Letter to prospective Durham University students and their parents, from the President of Durham Students’ Union and concerned student leaders
College fee increases: How much they’ve really increased since 2010, Vs how much they would have increased with inflation (If it was RPI – which the government doesn’t consider a reliable index, but the University now uses, and if it was CPI, widely considered the more accurate inflation index)
Academic Year Catered Standard Actual If Inflation (RPI) If Inflation (CPI)
2010/11 £4,854 £5,077 £5,014 2017/18 £7,171 £6,193 £5,801
As current students, we want to tell you about our college costs. We don’t want anyone blindsided by the cost when they get here, and we want to make Durham better for the future, and we need your help.
We love our colleges. We want all Durham students to get the most out of being part of a college, because they are amazingly supportive, uplifting communities.
But the cost of living in college has been rising steeply, and financial support isn’t keeping up. It’s no longer something for all Durham students, it’s something for those who can afford to pay the college accommodation fees. That’s not the Durham University we, as students, want.
And for those who can afford to pay? Rats in the bath-tub, holes in the ceiling and fungi in the corners are just some of the challenges of day-to-day life in college accommodation. We’re not getting value for money. And those amazing, supportive college communities? Well they’re getting less diverse, less representative of the wider society we’ll go out and live our lives in, and more elitist, because the cost of living in college excludes those who can’t afford to pay it.
Durham University knows this, but they’re still planning to raise fees again next year. Durham University knows students are angry about this, but they don’t know that you are too. An email from a prospective student or parent has such power, and your support will have an impact for so many current and future students. So please tell our Vice-Chancellor Stuart Corbridge you’re concerned about the cost of college accommodation, and help us protect our college communities.
Stuart Corbridge, Vice-Chancellor, Durham University - [email protected]