V-cs push for clarity over fees

Vice-chancellors have called on the government to clarify proposed regulations on fee charges.

They want clearer definitions on what universities are and are not allowed to charge in addition to the Pounds 1,025 maximum fee for 1999-2000.

Students should pay for a wide range of services on top of their standard fee, such as exam resits, module retakes, travel expenses, field trips and course equipment, the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals has said.

In a paper responding to the government's proposed regulations, the CVCP suggests broader definitions are needed of what services students should pay for.

Field trips, for instance, should include concerts, visits to fashion shows, art galleries, public buildings, zoos, external lectures and clinical placements of medical students, the paper suggests.

Occupational therapy and physiotherapy students should be expected to pay for their uniforms, and some students may be required to pay for particular types of calculator for examination purposes. Students might even have to make a contribution to the cost of health and safety equipment, such as masks and safety spectacles.

Institutions should be allowed to charge students taking a language year abroad for fees levied by foreign universities that are higher than the Pounds 500 maximum set by the government for such study periods. Some foreign university fee charges are as high as Pounds 4,000 per year, the paper points out.

Accreditation of prior learning "requires significant effort" on the part of institutions, and they should therefore be allowed to charge for these services as well, the paper argues.