Request
In 2006 when I first went to university tuition fees for Channel Islands students were significantly higher than for UK students and consequently ‘Top up Fees’ were introduced to cope with this.
Now that tuition fees have been reduced and are the same as UK students could you please confirm why Channel Islands students are still having to pay the top up fee?
Response
The principle that has governed the level of tuition fees for Jersey students is that a UK university should receive approximately the same level of funding for a student from Jersey as they do for a student from the UK.
Prior to 2006, UK students were charged a fee of £1200; the fees for Jersey students were higher and different for different subjects (arranged in “Bands”) because of additional funding received by the universities from:
- the Higher Education Funding Council – funding by subject bands
- research grants
- other money from central government towards capital costs and infrastructure e.g. libraries
The figure for Jersey students was arrived at by the application of a formula which incorporated all of the elements above.
In 2006, the UK government allowed universities to increase their fees to a maximum of £3000 per annum. With very few exceptions, most chose to go to this maximum amount. The increase of £1800 was known as the “variable fee element” or “top-up fee” and was added on to the fee charged for Jersey students. Following negotiation the increase was reduced to £1375 and, assisted by the introduction of the Jersey Student Loan, was passed on directly to students from 2007 onwards.
In 2012, the UK government allowed universities to increase the fee they charged UK students to a maximum of £9000 while at the same time, severely reducing the funding available from other sources. Jersey, along with the other Crown Dependencies of Guernsey and the Isle of Man, was able to argue successfully that, if the core principle was to be maintained, the fee charged to Jersey students should be the same as that charged to students from the UK i.e. £9000. The concept of “top-up fee” had disappeared but the decision made back in 2007 was maintained and therefore students would still be directly responsible for £1500 of the tuition fee, now called the student contribution. The Jersey Student Loan has also been maintained to enable all students to finance this aspect of the costs.
