Colleges currently charge a flat-rate fee about half that figure which is paid upfront.

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The compromise is a fund fed largely by wage-based contributions, but with the option of a flat-rate fee on top.

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She told MSPs that the "least worst option" was to set a flat-rate fee for RUK (Rest of UK) students across the sector, to prevent them from being seen as a "cash cow" as "potentially they are now".

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BBC, the harder it becomes to justify the flat-rate licence fee (in all but name, a regressive tax) levied on all the country's television owners to pay for the corporation.

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In most cases, the companies are compensated by the colleges, either with a flat fee or a rate based on the number of students they put into a program that helps keep them from defaulting.

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If you want advice delivered in person, consider a fee-only planner, meaning one who charges either an hourly rate or a flat rate, as opposed to one who lives off sales commissions.

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But fee-only financial planning includes other methods of charging clients such as a flat retainer, an hourly rate or a charge specific to the task at hand.

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