Student Loans 2012

gadgetmind

maryb wrote: »

I get uneasy when they talk about making sure things are socially progressive.

Yes, "socially progressive" seems to be shorthand for "crushing expensive for those who work hard and contribute to society". :-(

maryb

Taking packed lunches to work and not buying magazines for YEARS is obviously a sign that you are not socially progressive so you deserve to shoulder more of the cost to redress the balance.

I benefited hugely from the access to higher education that enabled me to move into a high paying career so I am perfectly happy to see those from poorer backgrounds encouraged to go to university and I don't object to the fact that even if they end up in a high paying job, they will have less debt than a middle class child whose parents income was too high for them to qualify for grants and bursaries. Lord knows, they will have had to really prove themselves to get there.

But I do resent the presumption that it is unfair that I have made provision for my children. The fact is, I saw which way the wind was blowing back in the 1980s and started saving as soon as my children were born. I agree with Setmefree2 that the new style student loans are not something I want to see DD2 burdened with if it can be avoided. I hear everything you say about it being 'good debt' and to use savings to help them in other ways but I think the amounts involved are so large that it will impact on their ability to borrow in future since mortgage lenders are being encouraged to pay more attention to affordability. And it would not take much for future governments to move the goal posts. For example, deciding that anyone earning over a certain amount has to pay back at a faster rate. (Socially Progressive, anyone?)

I'll probably get some flak here but I don't think it is always a good idea for a student to get a job to help pay for their education. For example to get a first from Oxford you have to work extremely hard during the holidays as well as during term. I think it would be penny wise and pound foolish to do anything which reduces my daughter's chances of getting the best return on the huge investment in her education and I am therefore happy to sub her a bit more. This means she is free to do things which don't pay much but will improve her CV and be useful and relevant experience when she is deciding what sort of job to apply for but at the same time mean she can still put in the time on her studies.

She'll get plenty of Character building when she starts work!!

setmefree2

Alarm as student loans are doubled for private sector


Student loans to help people studying for degrees privately will be doubled, David Willetts, the Universities minister, announced yesterday.
The move has angered lecturers' leaders, who claim it would help private education providers offer cut-price courses when annual fees in the state sector soar to up to £9,000 next year. University vice-chancellors are alarmed over the lack of quality control for private sector provision.
Private students, who total 4,000 in the UK, would be eligible for loans of £6,000 a year.
Mr Willetts said: "We want to encourage a more open and dynamic higher education sector. It will help us move towards a more liberal system."
Private universities include Buckingham University, the BPP College of Professional Studies and several colleges offering music degrees.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/alarm-as-student-loans-are-doubled-for-private-sector-2267294.html

Also here http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/apr/13/private-universities-student-loans-increase

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/528181a6-65ee-11e0-9d40-00144feab49a.html#axzz1JTkWyhjO

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8448972/Rise-in-student-loans-package-for-private-universities.html

setmefree2

Universities Minister David Willetts also announced that grants for students will increase next year.
But while many students will see their finance packages - grants and loans combined - rise slightly, new students from families with an annual income of around £50,000 will see their funding cut.
The University and College Union (UCU) warned that the Government's new student financial support system could hit the poorest students the hardest.
It said that the debt owed by these students for tuition fees could rise from nothing under the present system to up to £17,250 at the end of a three-year undergraduate degree for students starting courses next year.
This is because the increases in maintenance grants - which are given to students from poorer backgrounds - do not match the increase in fees.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5g57xVT5G-QJyxg1joCTLq3Rwlc0g?docId=N0574041302705255373A


Also in the Guardian Article

The government also announced on Wednesday it would increase maintenance loans for students living away from home but studying in London to £7,675 from 2012. Students living in their parental home will be able to borrow up to £4,375.

