21/12/2010Posted : December 21, 2010
Second-time students in grip of higher fees

VETERINARY students who have already completed a degree in another subject are paying dramatically different amounts in tuitions fees, depending on which university they attend.

Graduates starting degrees in veterinary science next autumn will pay between the normal rate for undergraduates, currently £3,290, and the level paid by overseas students, amounting to more than £20,000 a year.

The variation is the result of the Government cutting subsidies for those taking second undergraduate degrees. Outlining, the Government's policy, Emma Griffiths, spokesman for the department for business, innovation and skills, said: "If a person has already done a degree, the Government does not subsidise his or her fees. It is up to individual universities to decide how much they will charge in fees in the instances where people have already completed a degree.

One graduate, Hannah Halford, is in the process of attempting to raise £22,500 to cover her fees for her first year at the University of Edinburgh.

Miss Halford already has a degree in zoology and evolutionary psychology from the University of Liverpool and consequently is subject to the same fee rate as overseas students.
 
Explaining her predicament, Miss Halford, who lives in Oxfordshire, said: "My lifelong passion is to become a veterinary surgeon, and to make a difference to the health and welfare of animals. To combine my empathy with people, my deep interest in science and my natural affinity with animals, I feel this is the only career option for me. However, in spite of having my place at veterinary school to begin next September, I have a huge financial challenge facing me. I will be taking the place as a second-degree student, and therefore be facing full fees."

Speaking generally about students taking veterinary science as a second degree, SPVS president Jacqui Molyneux told Vetsonline: "My impression is that there are significantly more students now taking veterinary degrees as a second degree, despite the extra costs."

For the full article, by reporter Joel Dudley, see this week's edition of Veterinary Times (Vol 40, Number 51).