Newport’s university as much as £9,000 a year for some of its most well-regarded courses were given the go-ahead yesterday.

The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales has approved plans for the University of Wales, Newport, to set two levels of fees for undergraduate courses starting in autumn 2012.

It will charge £9,000 for 22 degrees which have high costs, such as film, fashion and photography, and courses that carry accrediation from industry and outside bodies, and £8,250 for 60 others.

The president of the National Union of Students Wales said charging as much as £9,000 was “not acceptable”. However, Wales-based students will pay only £3,465 a year under current Welsh Government plans.

In Wales if a univerisity wanted to charge more than £4,000 it had to submit a plan to HEFCW stating how it would help more people get into higher education.

The university would be expected to spend 30 per cent of their income over the basic rate on widening access.

Dr Peter Noyes, vice-chancellor of the University, said: “The removal of the teaching grant for students under the new fees regime and the additional expenditure generated by the fee plan will mean that our core funding will remain very close to where it is today.”

Luke Young, president of NUS Wales, said: “This is a sad day for future students in Wales.

“It is not acceptable to charge £9,000 per year for the right to an education.”

Education minister Leighton Andrews said if any institution fails to comply with the provisions of an approved fee plan HEFCW will notify the institution that on expiry of the current plan the body will refuse to approve another plan for a year.

He said: “This has been a robust process.

“The Welsh Government expects institutions to provide value for money, support access to higher education from under-represented groups and to deliver an exellent student experience.”