Universities issue advice as the outbreak is confirmed as meningitis B
Warwick and its students’ union have issued advice following confirmation that the outbreak which killed two students at Kent is meningitis B — a strain the MenACWY vaccine given to teenagers does not protect against. That matters, because being vaccinated at school is the reason many students dismiss symptoms. Act on severe headache with fever, neck stiffness, dislike of light, confusion or cold hands and feet; the rash comes late, if at all. GP registration and staying healthy covers getting seen.
The official step-by-step for getting a student loan
Alongside applications opening, the government has refreshed its step-by-step guide to undergraduate student finance: eligibility, how much you can get, how to apply and when repayment starts. It is the plainest statement of the system in one place, and it is worth reading before the household income section rather than during it.
Student Loans Company, 25 March
Students know where learning actually happens
Asked which moments made learning stick, students name exams, placements, seminars and explaining something to a peer — not the recorded lecture or the uploaded slides. The common thread is being required to produce something under conditions, which is an argument for going to the seminar you could skip. Lectures and seminars covers getting value from teaching.
Two policy announcements on disability that do not line up
An analysis of new disability-related expectations for universities alongside the reform of the schools SEND system finds the two moving at different speeds — so students arriving from a reformed school system will meet university support built on the old assumptions. If you had support at school, the university version has to be applied for separately and early. Extensions and academic support covers applying.