Fee plans must be approved by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales Welsh universities say they still hope to charge students tuition fees of up to ?9,000 after initial plans were rejected in the last few days.They have a month to improve their proposals turned down by the body that funds higher education.
Education Minister Leighton Andrews said they had not done enough to attract students from poorer backgrounds.
To charge more than ?4,000 they have to come up with more ambitious targets.
Their fee plans must be approved by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (Hefcw).
On Wednesday Mr Andrews said proposals from all 10 Welsh universities had been rejected and he accused universities of not taking the process seriously.
'At the heart'
Continue reading the main storyAs things stand not a single Welsh university would be permitted to increase fees beyond ?4,000 in September 2012, a situation that would put higher education in Wales on the brink of financial ruin.
So it's a good job the deadline for finalising fee plans is still almost a month away.
Universities now have an opportunity to beef up targets on improving student quality and on offering places to applicants from poor backgrounds.
They have been asked to "do more" by the education minister, who has expressed concerns they have not been taking the process seriously.
The government wants universities to justify the rush towards maximum fees.
But universities have played the hand they were dealt.
By offering to pay for the increase in fees for every student from Wales, the Welsh Government has made charging maximum fees a far less risky proposition here than over the border.
In some universities, three out of four students will be undeterred by the fee increase because they'll receive a Welsh Government grant to cover the difference.
The policy will cost at least ?1.5bn over nine years, so it's no wonder the education minister is seeking a return on his investment.
He is also seeking political capital, hoping to portray the Welsh government as tough on universities while the UK government waives through sky high fees.
However, we will soon be able to compare and contrast the fee plans of Welsh and English universities.
Based on the minister's rhetoric we should expert to see Welsh universities doing far more on widening access and improving services than in England.
Anything less and people might look back at this episode and wonder what all the fuss was about.
"The managements of the higher education institutes in Wales have known now for several months what they have to do to get these plans approved," he told BBC Wales."It's disappointing that they don't seem to have followed through on the very clear guidance."
But Greg Walker, deputy director of Higher Education Wales, the body that represents Welsh Universities, said it was always going to be a very challenging process.
"Widening access and working to improve the student experience is absolutely at the heart of what we do," he said.
"Fee plans have been put in in the last few weeks, we will be working with the funding council to make sure that they do meet the exacting and stringent requirements set out.
"I don't expect anyone to get their plans completely passed straight away.
"This is not a bluff calling exercise - it's a serious process we are working hard on.
"When fee plans are finally revealed you will see a whole host of innovative and important methods of trying to widen access."
A Welsh Government subsidy means Welsh students will not have to pay the raised fees, unlike those in England.
Plans will only be agreed if institutions show they meet certain requirements, including on equal access and improving the student experience.
Answering questions in the Senedd on Wednesday, Mr Andrews said Hefcw have written to all higher education institutions (HEIs) saying their existing fee plans do not meet the requirements.
Hefcw will receive revised plans at the end of June and make a final decision on 11 July.
Mr Andrews announced last year that Welsh students will be shielded from increased tuition fees, wherever they study in the UK. Their fees, currently around ?3,400, will only rise in line with inflation.
Disadvantaged backgrounds
Aberystwyth, Cardiff, Bangor, Glamorgan and Newport universities said they wanted to charge the maximum ?9,000-a-year. Some courses at Newport would cost ?8,250.
Hefcw said any institution which plans to charge more than ?4,000 for eligible students had to submit a fee plan, detailing investments they intend to make using a proportion of this new income in order to encourage equality of opportunity and promote higher education.
But the it said in many cases "the scale of expressed ambitions" needed to be increased or better demonstrated in terms of clearer targets, so they could judge whether expectations were being met.
In England, universities have been given permission to charge up to ?9,000 per year.
This will be paid up-front to the university as a government loan, which students then repay after they graduate, once their their yearly income reaches ?21,000.
English universities wanting to charge more than ?6,000 have been required to submit "access agreements" to the Office of Fair Access (Offa), detailing the measures they will take to attract students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Offa is currently assessing them and is due to publish the approved agreements by 11 July.
The University and College Union (UCU) said news that Welsh universities have had their initial plans for tuition fee rises rejected was worrying news for English institutions.
Scottish students, however, are not required to pay any tuition fees
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