London School of Economics and Political Science

1 Will you charge:
A Top-up fees across the board maximum (?3,000)
B A flat rate for all courses below ?3,000. (If so, what is it)
C Different rates for different courses.(If so,please specify range - ie minimum/maximum)


2 If you are varying fees will they be:
A Lower for Sciences
B Lower for Arts/Humanities/social sciences
C Lower for foundation degrees
D Lower for vocationally-focused degrees
E A combination, please state (areas or specific courses)


3 Are you introducing bursaries?
A Yes
B No


4 How much for?
"Not decided, but we expect to spend around a third of the additional income on student support. However, that's carefully phrased as it may not just be bursaries but scholarships and hardship funds. There may be upfront support or more available for people who end up in difficulties later. It would be important to describe it as student support. We're not sure of precise amounts or spread."


5 If yes, will they be:
A Targeted at the most needy students
B Targeted at subjects which are short of students
C A mixture, please detail


6 If yes, are they funded
A From central university funds
B From a benefactor, private donations, etc?
C A mixture


7 Have you employed outside agencies to help you make the decision (market researchers/brand managers)?
A Yes
B No
"Some of the people who have done the research on fees are in the LSE - we have a centre for economics of education."


8 Where will you spend the extra income?
A Better student facilities
B Better academic facilities
C Better academic pay
D Bursaries
E Bumping up research capacity
F Other, please state
No answer


9 Will top-up fees provide enough extra income for the university for the foreseeable future?
A Yes
B "No. The additional income related to UK undergraduates, even if you didn't spend any of it on student support, is still below the costs of educating those undergraduates in all of those programmes. Although the economics of the undergraduate programmes improve, it's still loss-making."


10 How long do you expect the limit on top-up fees to remain at ?3,000
A 1-3 years
B 4-6 years
C 7-10 years
D Over 10 years
No idea


11 Do you think top-up fees will put less well-off students off going to university?
A Yes
B No. "It's difficult to be completely certain, but particularly with well-targeted student support we should be able to off-set any disincentive. I personally believe with my financial background, the notion that younger people are debt adverse is not true. But we'll have to watch it carefully."


12 How do you think Offa will affect your attempts to widen participation?
A Help
B Hinder
C Have no effect
D Undecided. "I'd be surprised if it helped because we have highly developed programmes in this area which are highly rated by the Sutton trust, so I'm just hoping that it won't hinder us."