A WARNING has been issued that wealthy students from other parts of the UK could squeeze talented Scots out of university places in their home country.

The National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland made the claim in a submission to a Scottish Government consultation on the introduction of new tuition fees for students from the rest of the UK (RUK).

However, the Scottish Government insisted last night that the proposals would not impact on the availability of places to Scottish students.

Under the plan, Scottish universities will be allowed to charge students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland up to £9000 a year for their courses.

The fees, which will not apply to Scottish students, were introduced to keep universities here on a par with institutions in the rest of the UK.

In its submission to the Government consultation, which closed last week, NUS Scotland warns of “serious unintended consequences”.

The most significant of these, it says, centres on the fact the number of Scottish and EU students in higher education is currently capped, but RUK students paying fees will no longer be subject to controls.

The NUS Scotland submission states: “Where demand is high for an institution or subject among Scottish and EU students, institutions may need to increase the admissions criteria to manage demand. However, with unlimited places available for RUK students they would not need to do likewise.

“In effect, this could mean a student from Scotland could be rejected for a high-demand institution or subject while an RUK student with lower grades, provided they are willing and able to pay fees, could access a place at the same institution or to study the same subject.”

The union accepts equalities legislation could prevent this scenario from unfolding on a large scale -- and stresses that in some lower-value courses Scottish students could be favoured.

But its submission adds: “There is nothing within the current system to stop it infl-uencing admissions criteria in a way that develops lower criteria for RUK students compared to Scottish and EU students”.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said, however, that the scenario outlined by the union was “neither possible nor true”. She said: “We have protected places for Scottish students and the proposals for RUK students will not and cannot affect that.”

In its submission, the University and College Union (UCU) Scotland, which represents acad- emics, also went on the attack.

It says: “The proposal to have variable fees introduces a market for English students and a poss-ible disincentive to recruit Scottish students, particularly for social science and humanities.”

UCU Scotland goes on to question whether this will become a reality because many of the more expensive subjects have tightly controlled numbers.

Instead, it warns: “Even if Scots do not lose out on places, extra recruitment of RUK students could have a detrimental impact on the student experience as the size of lectures and tutorials increases while access to tutors decreases,” it added.

Overall, UCU Scotland argues the new system ushers in a period of great uncertainty as universities establish fee levels. “Set them too low and too many students could be recruited without the adequate resources to take on such an influx, whereas, if set too high, universities run the risk of under-recruitment and loss of funding,” it says.

Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt universities are due to decide today what level of fees they will charge.

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