Access concerns follow planned hike in uni fees

Plans to increase university tuition fees risk “creating additional barriers” for aspiring vets and making life even tougher for those training, a students’ group has warned.

Ministers have insisted the measure, which is set to be implemented from next autumn alongside higher maintenance loans, is necessary to ensure financial stability in higher education.

But the Association of Veterinary Students (AVS) believes far more radical change is needed to encourage wider participation.

‘Disparity’

The group said: “Rising loan amounts will deter talented prospective students from pursuing studies in veterinary sciences and will further increase disparity between those for whom it is financially viable.

“There is a critical need for funding solutions that enhance accessibility, rather than creating additional barriers.”

Under the plans set out in a Parliamentary statement on 4 November, the maximum cap on annual undergraduate tuition fees in England will rise to £9,535 for the 2025-26 academic year.

The limit has been frozen at £9,250 since 2017, and fears have grown about the risk of cuts in both jobs and course provision at some universities without a new settlement.

Maintenance loans, worth between £8,610 and £13,348 per student this year, will also rise by an extra £414 per year, while the Government plans to introduce a lower fee limit of £5,760 a year for foundation years in what it described as “classroom-based subjects”.

BVA president Elizabeth Mullineaux conceded the fee increase was “perhaps inevitable”, but echoed the AVS’ view that broader action remains necessary.

She said: “A thriving UK veterinary profession relies on vet students having access to good quality higher education, and therefore, the UK’s universities and vet schools must be properly funded to ensure they remain sustainable.

“If we are to attract more students from all socio-economic backgrounds to take up veterinary courses and tackle shortages in the veterinary workforce, the Government must provide better financial support for students.”

Concerns have been growing for some time about the gap between the costs vet schools face in delivering degree programmes and the total generated from fees and the central grant.

The announcement of the increase followed a recent Veterinary Schools Council report which called for the implementation of a funding settlement that was “fair” to both its member organisations and to students.

The council declined to comment on the Government’s decision when approached by Vet Times.

But the move was welcomed as “the right thing to do” by Universities UK, the body that represents the wider higher education sector. Its chief executive, Vivienne Stern, said inflation had eroded the real value of both fees and loans by around one-third during the freeze period – a situation she described as “completely unsustainable for both students and universities”.

But the AVS said a Freedom of Information request submitted earlier this year had revealed veterinary graduates finish their degrees with average interest-bearing debts of nearly £50,000.

‘Further limits’

The group added: “Many veterinary students already depend on grants, scholarships or bursaries to support their studies, and this decision further limits access to the programme.

“In addition to this, many will undertake one or multiple part-time jobs, leaving little to no time outside of the numerous hours of studying, EMS and time on rotations expected of us.”