student finance

According to a new report by the government’s spending watchdog, only a third of university students believe their degree courses offer value for money. The number of students satisfied with their courses has fallen significantly from half in 2012, indicating that students, who undertake huge loans, are widely failed...

Future Finance, a specialist student loans company, has raised concerns surrounding students’ abilities to finance their educations. The survey, which questioned 1,000 full-time students, said that 31% have had to use credit cards, payday loans and overdrafts to finance their university experience. “The survey also showed that 70% said their...

Freshers will have spent their entire loan within a matter of a few weeks of arriving at university, with 93% being left out of pocket by December, a recent study has revealed. It has also been disclosed that nearly half of the first instalment of student loans is spent by...

Maintenance grants for students from low income families could be cut to provide savings for the Department for Business. Plans to phase out the grants were first drawn up in 2013, but Nick Clegg, ex-Deputy Prime Minister, blocked the proposal. Now it is understood that ministers are reconsidering the idea...

A new loan scheme was announced by the Chancellor in last week’s Autumn Statement that would entitle students seeking to study at a postgraduate level of up to £10,000. According to Mr Osborne, it will ‘revolutionise’ the access that students across the country will have to postgraduate education. Treasury forecasts predict that this loan...

A government consultation paper has revealed the development of student loans compliant with Sharia law. Under Sharia law, Muslims are forbidden from taking out loans which accrue interest. The Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance states that ‘as a matter of faith, a Muslim cannot lend money to, or...

A government consultation paper proposes that non-UK EU students need to have lived in the UK for three years in order to access loans or grants, instead of the current three year requirement. Nottingham’s student population is made up of around 28% European and international students. These proposals would...