UEL students to pay maximum �9,000 fees

Students studying at UEL will pay the same as their counterparts at Cambridge from next year, under proposals announced this week.

The university, which has campuses in Stratford and the Royal Docks, plans to charge students up to the maximum of �9,000 starting September 2012.

Bosses said further bursaries and scholarships will be offered in addition to what the institution already provides.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Patrick McGhee said: “This fee level reflects the degree of investment required to deliver the quality of teaching and facilities that our students expect and deserve, following the reduction in government teaching grant.

“We already have an excellent record of opening up access to university and we will make available a generous package of scholarships and bursaries to help with living costs and ensure that potential students are not deterred from accessing higher education.”

More than 30 universities have already declared their intended fee levels for next year, with the majority planning to charge �9,000.

Those planning to charge the maximum include Cambridge, Oxford, Essex, University College London, Imperial College London and City University.

All universities planning to charge more than �6,000 will have to have their fees approved by the Office for Fair Access and sign access agreements showing how they plan to ensure poorer students are not priced out.

MPs voted to raise tuition fees to �6,000 from 2012 at the end of last year, with institutions allowed to charge up to �9,000 only in “exceptional circumstances”. But so far, most universities are clustering around the �9,000 mark, with the elite institutions leading the way.