BLACKBURN College has announced it is in talks to cap its university degree courses to a maximum of £7,000 a year.

Blackburn College principal Ian Clinton said he had been in discussions with Lancaster University over the fees hike and was working with his governing body to set all its university validated courses between £6,000 to £7,000.

Mr Clinton revealed funding cuts from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, HEFCE, meant that student fees would now cover day-to-day costs of running university institutions such as maintenance costs and wages instead of the cost of their course alone.

But the college is working on a range of options such as reducing degrees to two years, extending university terms, creating bespoke degrees that businesses want, or bitesize courses to reduce costs.

The previous fees cap of £3,290 was scrapped by the government, with universities allowed to charge up to £9,000. The University of Central Lancashire has already announced it expects to charge the maximum.

Blackburn College principal Mr Clinton said: “I think about how expensive it is going to be. People in their 20s and 30s want to buy a house have, a family, etc and after university, at a time when they have started to earn money, they will find they are paying for it.

“Our governors have taken the decision to keep fees as low as possible, offer as much support to deprived students and not to keep increasing fees year on year.

“I think it is grossly unfair that young people who did not contribute to the recession are expected to pay for it.

“I think we could lose gifted and talented people that could really do something for Blackburn and East Lancashire.

“But we have to accept there is going to be some increase.”