The decision to charge some students up to £36,000 for a degree at St Andrews University has led to warnings it will become an elitist institution.
University principal Louise Richardson has insisted the fees represent “a very good deal”. However, the £9,000-a-year price tag for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland has infuriated the University and College Union (UCU), which warned it will make the Fife town one of the most expensive places in Britain to study.
UCU Scottish official Mary Senior said: “We are disappointed that St Andrews University has set its fees at the highest level for all four years of the Scottish honours degree, leaving students paying higher fees in Scotland than even in England.
“Only the wealthiest will now consider St Andrews an option.”
Ms Senior pointed out that most students south of the border would pay far less as most English degrees last just three years.
“Even without an extra year of study, the cost of living in and travelling to north-east Fife will make studying there more expensive than staying in England,” she continued.
“UCU is concerned that setting the variable fee at the highest level will stem the flow of English students leading to the loss of the funds that the university is attempting to maximise.”
Scottish Labour’s education spokesman, Ken Macintosh, was similarly scathing.
“I am dismayed by this decision from the university of St Andrews,” he said. “By charging £36,000 for a degree, it joins the University of Edinburgh as the most expensive place to study in Britain.
“I fear that many middle-income students who live in other parts of the UK will now be priced out of Scottish universities.”
Mr Macintosh said the famous seat of learning had proved itself “unable to show restraint”.
Despite the controversy, principal Professor Richardson insists the £9,000-a-year fee represents good value for money. She pointed out that it costs £11,772 to teach one undergraduate student for a year at St Andrews.
Professor Richardson said the University Court had also set to “temper” the effect of fee rises by approving a comprehensive new package of bursaries and financial aid for students.
“A fee of £9,000 per annum to attend is a very good deal and does not cover the cost of the education provided, nor does it reflect the lifelong benefits accrued by our students,” she said.