This Monday, the government announced that the tuition fee cap would rise from September 2025 by £285 to £9,535. This was announced alongside a 3.1% rise in the maintenance loan that students can take and a longer-term review into the finances of higher education in England. You can read more about the announcement and UoG’s reaction here on My Glos. 

As an SU, we’re pleased to see the finances of universities finally being spoken about and we truly welcome the increase in maintenance loan payments to help with the cost of living but we’re also disappointed that the first step taken to stablise struggling universities was to raise tuition fees. Whilst the rise in fees won’t impact the day-to-day costs that students face next year it will mean yet more debt which graduates have to pay back. We know that the 40-year debt can hang heavy for many of our members and adding to that is a depressing place to start.

Ultimately, we believe education is a public good and that the funding of higher education should reflect that.  Students graduating from UoG go on to be social workers, police officers and teachers; they are entrepreneurs, artists and filmmakers and they contribute to the country positively.

Ness Garratt, Activities and Opportunities Officer, said: “It’s disheartening to see that the rise of tuition fees was the government’s immediate response to solving some of the sector’s financial instability and at the cost of students too. It would have been preferable to have seen an indication towards subsidies or grants for students. But at this time, I’d like to encourage our students to speak up and get your voices heard. We'll be thinking about how we can best amplify your voice on this issue in the coming days so watch out for an update.”

So, what can you do next? We’d always encourage you to talk to us in the SU, ask questions and make suggestions - we’ll do our absolute best to represent your views locally and nationally. It's likely that NUS will be involved in shaping the next stage of conversation about higher education funding and we intended to be fully involved in that work. 

If you're worried about your finances at all or are concerned for a friend, always remember that you can reach out to the University Money Advice team here, on MyGlos.