Whilst the MPs in Parliament debate, students march and think tanks report, the network of Vice Chancellors looks on, safe in the knowledge that their power and influence could well be the final deciding factor in the debate on funding the HE sector. However they are not all-powerful; the sector is after all crowded with many voices, but any government will think twice before upsetting them.

This makes them an important group to target and an even more important group to win round to the student point of view and the onus is on Union Officers to speak for their students.

The University of Kent has so far refused to formulate a clear policy on the cap – they feel it wouldn’t be politically sensible to come out for one side of a controversial issue before the debate has run its course.

We were aware of this before Mike Haw (Union President) and I went to lobby our VC a few weeks ago on the issue of the cap. Bearing this in mind, we were still keen to outline the student view, our reasons for it and why we think it would be in the University’s best interest to keep the cap on fees. Despite the official ambiguous stance, the Vice Chancellor was willing to accept that lifting the cap could be detrimental to the Widening Participation agenda, yet sadly saw this outcome as a virtual inevitability.

This is where the crux of the problem lies; the VCs rightly want to see increased funding for Universities and currently the only serious option on the table is the current government policy. We may believe in the principle of free education, but we also need to be realistic about our current position. The language of universal free education is anathema to Universities, who will read this as either outdated dogma or a threat to the future of their funding.

There needs to be a serious alternative to lifting the cap that Vice Chancellors can buy into if there is any hope to have their support on this issue. Our VC was very receptive to the idea of a progressive graduate tax; he agreed that if done right, it would be a fairer system for students and one that would not lead to less funding for HEI’s.

Going to the meeting in a pair, with a coordinated list of things to say led to a much more productive meeting; so if you’re planning to lobby your VC soon – take a fellow Officer to help support your argument. A clear funding alternative will also be received far better than just stating the wrongs of the current system. Above all, speak their language – lifting the cap would not be in the long-term interests of the Universities or the students and the sooner our Vice Chancellors come round to this mode of thinking, the stronger our position we will be during the review in two years time.

Mark Leach

Education Officer, Kent Union

Read more about their VC and MP lobby

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