Universities in England may be allowed to make extra places available for wealthy UK students, under proposals being considered the government.
They would be charged fees at the level of overseas students.
These self-funding students would free up publicly-subsidised university places for poorer students.
NUS president Aaron Porter said the government was trying to disguise the chaos it has created in university funding.
People are coming to us with innovative ideas about how you could liberalise the system - so that it would be possible for extra people to get to university, Universities Minister David Willetts told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
These are people who wish to go to university, but who sadly are being turned away just because there aren't enough places.
Mr Willetts suggested that this would allow companies or charities to sponsor additional places - without any cost to the taxpayer.
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