Happy returns

Recently, the vice-chancellor of a large London-based university attempted [on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme] to justify an undergraduate tuition fee of £9,250 by arguing that the university needed all this money even for low-cost courses.

The private for-profit college of which I have the honour to be principal charges a fee of £6,000. A recent government study confirmed that our student retention rate significantly exceeds our benchmark. Our student satisfaction rate hovers at 97 per cent. Our fee of £6,000 not only enables us to achieve these results, but also provides a shareholder return; additionally we are obliged to pay taxes from which most universities are exempt.

Geoffrey Alderman
Principal, Nelson College London

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