The cost of studying for a degree at Oxford University could double under plans to scrap rent subsidies if university top-up fees are introduced.

The university's conference of colleges is considering charging the full rent on college rooms, and diverting the money to help poorer students cope with the extra tuition fees.

The combination of top-up fees and rent charges would bring the average cost of taking a three-year degree from about £15,000 to up to £30,000.

A conference spokesman said: "The 30 undergraduate colleges of the University of Oxford are committed to ensuring that no young person with academic ability and potential should be deterred from applying to us on financial grounds."

But Oxford University Student Union president Helena Puig Larrauri called the move "bad news".

She said: "When setting rents, colleges must consider what students can afford, not just what it costs to provide accommodation." An audit by JM Consulting, commissioned by the Oxford's estates bursars' committee, reveals plans to more than double rents to £6,000 a year, to reflect the true cost of providing and maintaining accommodation.

Ian King, a final year archaeology and anthropology student at Keble College, added: "Oxford is already really expensive as a city and anything making it worse can't be a good idea."

The Government has been putting pressure on the University to widen its access and end cheap accommodation for well-off students with public school backgrounds.

If top-up fees are introduced under the Higher Education Bill, universities will not be allowed to levy the full fees if they are not doing enough to attract students from less well-off backgrounds.

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