Work placements for all undergraduates
The University of Manchester will offer work placements to all its undergraduates, the first Russell Group institution to make that commitment, in response to concerns about graduate employability. The detail that will matter is whether placements are paid, how long they run and whether they are guaranteed or merely offered — questions worth asking before treating it as settled. The placement year covers what a good one looks like.
“Their hands were tied legally”: a contested society is ratified
Students at York have reacted to the university ratifying a Restore Britain society, with the union saying it had no legal choice under the free speech duties. This is the position every union now occupies: refusing to register a lawful society risks a complaint to the regulator, whatever the membership thinks.
A six-month backlog in visa appeals, invisible in the figures
Students appealing a visa refusal through administrative review now wait about six months, and those cases are not counted in the refusal rates that decide whether a university keeps its sponsor licence. The effect is a hidden population of students in limbo, and universities retreating from markets on figures that overstate the problem.
Firefighters called to a hall of residence
Crews were called to a fire in Lancaster University student accommodation in the early hours. It is the second accommodation fire reported this year, after a tumble dryer fire at Salford in January — both in the small hours, both in communal areas, and both the reason halls ban appliances left running overnight.