Some governments have limited the amount of tuition fees paid, for example in the UK and Australia the fee paid was based on 20% of the average cost of providing a course. This resulted in students whatever and wherever they studied being charged the same amount. However, whilst this was they way that these tuition fees were introduced there has been pressure to change this. In Australia the fees increased from the original 20% of the average course cost to 40% within 5 years of being introduced and now is often 100%. In the UK the government has come under pressure from some of the most prestigious universities to allow them to charge whatever they feel the "market" can bear, in some cases this is believed to be up to 15,000 GBP.

Tuition fees can be introduced in many ways but it is generally agreed that wherever they have been introduced they have had a detrimental impact on access, particularly from those from lower socio-economic groups or non-traditional backgrounds such as mature students. This has been implicitly recognised by several governments that make the tuition fees income-contingent, or in other words only those students that can afford fees pay them. When fees were initially introduced in the UK, one third of students paid the full fee (1,000 GBP), one third paid nothing and the remaining third paid a percentage of the fee. However, in the UK case the student is not treated as an adult, despite being 18, and the fee is based on the combined salary of their parents rather than their own wealth.

Whilst the introduction of tuition fees is a national matter governments across Europe often follow one another and in recent years have used the Bologna Process or the GATS negotiations as an excuse for introducing them.

ESU's opinion on the matter
There is absolutly nothing in either the Bologna process nor the Lisbon Convention that compells national governments to introduce tuition fees for higher education. The Bologna Process has however in some countries been used as an excuse to introduce tuition fees at either/both Masters and Bachelors level. This is clearly against the principle outlined in the Prague Communiqué of higher education as a “public good”.

There is a very real danger that the Bologna Process will become increasingly unpopular amongst students, teachers and the general public if the Bologna label is used as a cover to introduce reforms that lead to higher education becoming a “commodity” and other reforms that are not in the Bologna Declaration or Prague Communiqué.

ESU believes that higher education is a human right and should be free to all that can benefit from it. This is also a principle highlighted in the UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Article 13, which calls for a progressive introduction of tuition free classes. Wherever tuition fees have been introduced there has been a restriction of access particularly for those from lower-socio economic backgrounds and those that traditionally do not access higher education.

Response to the EU Commission's communication "Efficiency and Equity in European Education and Training Systems" (2006)

Report of ESU's 9th ESC on Financing of Higher Education (2005, Luxembourg)

Tuition Fees Study (2007)

Commodification Committee