Press Release: Lack of support for part-time students is indefensible
Commenting on Policy Exchange’s report on support for part-time undergraduates, Shadow Universities and Skills Secretary, David Willetts said:
“The lack of support available to part-time students is indefensible. Currently, most part-time students do not receive any government support at all. So this excellent report is a useful contribution to the debate.
“Ministers talk a great deal about widening access to university but their words sound hollow. They are doing nothing to improve the regime for part-time students, who tend to come from more disadvantaged backgrounds, and have even cut help for people wishing to retrain at a university.
“The Government must urgently establish an independent student finance review that covers part-time funding in its terms of reference. This is more important than ever as the economy rebalances during the recession.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
1. Policy Exchange’s investigation into part-time student support in higher education, published on Tuesday 18th August, reports that part-time undergraduate students are getting a much worse deal than their full-time counterparts. Part-time students, who are often older and from less traditional academic backgrounds, have to pay their fees up front and cannot access the government-backed loans available to full-time students. Policy Exchange proposes a fairer model of support for part-time undergraduates, with part-time students made eligible for the same tuition fee grants as their full-time counterparts. For details, see www.policyexchange.org.uk
2. The Government is currently reducing the support available to students studying for a qualification that is equivalent or lower to one they already hold. This has had a devastating effect on the institutions with the best record in part-time higher education, including the Open University and Birkbeck.