Passed: November 2024 (18th)

What is the current problem, and how does it affect students?

Many students are facing a crisis of accessibility and affordability when it comes to pursuing a higher education. For home students, fees have very recently been increased to £9,535 a year whilst for international students, there is no upper limit as to how much they will be charged. According to StudyUK, this range spans from £11,400 to £38,000 per year. [1]

When assessing the immediate barriers students face when studying at university, the most imminent threat is the cost of living crisis which is evidenced by think tanks like HEPI reporting that, for the first time, a majority of students (55%) were working part-time alongside their studies in 2023. [2]

NUS reports this as being a much higher percentage, with a recent survey finding that 69% of students are working part time, with a percentage of 65% stating that they work more this year than last. [3]

Students are working to cover the increased cost of rent, groceries, energy bills and transportation - taking on additional working hours to meet these needs puts a student's academic ability, as well as overall wellbeing, at risk due to the demands of the typical sectors worked in (hospitality/retail).

This results in little time, money or energy being left for personal development and hobbies - one of the key selling points of pursuing a degree. Students are told that this is the time to find out their passions and interests and to undertake internships that will directly lead to career development.

Other issues include additional cost for study abroad years and placement years as currently, the University of Leeds charges an additional £1,385. [4] Students on placement are unlikely to use university resources, especially if they are not located in Leeds, despite being charged for them. 

One method students use to alleviate these costs is to take on student loans which includes the Maintenance Loan, which has not been increased to reflect the cost of living for the better part of 8 years, and has only recently been increased by 3.1%. [5]

These loans are subject to interest rates which are likely only to increase continuously, long after you sign up for the loan (currently at 4.3% at the minimum).  The repayment of these loans depends on the time of which you began your studies. Students having started their course on/after 1st August 2023 are on Plan 5, and those that started between July 2012 and 31st July 2023 are on Plan 2.At this moment in time, the repayment threshold for Plan 2 students is £27,295 and graduates have to pay back 9% of their income over that threshold. The loan is forgiven 30 years after the point of graduation. For plan 5 students, the repayment threshold is £25,000 and also requires 9% of their income above this threshold. This loan is forgiven 40 years after the point of gradation.  [6]

The current structure of tuition fees is set to penalise students who need the upfront financial support to access higher education. This will significantly affect graduates for the majority of their working lives and will affect lifestyle choices such as when they are able to purchase their first property, family planning and where they choose to live. The effects of the current payment structure also disproportionately affects students from working class backgrounds, estranged/care leavers and those who have dependents as a larger initial loan needed results in larger amounts of interest accrued, and so larger repayments. 

Furthermore, there is no promise that there will be no additional increases to tuition fees in the coming years (or in the time that this policy runs out). It seems as though the Office for Budget Responsibility has factored into account a further increase in tuition fees from 2026/27. [8] 

This is not explicitly the fault of Universities because the University funding structure has changed with public funding being pulled and has become financially unsustainable. Some are floating the idea of raising the fee to £12,500 per year. Furthermore, although increased fees provide temporary relief to Universities, these institutions will have to swallow higher bills for national insurance contributions and wider reforms in the sector. [10, 11] 

Taking all of this information into account, a crisis is looming in which large swathes of students will be priced out of attending university and obtaining a degree as well as a large proportion of graduates being financially challenged for the majority of their working lives.

The higher education financial system is not sustainable for Universities or students and requires immediate reform from the national government.

What is your proposed change? How will it benefit students?

It is imperative that LUU establishes that it has a mandate to challenge the current system for funding higher education. The changes made to the student loan process, the cost of obtaining a degree severely negatively impact students, particularly those of a less privileged background. 

As policy lasts for 3 years, this idea, if successful, would be in place until November 2027. This would ensure that this idea is a call to action in the long term, and would seek to address the roots of the issue as opposed to treating it in the short term. We need to account for all of the students who previously have, currently do and in the future will walk through the doors of LUU. 

The points of action this idea can bring about include:

• Raise the issue to the NUS if their decision-making systems are not campaigning on this

• Collaborate with NUS and other student unions to lobby for the cap to not increase (or to go further and demand a decrease)

• In collaboration with other student unions, lobby for increased maintenance support

• Lobby the University of Leeds to provide more financial support - scholarships, grants bursaries that do not need to be paid back

• Lobby the University of Leeds to decrease other associated costs with university such as fees during years in industry.

• LUU to conduct research on its own students to assess what their financial worries are and use this as case studies as to why this policy should be taken onboard by NUS and other organisations

• Continue work such as lobbying with the associated groups to campaign for NHS placements to be paid, and that the reimbursement process is consistent, timely and fair.

Have you considered the impact of the proposed change for traditionally underrepresented student groups?

This proposed change will impact all students. The years of financial hardship being implicitly tied to obtaining a degree for a vast majority of students, disproportionately affecting students from working class backgrounds, care leavers, estranged students and students with dependents. The financial implications of attending university will deter many students as they will be convinced it is no longer financially viable. 

1. https://study-uk.britishcouncil.org/moving-uk/cost-studying  

2. https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2023/09/23/hepi-research-shows-nearly-half-of-universities-promote-part-time-work/#:~:text=The%20findings%20build%20on%20findings,year%20this%20was%20the%20case. 

3. https://www.nus.org.uk/new_data_reveals_the_hidden_student_job_crisis 

4. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2024/11/student-tuition-fee-rise-martin-lewis/#:~:text=Alongside%20a%20tuition%20fee%20loan,middle%20of%20that%20academic%20year.  

5. https://www.leeds.ac.uk/undergraduate-fees/doc/fees-undergraduate-fees#:~:text=Study%20abroad%20and%20work%20placement,fee%20will%20be%20%C2%A31%2C385 

6. https://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan  

7. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/nov/04/university-fees-in-england-to-rise-next-autumn-for-first-time-in-eight-years 

8. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/university-tuition-fees-to-rise-with-inflation-gq95rl26m 

9. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/oct/31/housing-social-care-universities-uk-budget 

10. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/oct/31/housing-social-care-universities-uk-budget  

11. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clywr60d2q7o