http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk Keep Uk students updated en-us 6 Feburary 2010 6 Feburary 2010 news@ukstudentnews.co.uk andy@ukstudentnews.co.uk 5 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Politics/University-Funding-HEFCE-Announces-Where-It-Will-Make-Cuts-David-Lammy-Warns-Of-Scaremongering/Article/201002115539919?lpos=Politics_First_Poilitics_Article_Teaser_Regi_0&lid=ARTICLE_15539919_University_Funding%3A_HEFCE_Announces_Where_It_Will_Make_Cuts%2C_David_Lammy_Warns_Of_Scaremongering The Government has denied claims that cuts to university funding will leave students disappointed in the race for places. Professor Steve Smith, president of a group of vice chancellors called Universities UK, warned as many as 230,000 people could miss out on higher education this year. "Last year about 160,000 students who applied didn't end up going to university," he told the BBC. "This year, we already know that there are about another 75,000 applying for university." But David Lammy, the Higher Education Minister, has dismissed the claim cuts will lead to dwindling student numbers as "scaremongering". The row comes as the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE) sets out how it will slash university budgets. Lord Mandelson told universities in December they must cut £135m as well as £180m worth of efficiency savings. A further £600m cuts will be made after 2012. On Monday he repeated they must do their "fair share" by making reductions. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 1 Feburary 2010, 22:39 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Politics/University-Funding-HEFCE-Announces-Where-It-Will-Make-Cuts-David-Lammy-Warns-Of-Scaremongering/Article/201002115539919?lpos=Politics_First_Poilitics_Article_Teaser_Regi_0&lid=ARTICLE_15539919_University_Funding%3A_HEFCE_Announces_Where_It_Will_Make_Cuts%2C_David_Lammy_Warns_Of_Scaremongering http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8491004.stm Students campaigning against an increase in tuition fees are targeting MPs who hold seats in a "hit list" of university cities in England. The National Union of Students says MPs must support their campaign against higher fees - or lose the student vote. Among the MPs identified as targets by students are three ministers - John Denham, Ben Bradshaw and Hilary Benn - and the chief whip, Nick Brown. "Vote for us or pay the price," warns the National Union of Students (NUS). The NUS is mobilising the student vote for the general election - threatening to vote against candidates who do not support the union's campaign against a possible increase in fees in England. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 1 Feburary 2010, 22:40 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8491004.stm http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1247293/Students-angry-loan-staff-cuts.html Student leaders have reacted angrily to news that the bungling Student Loans Company is to cut 150 jobs at its Glasgow and Darlington offices. The SLC, which employs 1,894 staff across four sites, struggled to complete payments of loans and grants to new students last year for the start of the 2009-10 academic year. Students reported widespread processing problems and paperwork going missing. More than 100,000 were left waiting for their cash at the start of their first term, with many having to depend on hardship funds from their university, or - more commonly - loans from their families. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 1 Feburary 2010, 22:43 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1247293/Students-angry-loan-staff-cuts.html http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8483817.stm The Student Loans Company (SLC) has had to pay out about £4,000 to cover fraud committed by a worker at an outsourced call centre in Glasgow in December. The individual, who worked for the firm Response, had access to more than 2,000 student accounts. It is understood that 25 accounts were affected by the fraud. Two students who lost money were reimbursed. SLC said it had reported the matter to the police and was contacting all students who the individual dealt with. In a statement, SLC said: "The Student Loans Company has identified an incident of fraud involving an employee at an outsourced call centre in Glasgow in December. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 1 Feburary 2010, 22:44 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8483817.stm http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://deadlinescotland.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/13452-2581/ A STUDENT has told of her mugging "nightmare” after a spate of robberies in Edinburgh. Edinburgh University student Alison Hastings, 20, was entering her flat when a hooded woman threatened her with a metal object and stole her handbag. Alison was confronted just yards from the headquarters of Lothian and Borders Police as she made her way home on Sunday night. Yesterday the maths student, from Aberdeen, said: "I reached my flat door and was trying to find my keys, I`d been out shopping and I had my iPod on. "She came up behind me and grabbed my handbag."She was wearing a grey hoody with the hood up and she didn`t say anything, she looked like she was on drugs. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 1 Feburary 2010, 22:57 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://deadlinescotland.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/13452-2581/ http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/7146187/Poor-New-Zealand-student-sells-virginity-to-stranger-for-20000.html A poor university student in New Zealand who offered her virginity on an auction site has accepted a £20,000 offer to sleep with a stranger. The 19-year-old, who has not been named or pictured, said she posted the advert to help pay for her university fees. The girl, from Northland, in New Zealand's north island, is only known by her username Unigirl. