What a course costs beyond the fee, and how rarely it is stated
Wonkhe audited what universities tell applicants about course costs beyond tuition — equipment, materials, field trips, placement travel — and found silence, information buried several clicks deep, or totals that do not add up. The Office for Students is consulting on a fairness condition that would force clearer disclosure. Until that lands, ask your department directly what a year costs on top of fees and rent. Budgeting covers the rest.
A London college loses the right to sponsor international students
The Home Office has stripped Bloomsbury Institute in London of its licence to sponsor international students, assessed against the thresholds in place before the tighter rules of 1 June 2026 — under which a sponsor’s visa refusal rate must stay below 5 per cent. Losing a licence leaves sponsored students needing a new sponsor or a new course. Being an international student in the UK explains what sponsorship covers.
Ministers rule out a rescue process for failing universities
The government has rejected calls for a dedicated insolvency regime for universities at risk of financial collapse, responding to the Commons Education Committee’s report on higher education funding published in May. In practice that leaves the student protection plan your university files with the regulator as the main thing standing between a collapse and your degree, which is a document worth knowing exists.
Student bank accounts, before the account gets opened in a rush
With term six weeks off, a roundup of what separates student accounts: the size and the staged growth of the interest-free overdraft, whether the freebie is worth anything, and what happens to the overdraft after graduation. The account you open in freshers week is the one most people keep for a decade. How to choose a student bank account sets out what actually matters.