LEADING universities are to press for tuition fees to be increased to £7,000 a year as figures to be released this week reveal higher charges have not deterred students.

The official figures will show that applications by UK students to British universities have risen to a record high despite the recent introduction of annual fees of £3,000.

The data from the universities admission service, Ucas, will reveal an increase of more than 5% this year to about 530,000, with some universities reporting double-digit rises.

It reverses a dip of 3.5% in the previous year, when the government’s top-up fees were introduced.

Universities are expected to say the rise demolishes claims by Labour rebels and critics that the £3,000 fees would frighten off students and halt higher education expansion.

They will argue it shows even higher fees would be sustainable. The Russell group, which represents 20 top research universities, is understood to believe they will need fees of £7,000 to cover the costs of teaching within the next three or four years.

Government ministers have already accepted fees will have to rise in the next parliament. The Conservatives are expected to drop their opposition to top-up fees, making it likely that rises in the charges could be in place by 2009-10.

Even universities outside the Russell group say increases are inevitable. Adrian Smith, principal of Queen Mary, University of London, who led a government inquiry into the maths crisis, said the money would not be provided by the Treasury.

“Politically, the only way universities are going to get extra funds is from charging students higher fees. We will need fees of £6,000 to £6,500 in 2010. Two years on from then, it will be £10,000.”

Vice-chancellors attribute this year’s rise in applications to the government’s decision to allow students to pay off their fees after they graduate and once they are employed. Previously, they had to be paid in the year of study.

Ivor Crewe, vice-chancellor of Essex University, said: “There was a wobble last year. That may have been because parents did not understand the changes.”

His university has seen a 5% rise in UK students this year, compared with a 6.5% drop last year. He noted, however, that middle-class applicants were fuelling the increase.

“We may be getting a slightly different social composition with fewer students from working-class backgrounds,” he said.

Applicants also appear to be opting increasingly for science or vocational courses, possibly with an eye to career opportunities. Some universities report that arts applications are flat.

At Exeter University, applications have risen by 23% after a drop of more than 8% last year.

In biosciences, they are up by 58%. “This year has been fantastic,” said Steve Smith, the vice-chancellor.

At the London School of Economics, applications were up 7.5%. Nottingham, which saw its numbers drop by 12% last year, has seen a rise of 9%.

Less fashionable universities also reported increases. London South Bank University was up 5%, with big increases in vocational subjects such as business administration (95%).

Among such universities, however, there is less support for an increase in fees. Deian Hopkin, vice-chancellor of South Bank, which attracts many students from less well-off backgrounds, said: “Middle-class kids will go to university come what may. It will be possible to charge high fees for some courses at some universities.”

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