Up to £4000 off Undergraduate Tuition Fees at UCB
University College Birmingham (UCB) has announced its proposed tuition fee for 2012/13 UK and EU undergraduate entrants and launched a large-scale fee waiver scheme that could see some students getting as much as a £4000 discount off their fees.
The new tuition fee has been set at £7800 for 2012/13 UK and EU entrants on all foundation and bachelors degrees. Nigel Moss, Chair of UCB’s governing body, outlined the general principles of this tuition fee and the fee-waiver scheme associated with it: “UCB is a specialist higher education institution with one of the most socially diverse student bodies in the whole of the university sector. This scheme is designed to ensure that students have available to them the high quality resources and specialist tutors they need in order to get the most from their education. It also strongly encourages applicants from backgrounds not traditionally associated with higher education and supports students through their study time with UCB.”
A £3000 fee-waiver on first year undergraduate tuition fees will be available to around 100 applicants who meet eligibility criteria such as family income of less than £16,000. This is part of the Government’s National Scholarship Programme, for which UCB is matching the government funding, Pound for Pound.
Others meeting the same criteria will be eligible for £1000 off their fees for every year of their undergraduate study. Those who were in receipt of the £3000 fee-waiver in year one are very likely to be eligible for this discount, meaning that many students in this category will have £5000 of their fees discounted over the lifetime of their programme.
UCB benefits from having a large proportion of students following vocational further education programmes, many of whom come from backgrounds with little experience of higher education. All who progress from one of UCB’s Further Education programmes will also receive a £1000 discount off their fees in their first year, regardless of family income. If any of these students are also eligible for the £3000 fee waiver, they will pay as little as £3800 in their first year, and save over £6000 over the lifetime of their programme.
Many of UCB’s undergraduate programmes include a period of internship of between 6 and 12 months. Under this scheme, no tuition fees will be charged for any UK or EU student undertaking one of these placements.
Professor Ray Linforth, UCB’s Principal, added: “Tuition fees have been set at this level to make our specialist programmes as affordable as possible whilst compensating for the loss of teaching grant and other substantial funds from the Higher Education Funding Council. Our students know that we give the highest priority to their support and many of them study with us because of our excellent reputation with employers in our specialist fields. The range of discounts available will mean that some students will see more than half of their tuition fees for their first year waived. We are also extending our already very effective outreach programme to encourage more people with the potential to succeed raise their aspiration and to view a degree programme as a means to achieving their goals.”
UCB is investing heavily in developing 21st Century learning spaces, with the first phase of a new campus scheme starting development this summer and plans for 30 acres of sports facilities soon to be announced.
Professor Linforth also noted “of course, no UK or EU student has to pay any tuition fees they incur until after graduation, when they achieve earnings of £21,000, with student loans bridging the gap as necessary. We will provide students with every assistance in accessing these loans.”
The scheme will be considered by the Office For Fair Access and publication of the detail of the scheme is expected in early June, once approved.