Tuesday 18-10-2016 - 13:11

Today the University have announced College accommodation fees for the 2017/18 academic year, with the cost rising by 1.6% from the previous year. Durham SU recognises the efforts that the University has made in the last year to improve their consultation on accommodation fees, something that students having been calling for strongly. This rate of the increase is significantly lower than previous years, and lower than we expected when we began campaigning, and we believe this is due to the strong student opposition to the rises and the increased efforts of the University to recognise student feedback. The Students’ Union and Common Room Presidents have gathered student feedback and have successfully demonstrated to the University the inconsistency of these fees across different accommodation, which has also lead to exemptions and discounts for some rooms.

We understand that the base level of accommodation fees still represents a significant strain on many students. We believe that the cost of accommodation should not be a barrier to access for prospective Durham students - and that it currently is. We welcome the University’s move to offer additional support to financially disadvantaged students in the form of accommodation fee discounts. However, University consultation needs to continue so that we can combine our efforts to make sure that students are at the centre of, and well informed about, the decisions which affect them and future Durham students – especially those around the cost of studying in Durham.

 

President Alice Dee comments on the rise, “Over the last year, the student involvement in the process for setting accommodation fees has been very positive. A range of student representatives were able to input into the decision making process and were involved in the details of the announcement. The increase in support for students with a household income below £26,500 is really great progress. Unsurprisingly however, I still feel that we have work to do. We pay a premium rate for a varied quality of accommodation with limited choice and financial support system. Based on the progress made this year I’m optimistic that we can continue to work with the University to address these issues.”