The University of Strathclyde has announced it will set £9,000 fees and a degree cost of £27,000 for English, Welsh and Northern Irish students from 2012/13.

Robin Parker, President of NUS Scotland said: “It's terrible news for students in Glasgow that, despite receiving a multi-million pound injection of cash from last week's budget announcement, Strathclyde has set £27k for a degree for English, Welsh and Northern Irish students.

"This is as bad as anything we've seen in England. Tuition fees put off students from disadvantaged communities and make the decision to attend university one that is made based on bank balance, not ability.

"The University has stated a total budget for bursaries but we need to know urgently what that means for individual students and how much of their fee income will go to support access for the poorest students. As the Government considers its response to the consultation on fees for students from the rest of the UK, we're calling for it to set minimum standards on bursaries to guarantee transparency and access into Scottish institutions.”

Charandeep Singh, President of the University of Strathclyde Students’ Association (USSA), said: "USSA opposes all student fees and anything that could lead to the commercialisation of Higher Education. University Court had an opportunity to show leadership by minimising the impact of RUK fees at Strathclyde and instead, they have chosen to charge the highest possible fees, proving that they have given into peer pressure and are motivated purely by profit.

"The Association’s ‘RUKidding?!’ campaign, which received overwhelming student support, clearly showed opposition to fees of any kind, regardless of where a student resides.

"USSA has engaged robustly and constructively with the University to produce a student support package which puts ability to learn at the top of the agenda. We will continue to push for guarantees that the student support system at Strathclyde places widening access at its core and will be monitoring the impact of these proposals on prospective student numbers.”