Former polytechnics join rush to levy top-up fees

Former polytechnics are planning to join Britain's most coveted universities in charging students fees of up to £3,000 a year, a survey by The Independent has discovered.

Bournemouth, Central England, Hertfordshire and Middlesex universities are among the former polytechnics that are considering charging top-up fees. Only Staffordshire among almost 40 universities questioned for the poll suggested that it might reduce fees, currently £1,100 a year, in some courses.

The move towards higher fees is expected to be led by the Russell Group of 19 leading universities: Cambridge, Oxford, Sheffield, Imperial College London, University College London, Warwick, Leeds, the London School of Economics, Liverpool, Birmingham, Nottingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Newcastle, Southampton, King's College London and Manchester. Edinburgh and Glasgow are also Russell group members but will not be affected because the higher fees do not apply in Scotland.

Southampton, Surrey, Sussex, Coventry, Durham and the University of Kent are among other "old" universities expecting to charge, the poll of vice-chancellors found.

Claire Callender, professor of social policy at South Bank University in London, believes most institutions will eventually raise their fees. "Only those who are seriously struggling to recruit will not charge higher fees," she said. "The market will operate in such a way that all the universities who feel that recruitment is going well will charge more."

Dr Peter Knight, vice- chancellor of the University of Central England in Birmingham, formerly Birmingham Polytechnic, said he would "almost certainly" charge the maximum £3,000 from 2006.

"I expect the overwhelming majority of universities will be charging for the overwhelming majority of courses.

"I would charge £3,000. The level of the fee at £3,000 has been set reasonably. It will be 99 per cent across the board. There may be particular courses which will enjoy subsidies but it will be an overwhelmingly flat fee," he said.

Professor Gillian Slater, Bournemouth vice-chancellor, surprised many of her academics this week by giving top-up fees a cautious welcome. "The £3,000 cap placed on top-up fees is more desirable than allowing uncapped top-up fees," she said. "We cannot rule out the possibility of Bournemouth University charging top-up fees at some stage in the future."

Some vice-chancellors had predicted top-up fees would create a two-tier system, with up to 40 of the most respected institutions rushing to charge fees from 2006. But some feared that this would enable students from wealthy families to buy a more privileged education while restricting young people from poorer families to cut-price courses provided by less-respected institutions.

The Independent survey suggests that the charges will be more widespread than previously thought as former polytechnics and a wider variety of "old" institutions try to ensure they are not pushed into a "second tier" of universities.

Hertfordshire University, formerly Hatfield Polytechnic, is considering raising fees. If it does, the university would vary its fees, with computer sciences, physiotherapy and sports science possibly attracting the highest charges. Professor Neil Buxton, the vice-chancellor, has criticised top-up fees, but accepts the new freedom to charge more will force him to raise tuition fees.