Students have been urged not to apply to the University of Birmingham because of its support for tuition top-up fees.

The university has been singled out along with two other institutions as priority targets for a boycott on a website.

Campaigners behind the protest say they set up the site out of "sheer desperation" at the Government's plans for higher education.

September 2006 will see universities across the country tripling annual fees charged to students to up to £3,000.

Birmingham has come under particular fire on the website because its vicechancellor Professor Mike Sterling is a supporter of topup fees. As chairman of the Russell Group - a union of the country's 19 leading universities - he has claimed the £3,000 cap is still not enough to stay competitive on the global stage.

The website - www.stuffyourloans.co.uk - says: "Do not apply to any university from the Russell Group if you can avoid it. We are asking people to particularly target Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield."

The website says Liverpool is being singled out because its registrar Michael Carr is executive director of the Russell Group.

Sheffield is being targeted for being part of the Russell Group and an entirely unrelated dispute to do with a former student who is supporting the website.

The campaign group consists of 20 students and graduates, including one from Birmingham.

Group member James Smith said: " They are destroying higher education.

"It is one of the most ludicrous policies they could have come up with. I cannot believe a Labour Government has come up with it.

"The Russell Group are those who want tuition fees raised to the highest level possible. Birmingham's vicechancellor is chairman so we are saying to people do not apply to Birmingham."

Defending his university's right to raise fees, Prof Sterling said: "The University of Birmingham is in the business of producing graduates who are both highly academically skilled and also highly employable. A degree from a Russell Group university adds considerably to a graduate's lifetime earning potential."

Raised tuition fees represents Ministers' response to plugging a £10 billion black hole in higher education. Ministers have aimed to soften the blow by abolishing upfront payment at the start of each year in favour of payment upon graduation linked to wages once students begin earning.

Limited maintenance grants have been reintroduced for the poorest and universities charging the full £3,000 - set to be practically all of them - are also being forced to set up bursaries to help candidates from low income backgrounds.

Birmingham University says it is investing £14.8 million into a scholarships and grants scheme so as not to deter people from applying because of worries over fees. But campaigners on the website have demanded a complete reversal of the policy. They want tuition fees scrapped altogether and inflation- linked grants re-introduced.

Mr Smith added: "People should be able to go to university on the ability to learn, not ability to pay." The group also calls on would-be students to make the ultimate protest by not going to university. It also urges graduates to refuse to pay back their loans.