Lower university tuition fees for students until online teaching ends

Students across the UK have returned to University to be told our learning will be predominantly online for the foreseeable future. The Government should therefore lower our tuition fees and we should receive a partial refund for the effects this will have on our learning and university experience.

Millions of students have been overlooked by the govt throughout this pandemic. Tuition fees remain at 9.2k a year plus interest which hasn’t been addressed. Thousands of 1st year students have been forced into isolation with no consideration to the effects this will have on mental health. Uni students have been told to trust the government through these unprecedented times but we’ve been constantly overlooked. I’m asking the government to lower tuition fees until learning goes back to normal.

Government recognises this is a difficult period for students and supports their desire to continue receiving the best possible learning experience from their higher education providers (HEPs). Government also recognises the efforts being made by HEPs and their staff in continuing to deliver education and support during these unprecedented times.

HEPs are open and combining online and in-person teaching in COVID-secure environments to minimise risk. There are innovative examples of high-quality online and blended learning happening across the country, and developing and delivering this provision may be more expensive for HEPs than in-person teaching. Government has been clear that the quantity and quality of teaching, and accessibility for all students, must be maintained. If students are dissatisfied with their HEP, then they have rights under consumer law that they can rely on.

Government has been working with the Office for Students (OfS), which published a statement on 9 October outlining measures that it is taking to monitor digital teaching quality. This includes contacting HEPs that have moved predominantly to online provision due to local COVID-19 restrictions. The OfS is monitoring HEPs to ensure they maintain the quality of provision, make every effort to ensure online learning is accessible to all, and have been clear in their communications to students about how arrangements for teaching and learning may change. The OfS will investigate if it has concerns.

The institutional autonomy of HEPs means that they are responsible for setting their own fees, up to a maximum of £9,250 per year for a standard full-time undergraduate course for those on the Approved (fee cap) part of the OfS register. It is a condition of OfS registration that HEPs must deliver well-designed courses that provide a high-quality academic experience, and enable students’ achievement to be reliably assessed. In deciding whether to continue charging full fees during the pandemic, we expect HEPs to ensure that they are delivering courses that are fit for purpose and are helping students’ progress towards their qualifications.