30 October 2014 
Matt Sisson, Projects and Membership Manager
A new report by the Institute of Public Policy Research aims to provide a workable option for a postgraduate loan system. Reaching Higher: reforming student loans to broaden access to postgraduate study proposes a similar system to that available to undergraduates, but with repayments starting once the graduate earns over £15,000 (rather than £21,000, as with undergraduate loans). This feature, combined with the enhanced earning potential of postgraduates, would lead to a RAB charge (the element of the loan that would not be recovered) of just 6.9%. The total cost of the loans to the exchequer would just be £44million, compared to £4.3billion for the undergraduate system.
The scheme, based on 43,000 full-time students and 24,000 part-time ones borrowing £10,000 each, repayable of 30 years, would see just over £1billion added to the national debt. The report’s author, Rick Muir, thinks that “Given that 93 per cent of this money will be recouped in graduate repayments” it is “an investment worth making”. The Times Higher and the Financial Times both have articles covering the report, which also models a range of alternative scenarios, accounting for changes in student numbers and repayment thresholds.
