Ofqual fines the University of West London over graded music exams
Ofqual has fined the University of West London £150,000 for failing to oversee how a third party delivered graded music assessments and issued certificates, in breaches affecting thousands of students. It is a reminder that where a qualification is delivered by a partner, the awarding body remains responsible — and that students holding those certificates are entitled to know whether they are affected.
What happens to a town when its university campus closes
The Guardian reports from Southend, where the closure of Essex University’s campus removes an institution that opened as a promise to a struggling seaside town. Campus closures displace current students first — transfers, commutes, courses taught out — and then remove the graduate jobs, the trade and the reason for young people to stay.
Students’ union officers condemn Reform at the refreshers fair
Manchester’s students’ union executives have publicly condemned Reform UK’s rhetoric and what they called attempts to introduce hate onto campuses, during the refreshers fair. It is the same argument now running at Lancaster, Warwick and Cambridge, and the regulator’s free speech conditions mean the line between condemning a group and excluding it has legal consequences.