Following votes in the Houses of Commons and Lords in December 2010, universities will be able to charge up to £6k in tuition fees from 2012/13, with some being able to charge up to £9k.
The Office of Fair Access (OFFA) will be responsible for approving proposals to charge above the basic fee level of £6k. This will be done in the context of a revised institutional Access Agreement, setting out tuition fees, milestones for fair access, plans for financial support for under-represented groups and proposals for outreach activities.
OFFA has undertaken to publish detailed guidance on the content of access agreements by mid-February. The new Access Agreement has to be submitted by 31 March 2011. The timescale for the development of the University’s new Access Agreement and fee structure is extremely tight, particularly given the number of key pieces of information that have not yet been released.
The Vice-Chancellor’s Group (VCG) has established a Fees & Access Working Group to draft our revised Access Agreement and to make recommendations on an appropriate fee structure. The Working Group will be informed by discussions at Executive Committee, Finance Committee, Senate and Council.
The membership of the Working Group is:
Professor Bernie Morley, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (L&T) (Chair)
Diane Aderyn, Director of Finance
Dr Faith Butt, Director for Lifelong Learning
Professor Jonathan Knight, Head of Physics
Dr Katherine Lloyd Clark, Head of Recruitment & Admissions
Dr Nicky Kemp, Director of Policy & Planning
Sue Dors, Student Information & Funding Manager
Dr Harriet Dunbar-Morris, Executive Assistant (L&T) (Secretary)
Professor Morley, who has special responsibility for all matters relating to the student experience, will keep students informed of developments and will facilitate input of student views to the Working Group.
Students wishing to make comments or submit proposals on the new Access Agreement need to log on to BathStudent.com in order to view ‘Forums’ and then post your comments: www.bathstudent.com/fees/
Colleagues wishing to submit issues or proposals relating to the new Access Agreement can email the Group’s Secretary, Dr Harriet Dunbar-Morris.