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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE BY DEPUTY J. M. MACON OF ST. SAVIOUR
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 17th NOVEMBER 2015
Question
The Skills for Success' document (R.61/2014) refers to Higher Education and, specifically on page 24 at paragraph 66, it refers to a situation whereby tuition fees could increase, leading to a requirement for additional investment from the States. Will the Minister be seeking additional funds for Higher Education within the MTFP addition and, if not, what contingency will he have in place should the tuition fee increase during the period of the MTFP addition?
Answer
The department is closely monitoring UK Government policy on university tuition fees, and met with the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills in early 2015 to discuss likely policy changes and the potential impact on the Island.
Advice given at the time indicated that it was highly unlikely any significant increases would be introduced within the next few years. Based on that information, no bids were submitted for increased tuition fees during the MTFP that spans 2016 to 2019. Requests were made to increase the thresholds for student finance and the level of maintenance grants. However, there were higher priorities across the States for the limited funding available.
The UK Government has since announced a Green Paper proposal to enable fees to rise by inflation for high performing universities. If approved Jersey will have to assess what the impact will be. The current estimate is for fees to rise by no more than £100 per year per course. This will not apply to all courses and will be phased in as new student start so any impact will be spread.