Students tell of fees resentment

Students leave university with a typical debt of almost �12,000

Students have voiced resentment at paying thousands of pounds in fees for only a few hours of lectures a week.

Arts undergraduates on a "student jury" set up by ministers said they should pay less than those on science courses, because they had less teaching time.

Others expressed anxiety about how they would repay the student loans they take out to pay their yearly fees of �3,000.

There should be more transparency about what they were paying fees for, the government report for England said.

Students in four areas - Manchester, London, Bristol and Sheffield - were asked for their views on university life in a series of these "student juries".

Jurors highlighted many positive aspects of their experience of higher education including opportunities for personal development and social life.

Since top-up fees were introduced education has changed from a service to a product Bristol juror

But issues linked to university tuition fees and anxiety over student debts were a recurrent theme.

Graduates now leave university with a typical debt of almost �12,000.

All four juries said students' expectations had been affected by the fact they were now "customers".

They expected "value for money" and wanted good quality teaching. Some even called for guaranteed levels of service.

There needed to be more "transparency" about what they were paying for and how this money was being allocated, the report said.

They also wanted more advice and guidance on how to meet their increased financial responsibilities.

One juror from Bristol said: "Since top-up fees were introduced education has changed from a service to a product.

"It's not so much the experience you're paying for as a piece of paper."

'Value for money'

Another said: "There's too little 'contact time' if you're an English student - I should pay less than someone reading medicine.

"We have to purchase our own books, and we don't get the same contact time."

This view was reflected by a London juror: "As an arts student, why are my fees the same as for a science course? I have less teaching time, so why aren't my fees less?"

Other London jurors said the services students got for their money were poor.

"We are being forced into being consumers, so we want value for money," said one.

Another said: "We need a national service level agreement. Why don't universities have to sign a contract to say what they will or have to do for us?"

"We want better regulations that are standard across all institutions," said another.

'Vital perspective'

Several jurors from Manchester said targets for increased student numbers were having a negative effect on teaching quality.

One juror said many class sizes were too large and impersonal.

Minister for Students Baroness Delyth Morgan said the juries had provided a "vital student perspective".

They would inform the debate around future policy and advise ministers on what students reasonably expected from the time and money they spent in their university studies, she added.

The juries' findings will be carried forward to the National Student Forum set up in January to give students a voice in government.

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