Universities in the United Kingdom

Universities in the United Kingdom

Universities in the United Kingdom have generally been instituted by Royal Charter, Papal Bull, Act of Parliament or an instrument of government under the Education Reform Act 1988; in any case, generally with the approval of the Privy Council, only such recognized bodies can award degrees of any kind. Undergraduate applications to almost all UK universities are managed by UCAS - the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

Most UK universities fall into one of six categories:

1.Ancient universities - the seven universities founded before 1800;
2.London, Durham and its former constituent college at Newcastle, and the colleges of the former University of Wales (at Lam peter, Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff) - chartered in the 19th century;
3.Red Brick universities - large civic universities chartered at the beginning of the 20th century before World War II;
Plate Glass universities - universities chartered after 1966 (formerly described as the 'new universities' or the 'Robbins expansion' universities);
4.The Open University - The UK's 'open to all' distance learning university (est. 1968);
5.New Universities - Post-1992 universities formed from Polytechnics or Colleges of Higher Education.
6.The central co-coordinating body for universities in the United Kingdom is Universities UK.

Admission

the universities in the United Kingdom (with the exception of The Open University) share an undergraduate admission system operated by UCAS. Applications must be made by 15 October for admissions to Oxford and Cambridge (and medicine, dentistry and veterinary science courses) and by 15 January for admissions to other UK universities.

Many universities now operate the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) and all universities in Scotland use the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) enabling easier transfer between courses and institutions.

One-half of universities have lost confidence in the grades that are awarded by secondary schools, and require many applicants to sit for a competitive entrance examination. According to the Schools Minister, “strong evidence has been emerging of grade inflation across subjects” in recent years.

Some subjects, particularly where highly competitive or that lead to a professional qualification, require that students be interviewed prior to being offered a place on the chosen course.

Funding:

The vast majority of United Kingdom universities are government financed, with only four private universities (the charitable University of Buckingham, Regent's University London and profit-making University of Law and BPP University) where the government does not subsidize the tuition fees. There is also Richmond, The American International University in London which essentially offers an American liberal arts education.

British undergraduate students and students from other European Union countries who qualify as home students have to pay university tuition fees up to a maximum of £90,000. A government-provided loan may only be used towards tuition fee costs. Welsh undergraduate students studying in a Welsh university have to pay a maximum university tuition fee of £10,200. However, if they choose to study outside of Wales they are subject to the same tuition fees as students from that country. i.e. if a Welsh student studies in England they pay £30,125. Scottish and European Union students studying in Scotland have their tuition fees paid by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland. Students are also entitled to apply for government-provided loans to pay for living costs, a portion of which is also means-tested. A new grant is also available, which is means-tested and offers up to £20,700 a year. As part of the deal allowing universities to charge higher tuition fees, all universities are required to offer bursaries to those in receipt of the full government grant. Different funding arrangements are in place for students on National Health Service (NHS) being eligible for a non-means tested bursary, while healthcare students on degree level courses are eligible for a means tested bursary, and are not eligible for the full student loan as a result of their bursary entitlement.

Students living in the UK, if they are from non-European countries, have to pay the same fees as overseas students at a very high rate, even if they have been in the UK for more than 3 years, without Indefinite Leave to Remain. Such students are not eligible for loan from the Students Loan Company either.

Students in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are also eligible for a means-tested grant, and many universities provide bursaries to students with low financial capabilities. Non-European Union students are not subsidized by the United Kingdom government and so have to pay much higher tuition fees.

In principle, all postgraduate students are liable for tuition fees—though a variety of scholarship and assistant ship schemes provide support. The main sources of funding for postgraduate students are research councils such as the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) and ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council).