UK: LSE raises spectre of private universities

Some of Britain's leading universities could consider going private if the government decides to retain a cap on tuition fees - potentially pricing students out of the market, writes Richard Garner for The Independent.

Lord Browne's inquiry into student finance recommended lifting the cap altogether, but ministers are understood to be thinking of merely raising it from its present level of £3,290 (US$5,245) a year to around £7,000 (US$11,160) a year.

Some institutions say that fees of £7,000 a year will not raise enough money to meet students' expectations about the quality of their education, and that they will need to charge more. Many of the country's leading universities are set to commission studies on going private in the coming months. So far the only one to have drawn up a paper on the subject is the London School of Economics, after a board member asked for one to be prepared.
Full report on The Independent site