergraduate students and those entering the University in 2011 will not be affected by the changes.
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Howard Newby, said: “The University remains committed to ensuring all students have access to a world-class education at Liverpool, regardless of background or ability to pay. We are all aware that Liverpool offers much more than a high quality degree and are proud that our students benefit from a vibrant research environment with excellent teaching facilities as well as first rate careers guidance and a wealth of extra-curricular activities.
“Our global focus ensures our programmes are underpinned by international research with opportunities for students to learn a language and study abroad as part of their programme.”
The University is one of 139 institutions that have had their 2012-13 Access Agreements approved by OFFA. Under the agreements universities and colleges plan to increase investment in access measures to £602 million a year by 2015-16, up from £407 million in 2011-12. By 2012-16, Russell Group universities will be spending collectively £28.8 million on outreach activities and £153.7 million on fee waivers, bursaries and scholarships for students.
Dr Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group, said: “Russell Group institutions will be investing 32.3% of their fee income above £6,000 in these measures to widen access to poorer students – significantly more than many other universities. Generous fee waivers mean that the average fees paid by students at Russell Group institutions will generally be well below the headline rate.
“However, we remain concerned that the access agreements risk focusing too much on regulation rather than resolving the real problems: underachievement at school and poor advice on the best choices of A-level subjects and university degree course. Our universities will be investing millions of pounds in measures designed to help tackle the issue of the under-achievement of students from lower-income backgrounds but we cannot solve this problem alone.”