The effects of increased tuition fees are set to come under scrutiny from an independent commission, it was announced on Friday.

The panel, which will be headed by University of Oxford principal and author Will Hutton, aims to provide an objective analysis of applications to UCAS as well as offers made by universities and the rate of acceptances amongst students.

The analysis is set to focus particularly around the impact the rise in fees may have on the application rate among those from middle and lower-income families; the new cap for fees has been set at £9,000 and it is widely expected that this will have an adverse effect on the aspirations of those from underprivileged backgrounds. The panel aims to assess any changes in the number of admissions to highly selective universities of non-privileged applicants.

Mr Hutton has stressed the importance of keeping an “open mind” on the issue of fees and is confident that the panel will be able to “produce a dispassionate and authoritative analysis of the data as it emerges”.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has expressed its support for the commission and its aims to pass an impartial and independent judgement on the effects of the new fees. Liam Burns, the President of NUS, has stated his anxieties over “worrying signs that there are fewer university applicants” than in previous years, and that barriers to prospective students’ ambitions are financial concerns as well as competition for places. Burns praised the setting up of the commission as a “vital” initiative needed to “ensure vulnerable students do not have to abandon their ambitions in higher education”.

Recent data regarding applications to UK universities shows that applications from UK students was down 7.6% on 2010 figures, with applications from prospective mature students seeing the sharpest drop.

The rise in fees has proved a particularly contentious issue in Scotland, where Scottish students will continue to have their tuition paid for by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) while students from the rest of the UK face fees of up to £9,000. Concerns have been expressed that universities such as Edinburgh will become the exclusive domain of Scottish students and those from wealthier backgrounds.

The four-person commission, that also includes Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust education charity and the Education Endowment Foundation; Stephen Machin, a University College London professor; and the broadcaster Libby Purves, will focus primarily on the effects of the fees in England but it is likely that the conclusions it comes to will reflect a UK-wide trend.

The panel aims to produce three reports each year for a period of three years, with the first report expected within the next six weeks.