University of Birmingham plans to charge £9,000 fees

The Guild of Students said the decision was a predictable consequence of the government's cuts

The University of Birmingham has said it plans to charge £9,000 annual tuition fees from 2012 due to cuts in central government teaching grants.

It said it would also invest £600m in its facilities and it would continue to fund schemes to widen participation.

The university runs an A2B access scheme to work with families with little experience of higher education.

Birmingham's Guild of Students said the fee rise would be disappointing but understandable in light of the cuts.

Dora Meredith, Guild president said: "We understand that Birmingham needs to remain competitive, however, we will be very keen to see how Birmingham can add value for those students paying the highest fees.

"Whilst the bursary package and focus on encouraging students from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend university is positive, we shouldn't forget the reality of the debt our students will incur."

Birmingham's Aston University announced on Thursday it wanted to raise fees from the current £3,290 maximum level to £9,000 for EU and UK undergraduates.

Both decisions are subject to approval from the Office for Fair Access.

The universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College, Durham, Exeter, Essex, Surrey, Manchester, Warwick, Lancaster and UCL have now said they want to charge the maximum yearly tuition fee of £9,000.

On Thursday, Bishop Grosseteste University College in Lincoln became the first university in England to announce planned tuition fees for 2012 below the £9,000 maximum - saying it intended to charge £7,500 for BA courses.