The university said the decision to charge the maximum amount allowed had been ratified yesterday by Surrey’s governing council and would be accompanied by a package of fee waivers and bursaries to support poorer students.

Christopher Snowden, vice-chancellor, said the university had considered the 60 per cent cut to the university’s teaching grant and uncertainty over the future of the international student market when making the decision.

Surrey becomes the latest member of the 1994 Group of small research-intensive universities to publicly propose charging £9,000, following decisions by universities of Exeter and Durham.

High-profile members of the Russell Group of large research-intensive institutions have also declared their hand, with Imperial College London, and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge all proposing to charge the maximum amount.

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Professor Snowden said: “Changes to our fee levels reflect the government’s decision to make substantial cuts in both annual teaching grants and capital grants.

“We have to accommodate a cut of over 60 per cent in our annual government teaching grant and in addition a 70 per cent cut in our annual government capital teaching grant, whilst supporting students from low-income families as part of our access programme.

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“There are also uncertainties about the impact of proposed immigration policy, which, if implemented, are very likely to reduce the number of international students studying at UK universities.

“Finally, uncertainty over the future allocation of student places and concern over the exact level of the remaining [state] funding for science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects has added additional risk to the teaching income for UK universities,” Professor Snowden said.

simon.baker@tsleducation.com