Universities announce tuition fees above £9,000, flouting legal limit | NEWS

UK Universities, including Durham, Kent and Royal Holloway, have listed tuition fees for the year 2017/18 at £9,250.  This is £250 per year above the legal limit; parliament is yet to debate proposals which would allow some universities to raise fees in line with inflation.

We have contacted these universities for comment.

The BBC reports that at this rate fees could rise to over £10,000 in just four years. Parliament will vote in the autumn on whether or not fees should be able to rise above the £9,000 limit. They are included in The Higher Education and Research Bill.

The move by these universities to prematurely list fees as over the limit has been condemned by some MPs.

Labour described it as a "back-door attempt to raise fees".

Lib Dem MP Mr Pugh said:

"The real question is whether government is giving these institutions the green light to advertise higher fees.
"They've not even shown their plans for linking fee rises to Parliament. So why are they giving universities the impression that they will pass their teaching quality assessment?"

Update: Kent responds

The University of Kent has responded to our request for comment.  In a statement, they said:

“The Minister Jo Johnson has announced to Parliament the inflationary fee amount of 2.8% which will apply to uplifts in fee caps for 2017-18, where higher education providers achieve a rating of ‘meets expectations’ under the Teaching Excellence Framework.

“The University has published the higher fee on the website in order to ensure that both potential students and existing students are provided with as much notice as possible and to comply with CMA guidelines.”