Another student caught by the loan error
A London Metropolitan student has been asked to repay £18,000 after being issued maintenance loans in error, and was initially told to return it immediately. With one university’s students already given a reprieve and a pre-action letter filed, anyone in this position should ask for the demand to be held pending the legal challenge rather than agreeing terms now.
A professor kept teaching while under investigation, and colleges were not told
Cambridge colleges were not informed that a professor was under investigation over an allegation of sexual misconduct, and he continued teaching. Where a university and its colleges are separate employers, information about an investigation does not automatically cross between them — a gap students have no way of seeing and every reason to want closed.
A student threatened over starting a free speech society
A King’s student says she was threatened with having baked beans thrown at her after founding a free speech society, avoiding it only through a last-minute room change. The irony is self-evident, and the practical point is that societies can request security support and room changes through the union for events expected to attract disruption.