International fees to rise by £1,000

Prospective international students applying to study at The University of Warwick from next year will face an increase in tuition fees far beyond the rate of inflation.

This rise in fees will affect anyone applying to the university from outside of the EU, and will mean they will have to pay up to an extra £1,000 for their university education.

International students applying to study at Warwick in 2011 for ‘library-based courses’ such as Humanities will have to pay £825 more than students who started the same course this year. Similarly, students hoping to study Science, Economics, or Theatre and Performance courses will see a jump of £1,000 next year, an increase of over six per cent.

Five years ago, the same degree programmes would have cost between two and three thousand pounds less than they are today with band one subjects increasing from £9,150 to £11,500 between 2006 and 2011, and band two seeing fees soar from £11,900 to £15,000 per year.

The university claims that this rise which is ‘just ahead of inflation last year’ is in order to provide for the very high quality learning experience that is provided here at Warwick, according to the Head of Communications, Peter Dunn. Despite this, inflation in the UK stood at 3.2 per cent in June, and dropped slightly to 3.1 per cent in September as measured by the Consumer Prices Index.

Warwick Students’ Union Education Officer Sean Ruston disagrees with the fee changes. “Warwick SU has made our opposition to this clear, which is in line with our campaign regarding the Browne Review, ‘Warwick SU puts its foot down,’ which opposes any increase in fees.

“We feel that these increases, which are not in line with inflation, do not reflect increases in positive feedback from students and a better quality of teaching.”

The _Boar_ spoke to a number of students who are frustrated about the further increase of international tuition fees. Isabelle Lee, a third year Law student, who does not feel the changes are justifiable said,“I would not mind it if I saw some more resources and support for international students, but for the amount we pay, we do not see more benefits of tuition fee increases.”

On the other hand, one first year Management student is not at all worried about the fee increase. “I think it is understandable to increase the tuition fees for international students, as we do not have to pay taxes to study in England. My education is my top priority right now, and this increase will not affect me significantly in the long run.”

This increase in fees will affect some students more than others. Another first year Computer Science student comments, “I am aware that there is a big inflation increase, but it’s obvious that the international fees are above this. This will mean I will have to budget more carefully, and I definitely think that it will put more international students off coming to Warwick.”