It’s just over a year since the last year’s student protests in Westminster against the rise in tuition fees. One year on, with the rises coming into place in less than 12 months, 59% of people in England feel they have little or no understanding of the new finance system for higher education and less than four in ten correctly know no-one needs to pay the university up-front.
Today Universities and colleges up and down the UK will be hosting mass drop-in sessions aimed to help potential students and their families to gain a better understanding about what the rise in tuition fees will mean to them.
The day has been coordinated by the Independent Taskforce on Student Finance Information, headed by consumer champion and founder of MoneySavingExpert.com Martin Lewis, alongside the National Association of Student Money Advisers (NASMA) and the Higher Education Liaison Officers Association (HELOA).
Martin Lewis said “We have a near national crisis with the perception of student loan 2012 debt in England. Prospective students are making their decision based on headline fee levels rather than how much it’s actually likely to cost them. Many students, especially from lower income families are unnecessarily being put off. We need ensure they understand how it really works so they can make an informed decision.
We want to help with the great work I know is already happening in many schools to try and explain what the changes will mean and how they’ll work. As part of this we’ve picked a day to try and focus the attention, and that will see schools, colleges, universities and money advisors all work together to make things happen.”
If you are unable to make it to one of the events then have a look at our No-nonsense guide to Student Finance. It tells you everything you need to know about what you will be paying, when you will be paying it and how this is going to affect you both now, and in the future.
For more information on events happening near you and around the UK visit www.studentfinance2012.com
