Some Of The Poorest Areas In UK Charge Highest Tuitions a

In the United Kingdom, a number of universities plan to charge the maximum tuition fees while having one of the worst employment rates in the country

The faltering economies of Western nations have brought to the surface the debate over the “cost vs. value” of higher education.  People want to know that they are getting value for the exorbitant costs that seem to grow exponentially year after year.  In the UK, as in the United States, that debate is taking place.

The Daily Telegraph is reporting nearly one in four of the 2010 graduates from the University of East London were unemployed last year.  This according to the government-funded Higher Education Statistics Agency. The thing raising eyebrows is that the university is still planning charge the maximum tuition fees of £9,000 a year for the 2012-2013 school year.

Similarly, Birmingham City, the London Metropolitan, Westminster and Kingston universities, which all featured in the bottom 10 institutions in terms of employment, all said they would charge up to £9,000 annual tuition fees. However, Birmingham City said average course fees would be nearer the £8,000-a-year mark.

But the University of East London is by no means the exception.  Other universities whose graduates are struggling to find work, such as the University of Bolton and London South Bank, are also preparing to make students pay near the maximum rates. The figures will raise questions over why the education providers feel they can justify charging such huge sums when they have some of the worst job prospects of any other institution in the UK.

By contrast, Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln came sixth place in the overall best universities in terms of employment, but plans annual tuition fees of £7,500.

To read the rest of Louisa Peacock’s article, and see more charts detailing the rising costs of higher education in Great Britain, click here.