Students at 15 universities ordered to return maintenance loans and grants
Students on weekend-delivered courses at 15 English universities have been told to return maintenance loans and grants paid to them, with one couple estimating they may jointly owe more than £30,000. The rule making weekend students ineligible was the one a group of universities failed to have judicially reviewed in August. If you are affected, ask in writing for the legal basis, the appeal route and a repayment plan before agreeing to anything. Student finance explained covers eligibility.
Cap growth at 5 per cent a year, says a new report
A HEPI debate paper warns that financial pressure is pushing some universities into risky expansion, and recommends capping annual growth in England at 5 per cent. Rapid expansion is how a university ends up teaching more students than it has staff for, which students experience as oversubscribed modules and unmarked work.
A petition against a new pro-life society
Students at Leeds have petitioned against the formation of a pro-life society, arguing it infringes on a safe campus; others call the row rage-bait. Union procedures for approving societies are written down, and under the regulator’s free speech conditions refusing to register a lawful society is now a decision that can be challenged externally. Joining societies covers how societies are approved.