What the changes since 2022 actually did
New research by London Economics for HEPI and the NUS finds that the changes made to Plan 2 loan terms since early 2022 have moved money to the Treasury — longer repayment periods, a frozen threshold, and interest rules that together mean graduates repay more over a working life. It is the analysis MPs’ inquiry will be working from. Student finance explained covers the terms.
“Overwhelmed and scared”: a £21,000 demand
A London Metropolitan student has been ordered to repay £21,000 of maintenance loan paid in error, and describes being overwhelmed by it. Four days into this story the pattern is consistent: students who did nothing wrong, universities that enrolled them, and a funding body recovering money from the people least able to return it.
One in five students say they would be reluctant to live with a Jewish housemate
A Union of Jewish Students survey has found up to one in five UK students would be reluctant to share a house with a Jewish student. Housemate choices are where prejudice becomes practical, and the finding lands in a year of sustained campus tension. Universities’ harassment procedures cover accommodation, and reports can be made about housemates. Living with housemates covers the rest.
Stepped repayments would not fix the structure
Wonkhe argues that proposals for stepped repayment rates sound progressive but leave intact the accounting structure that makes the system work against middle earners while the highest earners clear their balances early. It is the most technical of this month’s loan pieces and the one that explains why reform proposals keep failing.