Students' fears over rising university fees

Students across the Channel Islands have raised concerns about planned increases to university fees.

The UK government announced plans in October to increase university tuition fees every year in line with inflation from 2026 onwards.

Students from the Channel Islands currently at university or who are planning on starting a course in the next academic year said the increases were "worrying".

Jersey and Guernsey's governments said they were working on plans to help local students get the funding needed to go to university in the UK.

Fees increased this academic year from £9,250 to £9,535 - an increase of £285.

The inflation measure used - the Retail Price Index minus mortgage payments, known as RPIx - is likely to be the one used for future increases.

While announcing the plans, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson confirmed the increase for the next two years and promised legislation which would make it happen automatically every year after.

Ella Rousell, who left Guernsey in September to study politics at the University of York, said the prospect of further increases was "daunting", especially as student finance works differently in the Channel Islands compared to the UK.

In the UK, students get funding through Student Finance, which provides a loan from the government, while those in the Channel Islands receive funding direct from the islands' governments in a grants system.

"It's definitely very challenging, especially for middle-income families," she said.

"I can only foresee these fee changes discouraging Channel Island students from pursuing university education because it is much too costly."

An increase in university fees has also been a concern for students at Hautlieu Sixth Form Centre in Jersey.

Amy, who is planning to go to university next year, said the increases were a "big fear" for her.

"We're applying to university now and these changes will affect us whilst we're already in university," she said.

Ashley said the fees had been a "worry" for her.

"Being from Jersey, you can't save costs by commuting to university and living at home," she said.

Zoe said the uncertainty of how much the fees would increase by was her main concern.

"We can't make any kind of plans for it, we just have to guess," she said.

Fellow student Pedro added: "It's quite worrying especially as some people in Jersey can't afford university and these increases might mean they completely disregard going."

James said he felt university had become "much worse off" due to the fees being frozen since 2017.

He continued: "I think in Jersey we're quite lucky that the government will actually fund a lot of the tuition," adding he was in a position where the government would pay 100% of the fees.

"I know there's always lots of complaints that universities don't offer value for money for students but I think that by actually increasing the costs, it actually makes it easier for universities to do that, because they actually have the resources to give you the attention that you deserve," he said.

But he added: "For some people though it will be difficult because their parents won't be able to contribute."

In Guernsey, higher education funding for students leaving post-16 education is calculated on a means test of parents' household income, assets and allowances such as another dependent child.

Accommodation, living expenses and flights typically push up the cost per student above £20,000 each academic year.

The States said students from a typical two-parent family could expect to receive a full contribution for the cost of tuition fees and living expenses if the gross income of the household is "under about £60,000 a year, after which the parental contribution rises steadily".

In Jersey, the amount of funding students receive is calculated from a consideration of the incomes and assets of the student, their parents and any other people they might live with.

If gross income is under £53,000, students receive full tuition fees and maximum maintenance grants up to £9,138.

If a household's income is more than £53,000, then students can still get grants but at a reduced rate.

Jersey's Education Minister Rob Ward said: "Following the recent announcement by the UK government of plans to increase tuition fee caps in line with inflation for academic years 2026/27 and 2027/28, I intend to increase the maximum tuition fee grant accordingly.

"Further details will be shared once the new amounts have been confirmed and implemented into the relevant legislation."

Guernsey's Committee of Education, Sport and Culture President Paul Montague said a review of funding provision for higher education was underway.

He said: "In the meantime, the English universities' fee increase was not a surprise, and has been factored into grant funding for 2026."

Clarification 19 December: This article has been updated to include more detail from James, one of the contributors, about his position on the proposals to changes for tuition fees.

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