The emergency brake, and who it applies to
The government’s emergency brake on study visas applies to students from Sudan, Afghanistan, Cameroon and Myanmar. It is the policy behind this year’s High Court case and appeal, and it operates by nationality rather than by any assessment of the individual applicant — which is what the legal challenge contested and lost. Being an international student in the UK covers the rules in force.
The regulator gets two new chief executives
Ruth Hannant and Polly Payne have been appointed joint chief executives of the Office for Students. The regulator sets the conditions universities must meet on quality, financial sustainability, free speech and harassment, and it is currently facing a judicial review and a High Court challenge from a university — so the appointment lands at an unusually consequential moment.
Department for Education, 30 March
How many hours a degree is supposed to take
HEPI argues for clarity about study hours — the total learning time a course expects, of which timetabled teaching is a fraction. Students consistently report being surprised by how much independent work a degree assumes, and the figure is published in course documentation that almost nobody reads. Time management covers planning for it.