Cambridge to offer students one of the most flexible and extensive support packages in the UK.

The ballot of members of the Regent House, the University’s governing body, has resulted in a majority in favour of a £9,000 tuition fee.

Cambridge will now submit an access agreement to the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) in support of its proposal to charge a £9,000 fee for UK and EU students.

The University will offer one of the most extensive and flexible packages of financial support in the UK giving eligible students unprecedented choice in how they use their Cambridge bursary.

Professor Steve Young, Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor, said: “This agreement will include the commitment to spend £9 million a year on financial support for Cambridge undergraduates from 2012, in addition to the Government’s loan and grant schemes.

“Cambridge is committed to providing students with one of the highest levels of financial support during their studies at our world-class University.

“We will also commit to spending an extra £1 million to expand our outreach work which aims to help raise the attainment and aspiration of state school pupils. This is in addition to the £2.25 million a year which we already spend on outreach activities.”

Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, said: “The University of Cambridge is committed to recruiting the brightest and best students irrespective of their background. No UK students should be deterred from applying to the University of Cambridge because of financial considerations and no students should have to leave because of financial difficulties.

“Cambridge has one of the highest retention rates of students of any UK university and its graduates benefit from an extraordinary quality of education and employability.”

The access agreement includes the Cambridge Bursary, a non-repayable grant, which will be available to students from households with an income below £42,600.

Where a student’s parental annual income is less than £25,000, he or she will receive a full Cambridge Bursary of £3,500 per annum. Awards will be tapered down to earnings of £42,600.

The Cambridge Bursary can be used at the student’s choice towards either maintenance costs or a fee waiver to reduce the amount of tuition loan.

A mature student who is eligible for a Government means-tested Higher Education Maintenance Grant will be eligible for a Cambridge Bursary of up to £5,650 depending on household income.

£1.5 million will be available for specific categories of students under the Enhanced Support Scheme.

Enhanced support will provide fee waivers of £6,000 to students with low income backgrounds .

The details of the access agreement will now be developed and submitted to OFFA before the deadline of 19 April.
 

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