// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
'Misleading' student loans information left out examples of higher-salary repayments
Several universities in England have only been using below-average salaries in examples of student loan repayments on their websites, the BBC has found.
Treasury Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier, who led a recent inquiry into student loans, said some information about repayments was "misleading", including one instance where they were compared to the "cost of a daily coffee".
She also said the Department for Education (DfE) must include higher-salary examples on its own website, too.
The DfE said it would review the information it provides, while universities said their websites referred to government information and would be reviewed where necessary.
Student loan repayments are tied to earnings, so the more you earn, the more you repay every month - and graduates generally go on to earn more than non-graduates.
Current and prospective students in England take out Plan 5 loans to pay for their tuition fees and living costs. They repay 9% of anything they earn over £25,000 for 40 years, or until the loan is paid off.
The BBC looked at publicly available information on more than 110 university websites in England and found cases of inaccurate information about the salary at which they start repaying and the length of time they repay for.
It also found that 12 universities only gave students worked examples of repayments based on earnings that are less than the UK average, which is £39,039.
How student loans work for tuition fees and living costs
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