‘A sustainable and permanent solution’, that was Lord Browne’s refrain this morning. Browne has aimed to fill the £1bn university funding black hole with a system that doesn’t prejudice the disadvantaged or force universities to privatise.
Browne recommends that the tuition fee cap goes, but insists the Treasury should collect a levy from universities that charge above £6,000: fees set at £9,000 will cede 50 percent of £1,000 above £6,000, which will rise to 75 percent for fees of £12,000. This tapered levy is designed to discourage institutions from charging US-style of £20,000.
Browne says that no English or Welsh student should be confronted with upfront costs – at the moment, part-time students pay a contribution whilst at universities. The method for repaying loans should change dramatically. Graduates will still repay 9 percent of their income, but the threshold will rise from £15,000 to £21,000; interest rates will rise from 0 percent to a top rate of 2.2
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