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Students: Fees and Charges

Answer

The Department has commissioned a number of projects which have examined the impact of tuition fees on different groups of students. Reports are available at:"http://www.bis.gov.uk/research"University tuition fees are estimated to have had a negative impact on participation, and enrolment tends to be lower in the presence of tuition fees. An increase in tuition fees tends to cause a decline in participation, particularly among students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, unless accompanied by an equivalent increase in student support.Recent evidence relating to reforms of tuition fees and student support in the UK found that an increase in tuition fees by £1,000 per annum—holding all other factors constant—would be expected to lead to a 4.4 percentage point decline in participation. In addition, it was found that a £1,000 per annum increase in grants increases participation by 2.1 percentage points while a £1,000 per annum increase in loans is associated with a 3.2 percentage point increase in participation.In relation to the 2006 reforms, some individuals appear to have started university a year earlier than they might otherwise have done so (i.e. in 2005-06 rather than 2006-07) to avoid having to pay the new fees. This pattern of shifting participation was most clearly evident for individuals from higher socio-economic backgrounds, and for those with the highest key stage 5 results. However, there was no evidence that the reforms lead to a sustained fall in HE participation, because tuition fees were accompanied by large increases in loans and grants.The introduction of upfront tuition fees in 1998 had a small negative impact on participation of high income groups.Tuition fees and other education related costs also influence the selection of higher education institutions, behaviour while at university and reduce the probability of completion, especially for students from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and lower socioeconomic backgrounds.Studies around attitudes to debt have tended to find that people from lower income groups tend to be more debt averse than those from higher income groups and that debt aversion can influence decisions around HE for lower income groups, though this was mainly about where to study rather than whether to study. The same effect was not found for those from higher income groups.Studies from the US tend to find that the impact of tuition fees is greatest on those from low income groups. Studies from Australia do not find any relationships between debt aversion, socio-economic group and HE participation.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

41150; 523 c743-4W

Session

2010-12

Subjects

Fees and charges Students

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk