http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/ News for UK students en-gb Tue, 29 Nov 2005 23:48:01 +0000 (C) Hull Media Ltd, http://www.hullmedia.com http://www.therundown.co.uk/syndication/ A new study has found that students working during term time are more than a third less likely to recieve a first or 2:1. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1133308101/ The Student Loans Company's online application service has been used by less than a tenth of applicants, The Rundown has learned. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1127666859/ The Student Loans Company says applications have been processed more quickly this year and students should be paid on time. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1127672523/ Research in Australia has found that graduates who feel dissatisfied with their university educations are more likely to avoid paying tax and loan repayments. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1124978682/ Research has found that students expect their debts to be much lower than they are likely to be. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1122998317/ A quarter of prospective students expect their parents to fund the entire cost of going to university, a new survey has found. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1122998020/ Tuition fees for non-Scottish students studying in Scotland are to rise by £500, the Scottish Executive has announced. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1121888331/ Universities will be able to charge the full £3,000 for a year's teaching course, but OFFA has stepped in to further complicate things with a small bursary. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1120230000/ Student loan debt rose by £2.5bn between 2002-3 and 2003-4, while the average debt to the SLC now tops £8,000. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1119663053/ A deal has finally been reached on top-up fees in Wales, meaning that Welsh students will not have to pay them - so long as they stay in Wales. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1119366925/ Staff and students are in a state of confusion following the Welsh Assembly's rejection of top-up fees. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1119042629/ Fees for overseas students to enter the UK are increasing on top of rises in visa renewal fees earlier this year, provoking anger from students and universities. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1118324731/ A new moneymaking scheme from an Oxford student has further highlighted the lengths that students are willing to go to in order to avoid debt and poverty. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1115250833/ Concerns have been raised by the NUS that confusion over business in Parliament could have meant MPs unintentionally voted to introduce top-up fees in Northern Ireland. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1112218522/ New research out today says that students are more worried about their debts than their studies, with 59% saying money is their top concern. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1110995129/ The Rees Report into higher education funding has come up with six options for Wales, one of which would be unworkable and another of which is a flat fee of £3,000 for all students. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1110196439/ The government has announced plans for an increase to the minimum wage from October. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1109343349/ If you think you'll graduate with a huge debt, it's nothing compared to what students could face in 2023: debt will be almost five times the current average. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1108747771/ HEFCE report: Teenagers from disadvantaged areas are up to six times less likely to go to university than rich ones. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1106496199/ The ban on student loans for the over-54s is to be scrapped because it is discriminatory, it has been revealed. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1105973338/ Most universities still look set to charge the full top-up fee amount across the board, the access regulator has said. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1105027021/ Almost all English universities plan to charge the maximum £3,000 a year tuition fee for degree courses from 2006, a survey by the Independent has shown. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1104512663/ Students on part-time higher education courses will be eligible for more help with their fees from September, and for the first time it will be linked to how much time their courses take up. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1104509904/ Top-up fees are to be chargeable on postgraduate teacher training courses from 2006. Currently they are free and a teacher shortage looms on the horizon. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1103328953/ Leeds Met will charge fees of £2,000 across the board from 2006, making it the first university to go lower than the £3,000 maximum. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1103126491/ Oxford will hand out bursaries to students from low-income backgrounds totalling up to £13,000 from 2006. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1102773323/ Rumours abound that some English universities might buck the expected trend and charge less than the maximum £3,000 when top-up fees come into effect in 2006. The vice-chancellor of Leeds Met was the first to raise his head above the parapet in telling the BBC that he is in favour of lower fees for all degrees, although he doesn't expect to be able to get his plans past the university. The THES reckons that Bradford may also try to charge less, but it has denied the story. We should know for sure by March when universities have to submit their plans to Offal (Offa? Ed.), the new access regulator. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1102526739/ Prospective students should apply for their loans several months before the end of sixth form if they want to get them on time, the SLC says. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1100098064/ Students in Northern Ireland could face variable tuition fees the same as students in England, it has been announced. According to the BBC, under government plans universities will be able to charge up to £3,000 per year instead of the current flat rate of £1,150. There will be a period of consultation before a decision is made, but this has been condemned by opponents who say that there are no alternatives on the table and Northern Ireland has not been given the opportunity to develop its own plans. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1099150005/ The financial situation for students still awaiting their loan payments is getting increasingly desperate, with some living off tins of beans supplied by their unions. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1097849008/ An impoverished student expelled from the University of Surrey has set up a website to collect donations. According to the site, he was kicked off his course after the fees for his second year were not paid due to "unforeseen family circumstances". http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1096977236/ A summer of cock-ups and general incompetence means that thousands will get their loan payments late. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1096732249/ Oxford University has launched a new scholarship scheme, worth £1,000 per year, to attract Rugby League players. The game, which is more popular in the north of England, loses out at Oxford to Rugby Union, the code of choice for most southern rugby fans. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1096637421/ Students are being hit by "emergency tax" because many of them do not have tax codes, the Guardian reported over the weekend. What's worse, they could be claiming the money back but don't because the system is ridiculously complicated. http://www.therundown.co.uk/news/finance/1096320105/