Scrap fees limit, says college chief

Oxford should be able to charge students more, says college head

The top universities should be able to charge whatever tuition fees they want, says the head of an Oxford college.

Lord Butler, master of University College, said that the "strongest" universities should be allowed to charge higher fees, which could lead to a version of the "Ivy League" of elite colleges in the United States.

This could mean fees and living costs of about £10,000 per year for Oxford students.

The government is currently proposing that tuition fees should be raised to an upper limit of £3,000 per year.

But there have been claims that this attempt to raise more funds for higher education will still not be enough for the top universities to compete with their global rivals.

In particular, leading universities in the United Kingdom have looked at their much wealthier competitors in the United States.

Bursaries

Speaking at the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, Lord Butler said that universities in the United Kingdom should be able to "take the Ivy League route".

It would also mean that students from wealthier families would pay substantially higher fees than we have so far seen in the United Kingdom.

And as with many leading US universities, this would mean that poorer students would receive more financial support than at present.

Lord Butler said that the amount students paid to go to university would have to increase if universities were to be adequately funded.

"We have to choose between greater student contributions in some form, or a universities sector that continues to decline in quality,"

And he argued that by allowing universities the freedom to set their own fees, it would reduce the reliance on government funding and would roll back the involvement of government in higher education.