That means a £50k loan for a London Uni degree (3 * £9k plus 3 * £7,675)



http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/apr/13/private-universities-student-loans-increase

It emerged that maintenance grants will rise next year for existing students who started courses in 2010 or 2011 – the first increase in three years.
The overall investment in grants and loans to cover living expenses will also rise for the majority of new students from 2012.
But a “small group” of new undergraduates from households with an income of around £50,000 will be eligible for less state support, each losing up to £210 in combined grants and loans.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8448972/Rise-in-student-loans-package-for-private-universities.html

The_One_Who

setmefree2 wrote: »

Alarm as student loans are doubled for private sector


Student loans to help people studying for degrees privately will be doubled, David Willetts, the Universities minister, announced yesterday.
The move has angered lecturers' leaders, who claim it would help private education providers offer cut-price courses when annual fees in the state sector soar to up to £9,000 next year. University vice-chancellors are alarmed over the lack of quality control for private sector provision.
Private students, who total 4,000 in the UK, would be eligible for loans of £6,000 a year.
Mr Willetts said: "We want to encourage a more open and dynamic higher education sector. It will help us move towards a more liberal system."
Private universities include Buckingham University, the BPP College of Professional Studies and several colleges offering music degrees.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/alarm-as-student-loans-are-doubled-for-private-sector-2267294.html

Also here http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/apr/13/private-universities-student-loans-increase

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/528181a6-65ee-11e0-9d40-00144feab49a.html#axzz1JTkWyhjO

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8448972/Rise-in-student-loans-package-for-private-universities.html

At the moment, Buckingham (the only private university I have any knowledge or experience of) charges more per term for students, I think. These universities have been around for years, and there hasn't been that much audible quibbles from vice-chancellors. At least not that I've heard about.

Anyway, the number of students at private universities is a very small minority. And I don't really buy into the idea that people will choose their university by the tuition fee they charge. I think the most attractive thing about Buckingham for some is the two-year intensive degree.

I do agree that there should be some sort of 'quality control' for universities, but since they aren't schools with set curriculums it's very hard to do.

Taiko

There's a lot of private universities with specific designation of their courses, full list is here.

http://practitioners.studentfinanceengland.co.uk/portal/page?_pageid=133,4210374&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

A fair few have charged over the public fee cap (£3290 for 10/11) for years, with the students having to make up the difference. They obtain no funding from the government, but the VC's weren't bothered by it then. In effect, nothing has changed. Shame UCU can't see it this way.

FrankieBoyle

Taiko wrote: »

There's a lot of private universities with specific designation of their courses, full list is here.

http://practitioners.studentfinanceengland.co.uk/portal/page?_pageid=133,4210374&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

A fair few have charged over the public fee cap (£3290 for 10/11) for years, with the students having to make up the difference. They obtain no funding from the government, but the VC's weren't bothered by it then. In effect, nothing has changed. Shame UCU can't see it this way.

What an interesting list of courses! A Norland nanny, sound recording or the American International University in London - quite a range!

setmefree2

London Metropolitan University has announced plans to axe about 400 courses, cutting the number it offers by two-thirds – from 557 to roughly 160.

Breaking news

setmefree2

This is from the Times Higher Ed

A spokesman for the London Met branch of the University and College Union said that the curriculum overhaul, with its focus on “employability”, was indicative of “radical right-wing elitism”.
“Basically the government does not want to bankroll our type of students on arts and humanities courses,” he said.
“At London Met, history, performing arts, philosophy and many, many other courses are slashed. These are well established and successful courses - for example, there are 70 plus students per year on the BA performing arts.
“None of this makes economic or educational sense for the institution, but [it makes] a lot of sense if you are an elitist who does not think the masses should enjoy higher education.”
He added: “London Met has the most diverse demographic of students in UK higher education, but our vice-chancellor apparently believes they only deserve the narrowest and most functional portfolio of courses.
“The announcement today is an attempted reversal of widening participation and of genuine community education, a reversal of everything that London Met and its predecessor institutions came into existence to promote…Staff and students will resist this form of social and educational elitism and fight it by all means possible.”

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=415857&c=1

melancholly

london met is a special case though - their financial problems have nothing to do with the new system (which won't have helped, but the cause is their own making). i wonder how long they can survive....