V-cs shelve decision on top-up fees

NO DECISION on top-up fees will be made until the Dearing committee has delivered its report, vice chancellors decided last week.

Following a Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals council meeting last week, chairman Gareth Roberts said any decisions should wait until after the CVCP's residential conference in Strathclyde in September 1997.

Governors at the London School of Economics this week shelved any decision on undergraduate tuition fees until the new year when the new director Anthony Giddens takes office.

But Professor Roberts admitted that a "substantial" number of vice chancellors would be considering fees for the 1998/99 academic year and warning students of their possible introduction.

The CVCP also heard legal advice that universities and students are contractually bound as soon as the student has accepted the offer of a place. The CVCP and UCAS asked for clarification of the relationship between students and higher education institutions earlier this year because of controversy over top-up fees.

According to the legal advice from solicitors Eversheds, students would be able to take action for breach of contract if top-up fees were imposed after they had taken up a place, even if students were allowed to change their choices.

To prevent this, it advises universities to include detailed references to top-up fees in their prospectuses, including a description of circumstances in which they would be imposed and a reference to the maximum level of fee. Documentation from UCAS should also stress the possibility of top-up fees.

V-cs also heard that Budget changes to the Teachers' Superannuation Scheme will lead to a flood of early retirements from new universities before March 31.