Abstract
The introduction of the new tuition fee regime in the UK academic session 2012–2013 has resulted in concerns in the Higher Education (HE) community that students’ expectations may become unmanageable. Previous research has explored the expectations and experiences of undergraduate psychology students; the current study extended this by considering whether the increased tuition fees have changed the experiences of academic staff in HE. To achieve this, five semi-structured interviews with psychology staff in two post-92 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) were undertaken. Results suggested staff perceptions have undergone minimal change in their day-to-day experiences. However, perceptions of the wider HE issues, such as meeting targets and fulfilling requirements of the role, appear to be enhanced following the contextual changes of HE. Finally, the results reported here suggest generally good staff satisfaction, regardless of these changing times within the sector. Future research and the need for more widespread, large scale studies are discussed.
Highlights
IntroductionThe recent increase in University tuition fees in the UK gave rise to concerns about the impact on student expectations
Staff found students to be more motivated, and in some cases, more independent than students in previous cohorts: “...it’s always traditionally... well our A-Level teachers told us everything why won’t you tell me exactly what’s on that question paper...but this year I didn’t find the first years like that...” (Participant 1). This is in line with findings from recent studies suggesting the increased tuition fee rise has not affected student expectations but rather their motivations to studying [2]
Whilst recognizing the limitations detailed above, this study is the first of its kind to explore the experience of academic staff in the UK since the introduction of the higher tuition fees in
Summary
The recent increase in University tuition fees in the UK gave rise to concerns about the impact on student expectations. Tuition fees were first introduced in September 1998 with students contributing up to £1000 a year towards their University education. By January 2004 the cap was lifted further and institutions were able to charge “top up” fees of up to £3000 a year rising to £3290 a year by the year. The Browne Review [1] recommended allowing Universities to charge up to £9000 a year which was implemented in England from September 2012. With these large financial investments in Higher Education (HE), it was suggested that students’
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