Effectively interest-free student loans may no longer be available Education and Learning Minister Sir Reg Empey is to make a statement on Tuesday morning about the possibility of increasing tuition fees.
A report for England and Wales recommended colleges should set their own prices.
A DEL report is understood to favour keeping the current fees and improving maintenance grants.
Higher education and student support are devolved issues which mean their levels can be set locally.
However, the fees are collected by HMRC and taxation is not a devolved power, therefore it is likely any changes in England could be mirrored in Northern Ireland.
The Department of Employment and Learning (DEL) said it will have to consider the Browne review of higher education, which was published on Tuesday before it launches a public consultation on tuition fees.
In his report Lord Browne recommended that universities should no longer be restricted in how much they can charge in tuition fees.
Instead it proposes a free market in fees – setting out models of charges up to £12,000 a year for a degree course.
However, Lord Browne’s review makes clear that universities that charge more than £6,000 a year would lose a proportion of the fee to help cover the cost of student borrowing.
The report also suggests that only the least well-off graduates should continue to enjoy subsidised loans
Students would pay nothing up front and only begin repaying when their earnings reach £21,000 a year.
Lord Browne estimates that only 40 % of the top earners will pay back all the money the government has paid on their behalf.
Sir Reg has hinted that the financial crisis could affect any moves to be more generous to students.
“This is a devolved matter, we have to look at our own circumstances,” Sir Reg said.
“The Executive has to prioritise resources and my department can only spend resources if we get them.
Students in Northern Ireland pay around £3,300 a year in tuition fees – that figure could double by 2012, and in the future students could face unlimited fees.
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