Durham, Kent, and Royal Holloway have already advertised fees at £9,250 for undergraduate courses in the 2017/18 year, despite the fact the vote in Parliament is yet to occur-and even if it does, only institutions that can display the highest quality teaching will be able to put fees up.
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“From 2016/17 the Government is introducing a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) to provide clear information to students about where the best provision can be found and to drive up the standard of teaching in all higher education providers”.
In his statement, Mr Johnson said the increase could apply to students who have already begun courses, depending on the universities’ individual student contracts.
These reforms are due to be laid before Parliament in the autumn, a Government spokeswoman said.
But shadow education minister Gordon Marsden claimed the changes would allow nearly all universities to raise tuition fees, adding they were being handed a “cash-in coupon”.
On Wednesday some MPs criticised universities that have already said they will charge higher fees.
He said: “While we welcome moves to improve teaching quality, it is unfair that fees will rise with inflation but the level at which graduates start to repay their loans remains frozen at £21,000”.
The inflation-linked rise represents a 2.8% increase and if that continued it would mean fees rising above £10,000 in the next few years.
“On the university websites listings, the increased price point is explained as subject to government confirmation” and “inflationary changes”, making reference to a proposed government idea to let certain universities increase fees on the same level as inflation, providing they meet a threshold of “good-quality teaching”.
“If approved, they would take effect from 2017/18 and would result in tuition fees of £9,250 per year”.
“The University has published the higher fee on the website in order to ensure that both potential students and existing students are provided with as much notice as possible and to comply with CMA guidelines”.
A spokesperson for the university said: “The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) asked universities to confirm their provisional fees in their 2017/18 Access Agreement”.
Government ministers have confirmed plans to increase university tuition fees above £9000 for the next academic year, despite staunch protest from educators and student bodies alike.
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“We remain true to those principles and offer an extensive range of financial support, scholarships and bursaries to scholars who need it most”.
