Oxford University has long been calling for an increase in their levels of funding.

The vice-chancellor, Dr John Hood told The Guardian in April that they are under-funded by £7-8,000 per student.

Now the Confederation of British Industry has proposed getting that extra money from higher student fees.

They say money should be raised by savings in the student support system and reducing the target of sending 50% of young people to university.

The CBI's proposals have been branded as "gross hypocrisy" by The National Union of Students.

Abbie-Louise Harmer from Southampton is about to start a course at Oxford Brookes University to become a paramedic. Unfortunately she does not have any money.

Despite applying to Student Finance at the end of May she still does not know if she will get a grant and has been told that she must "sit and wait".

Even though she is finding it stressful she is hopeful that she will eventually get the money to cover her costs though the thought of having to take on even more debt is not a welcome prospect.

She said: "The student debt you come out with after leaving university is horrendous and it's not fair.

"For me it wouldn't put me off going to university because I want to be a paramedic so I don't have a choice but I won't earn that debt back because I'll be working for the NHS.

"If you were doing history or something it really would put you off going."

Another new student on her first day at Brookes said: "If [the government] go any higher they will just put people off coming to uni because it's just too much money, they just couldn't come".

Although the majority of students seem united in their opposition to increasing fees there is not a consensus on an alternative form of funding.

Some Brookes students proposed increased taxes while others thought that students should save money with a gap year before their studies.

One other had a simple solution: "Maybe if the Government didn't give themselves rises every year and didn't pay themselves from taking money away from everyone else."