LIVERPOOL John Moores University is to charge the maximum £9,000 fee in a move it believes will “secure its long- term future”, the Daily Post can reveal.
Last night, its Vice Chancellor, Professor Michael Brown, said charging the minimum £6,000 tuition fee would cost it £26m a year and “the university would close”.
In opting to impose the maximum fees from next year, the ex-polytechnic puts itself in the same camp as the University of Liverpool and other red brick universities such as Oxford.
Professor Brown said it was likely the university would be “stepping up” existing bursaries and scholarships and insisted the £9,000-a-year levy would ensure students continued to get a “life-changing experience”.
But news a second city university was imposing top fees prompted fears from Liverpool council leader Joe Anderson that fewer students would take the plunge – denting the £250m students bring to the local economy.
Professor Brown, who retires after an 11-year tenure in August, said: “If we adopted the £6,000 minimum, we would lose £26m a year due to the shortfall in funding. But charging £9,000 a year students will continue to get a good academic education and additional graduate skills through our World of Work programme.
