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A long-awaited report on higher education financing in England recommends reducing the maximum undergraduate tuition fee from 9,250 pounds (about $11,664) to £7,500 (about $9,458) and calls for the government to increase grants to universities to replace the lost fee income in full.
Other proposed changes include the reintroduction of “maintenance” grants of at least £3,000 (about $3,783) per year for living costs for low-income students, establishing a lifelong learning loan allowance for adult learners and increasing funding for the further education college system (further education is defined as any education after secondary school that is not part of higher education -- that is, not part of an undergraduate or graduate degree).
The report also recommends changes to England's income-contingent loan system: specifically, it recommends lowering the repayment threshold at which graduates start repaying loans and extending the repayment period from 30 to 40 years, with the expectation that a higher percentage of loans would ultimately be repaid.
University groups said they welcomed the proposals that would increase support for low-income students and for adult learners, while stressing their position that the government must make up any funding shortfall created by a fee cut. The report commissioned by Prime Minister Theresa May is being released into something of a political vacuum, as May announced her resignation last week.
