► Education Funding

01/02 Policy

Valid AULUC 2007

 

EDUCATION FUNDING

Proposed by ULU Sabbatical Team

 

THIS UNION BELIEVES

 

1.       That since 1980 there has been an overall decline in real funding per student by fifty per cent and a decline in student staff ratios to the same rate.

2.       That the government’s policy is to maintain quality and standards whilst increasing participation to 50% of all young people by 2010.

3.       That average debt stands at £12,000 and that this is a barrier to access to both traditional and non-traditional students.

4.       That a letter to the University of London Union Estelle Morris stated that the student finance review has clear aims to ‘simplify the system’, ‘ensure all students have access to sufficient financial support’, ‘tackle the problems of debt and the perception of debt’.

5.       That the government’s student finance review will conclude with a continuing commitment to a student or graduate contribution.

 

THIS UNION FURTHER BELIEVES

 

1.       That the sector has endured decades of under-investment, and that failure has been recognised in Wales, Scotland and by the public at large.

2.       That under current projected spending, the government’s aspiration to increase participation will result in a further decline in unit funding and risk compromising quality and standards.

3.       That the perception of debt amongst prospective non-traditional students is caused largely by the real debt and poor living standards encountered by the majority of (traditional) students.

4.       That student finance is currently unfair on all and is over-complicated by means-tested loans, means-tested fees, means-tested hardship support; And that a market rated loan would increase both the burden and perception of debt as well as further complicate the system.

5.       That a system of grants as the primary means of support will be the only system that eradicates both the perception and burden of debt; And that a system with loans as the primary means of undergraduate support will be at odds with the government’s aspiration to increase and widen participation.

6.       That postgraduate student finance must be considered equally within the review.

7.       That the government’s conclusions on student/graduate contribution will be less informed and less beneficial to students should we not make our conditions on contribution absolutely clear.

 

THIS UNION RESOLVES

 

1.       To campaign for the government to commit to a level of public funding that will accommodate both it’s 50% target and result in an overall increase in funding per student.

2.       To campaign for the government to end student debt and increase participation by ending fees, abolishing loans as the primary source of support, and simplifying student finance by restoring grants.

3.       To campaign for London weighting to be increased at a rate that better reflects the additional cost of living in the city.

4.       To campaign for a better system of support for postgraduates; to encourage access to postgraduate courses by campaigning for an end to undergraduate debt; And campaign for the government to fully consider the needs of postgraduate students.

5.       To oppose any form of student contribution.

6.       To respond to consultation on graduate contribution with preference for the system that provides the optimal support package.

 

PASSED: 21^st January 2002