English students tend to gravitate towards the universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews Scottish universities will be able to charge annual fees of up to ?9,000 for students coming to study from other parts of the UK, under new plans.Mike Russell, the Scottish education secretary, outlined proposals to allow higher education institutions to set their own fees, which would be capped.
The move came after English universities got the go-ahead to charge up to ?9,000 for tuition.
Residents of Scotland studying at home will not pay any fees.
Amid concerns over "fee refugees" heading north of the border to study, Mr Russell said Scottish university places for Scottish students must be protected.
But NUS Scotland strongly attacked the government's decision, claiming Scotland could become the UK's most expensive place to study for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, the education secretary said he had launched a consultation on legislation allowing universities to set their own fees for students from the rest of the UK from 2012-13.
The move would then be followed by new legislation to cap fees at ?9,000 a year from 2013-14 onwards.
Continue reading the main story Seonag MacKinnon BBC Scotland education correspondentA key objective of the charge is to help buoy the finances of Scottish universities.
There's concern about the future funding gap for Scottish universities as some English universities almost triple their fees to up to ?9,000 a year.
A second objective is to stop a potential flood of "fee refugees" to Scotland seeking to escape the university fees in other parts of the UK.
There is a question mark over how much money the increased charges will raise.
South of the border, there has been much publicity and resentment in some quarters over the outline plan to charge residents of Scotland nothing but charge others thousands of pounds.
This is believed to be one reason why the number of applicants to Scottish universities from residents of England slumped by 15% this academic year.
The education secretary is also trying to establish a legal way of bringing in charges for EU students resident in the EU but outside the UK.
Their numbers have greatly escalated in recent years as word has spread that, like Scots, they pay no fees in Scotland.
Mr Russell said Scottish universities would be free to set fees of between ?1,800 and ?9,000 for other UK students, but said he expected levels to be lower than those south of the border.A working group set up by the Scottish government and higher education body Universities Scotland has pointed to an average figure of ?6,375.
Mr Russell said: "Scotland has and always will welcome students from all over the world to our universities.
"However, the decisions being taken in England could threaten the quality and competitiveness of our universities.
"We cannot allow Scotland to no longer be the best option and instead be known as the cheap option - we also must protect places for Scottish students."
Mr Russell added: "We are providing clarity for potential students from the rest of the UK that making the positive choice to study in Scotland will not cost more than it does in their home nation."
NUS Scotland president-elect Robin Parker claimed students from the rest of the UK could pay up to ?36,000 to study in Scotland, compared to ?27,000 in England.
Accusing the Scottish government of hypocrisy, he said: "The SNP rejected a market in tuition fees for Scottish students prior to the election, only to introduce one immediately after for students from the rest of the UK.
"This seems incredibly unfair, especially when the SNP have talked so much about the importance of access to university based on ability not ability to pay.
"We are not at all convinced that increasing fees is required to manage demand. And by introducing a market into education in Scotland, we're seeing some of the worst aspects of the proposals down south come to Scotland, directly against our tradition of fair access to university. "
The SNP has given a commitment not to re-introduce fees for residents of Scotland studying in their home country, either on an up-front or graduate basis.
The move is backed by Scottish Labour, the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Scottish Greens, but not the Scottish Tories.
Mr Russell also announced a review of the way Scotland's colleges are run, led by Prof Russell Griggs, chair of Dumfries and Galloway College's governing body.
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