Students back striking staff as redundancies mount
Students at the University of Nottingham are supporting striking staff, with 2,700 roles now at risk of redundancy and the union warning the action may prevent the university awarding graduation certificates. For finalists this is the practical question of the summer: whether a degree can be conferred, and what an employer will accept in the meantime — a letter of completion usually suffices, and is worth requesting early.
Universities keeping deposits from students who never arrive
An investigation finds institutions including Hull and Kent refusing to refund tuition fee deposits to students whose visas were refused. Deposit terms are contractual and vary; where a refusal is outside the student’s control, refund policies are the thing to check before paying — and a refusal to refund can be taken to the university’s complaints process and then to the adjudicator.
A charity walk raises £25,000 for mental health
A record-breaking student walk in York has raised more than £25,000 for a local mental health charity. Events like this are organised through student RAG groups, take volunteers rather than athletes, and are the largest fundraising the student body does in most cities. Volunteering and RAG covers joining in.