Universities are pulling offers and visa paperwork to protect their refusal rates
Since assessments applied for on 1 June, a sponsor’s visa refusal rate has to stay under 5%, and a certificate of acceptance the university cancels before the Home Office decides is left out of that figure. The Financial Times reports offers revoked at scale: 10.5% of study visa applications in the first half of 2026 were withdrawn, against 2.3% a year earlier, and 40.9% of Pakistani ones. If it reaches you as an international applicant, keep every email and ask which contract term the withdrawal relies on.
Plan 2 balances are still climbing for graduates who repay every month
England and Wales. Plan 2 loans were issued in England for just over a decade from 2012 and are still issued in Wales. The BBC followed three graduates who each borrowed about £37,500: one earning around £50,000 has repaid roughly £450 since April while more than £500 of interest was added. The Institute for Fiscal Studies puts the earnings needed before a £50,000 balance falls at about £63,000. England’s repayment threshold is frozen at £29,385 for three years from 2027.
What to ask for when your work is referred for academic misconduct
Dr Manesha Peiris of Queen Mary University of London argues that the wait between an allegation and a decision is its own burden, and that being told a procedure exists is not the same as being able to use it. If your work is referred, ask what you are alleged to have done, what evidence is being weighed, and how a finding can be challenged. She names students’ unions and academic advisers as sources of independent advice, and notes that rules on generative AI differ between modules and assessments.