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Teesside University has confirmed it wants to charge students £8,500 a year in tuition fees.

Newcastle and Durham have recently announced they plan to charge the highest level of fees of £9,000 a year from 2012.

The proposed fees are subject to approval by the Office for Fair Access

Teesside's vice-chancellor Graham Henderson said the university "had to give out a signal" about the value placed on degrees on Teesside.

He said: "We have to make sure it remains affordable for students.

"We have to give out a signal about the value we place on degrees from Teesside.

"Our current students are keen that we make a statement.

"We try and balance all those things in coming to the fee of £8,500, which we think reflects the value of our awards but also gives us the income we need to provide a great student experience."

Lori Wheatman, president of the student union at Teesside University, said a "marketplace" had been created by the introduction of higher rate fees - of which "no university wanted to be seen at the bottom".

She said "From a student union point of view, we condemn the government for putting the proposals in place, but the university had to charge something."

"We don't want to be seen as a second-rate uni.

"I don't think we are a second-rate uni at all, so why wouldn't we charge it?"

She said emphasis needed to be placed on the fact that no fee was an up-front payment, but would be paid back when earnings topped £21,000.

In 2009 Teesside University was named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education awards.