Private college announces sub-£6k fees for undergraduate degrees

The ifs School of Finance will charge £5,750 per year for its three-year degree in banking practice and management and is also looking at the possibility of offering the course over two years.

It also plans to introduce two new full-time undergraduate courses with fees of £6,000 - a specialist BSc in accounting and finance for financial services and a degree in financial analysis and risk, which is tailored to the wholesale financial services market.

Gavin Shreeve, principal of the not-for-profit school, which gained degree-awarding powers last year, said: “Gaining taught degree-awarding powers now enables us to offer our highly regarded industry benchmark qualifications on a full-time basis.

“We firmly believe that our degree programmes give students every chance of securing employment in financial services and related sectors.

“Our links to the sector and the City are well established and our students will benefit from this close relationship, gaining invaluable exposure to potential employers.”

As well as teaching the degrees to students who study at the school, which is based in the City of London, ifs is also considering partnerships with further education colleges to provide the courses in other parts of the country.

In 2012-13, students studying with private providers that have courses designated for state loan support can borrow up to £6,000 a year to pay their fees.

The institutions themselves will face no restrictions on the number of loan-supported students they recruit, but this “loophole” is likely to be closed from 2013-14 once proposals from the higher education White Paper have been fully considered.

simon.baker@tsleducation.com