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 4 Feburary 2010, 6:44 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/7146187/Poor-New-Zealand-student-sells-virginity-to-stranger-for-20000.html http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5j8Sm7kc85yWpMJGPEnCxxFaF4y6g Thousands of disabled university students are still waiting for funding to pay for special equipment and services, figures have shown. Just over a third of applications made for the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) have been approved by the Student Loans Company (SLC) four months after the start of the university year, statistics released by the firm show. Disabled students use the DSA grant to pay for books, equipment, support staff and travel. According to figures obtained by the Tories under a Freedom of Information request, some 19,224 students have applied for a DSA, with 19,006 deemed eligible by the SLC. But so far, only 6,507 applications have been processed and approved, and as of November last year more than 12,000 people were still waiting. Shadow universities minister David Willetts said the figures were "truly shocking." "Almost four months after term started, and two months after the Government said the problems were being fixed, thousands of disabled students are still waiting for the funding they need to pay for vital equipment," he said. "Ministers are still passing the buck and still failing to deliver. Students deserve better - much better." [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 4 Feburary 2010, 6:47 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5j8Sm7kc85yWpMJGPEnCxxFaF4y6g http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.comparecarhire.co.uk/news/uk-halts-student-visas-for-india-nepal-and-bangladesh-53814489.html The UK Borders Agency, formerly known as the UK Immigration Service, has recently halted the application process for UK student visa from Nepal, Bangladesh and northern India after a remarkable increase in numbers and accusations of fraud. The suspension order will be imposed for at least one month while backlog of applications is reviewed but the period will be extended if deemed necessary. In that period, all applications will be subjected to heavy examination. The problem appeared to have started with the UK`s implementation of a points-based system which gives visas to anybody who can establish that they have taken a slot at a UK educational institution. In the UK, there are more than a few hundred universities and other higher education institution. The UK Borders Agency has known this issue for years, but was usually utilized by Eastern Europeans and Africans in reasonably low quantity. They enrol themselves in a small institute, most commonly language schools, rather than in larger university. The structure is simple, the school or institute accepts the payment from the foreign student and issues a certificate of enrolment which is sufficient enough to secure a UK student visa. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 4 Feburary 2010, 6:49 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.comparecarhire.co.uk/news/uk-halts-student-visas-for-india-nepal-and-bangladesh-53814489.html http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23802059-student-arrested-with-gun-at-kingston-college.do An 18-year-old student carrying a handgun and ammunition has been arrested at Kingston College. Tests showed it was a converted Baikal pistol capable of firing bullets. A search of the student's home found a silencer and a small quantity of cannabis. He was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession with intent to supply cannabis. Detective Chief Inspector Peter Beyer of the Central Task Force said: "This was a targeted and discreet operation which minimised disruption for the college and helped remove another gun from the streets of London.” [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 4 Feburary 2010, 6:50 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23802059-student-arrested-with-gun-at-kingston-college.do http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/world/441090/a-level-student-in-court-after-fatally-stabbing-her-boyfriend-with-steak-knife.html Hours after learning that she'd failed to get the exam results that would enable her to go to university, 19-year-old Katherine McGrath stabbed her boyfriend through the heart in a drunken argument, a court has heard. Katherine McGrath, 19, denies murdering 22-year-old Alyn Thomas at her home in Brackla, Bridgend. She told emergency operators in the minutes after the attack that she was acting in self defence because Mr Thomas suddenly attacked her, the Times Online reports. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 4 Feburary 2010, 6:52 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/world/441090/a-level-student-in-court-after-fatally-stabbing-her-boyfriend-with-steak-knife.html http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jX3HXYEdkV2FwpoL7AO6ZXAcsE0Q A university has made changes to its exam procedures after four medical students graduated and began practising as doctors despite failing an exam, it was announced. Cardiff University said it was bringing in new staff and changing exam timing after four students were all told they had passed their finals last summer and had begun working in hospitals before the mistake was uncovered. The students were suspended from duty and are now repeating their final year. The university said following an investigation, it was introducing a series of "robust measures" to improve the way student assessment data was managed in the school of medicine. Two new posts have been created to oversee the new procedures - an assessment data manager and an academic psychometrician, who will be responsible for analysing assessment data and ensuring exams are fair. A new director of medical education has also recently been appointed. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 4 Feburary 2010, 6:55 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jX3HXYEdkV2FwpoL7AO6ZXAcsE0Q http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/02/02/student-dads-who-do-not-financially-support-their-children-could-begin-to-pay-child-maintenance-115875-22416/ Student dads who do not financially support their children could begin to pay child maintenance, the Government has signalled. Under current rules full-time students do not have to make any contribution. But junior work minister Helen Goodman said a new Child Support Agency scheme will "promote responsibility amongst all parents". She told MPs yesterday that the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has been instructed to "review the maintenance status of full-time students", and that the changes could come into effect by 2011. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 4 Feburary 2010, 6:59 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/02/02/student-dads-who-do-not-financially-support-their-children-could-begin-to-pay-child-maintenance-115875-22416/ http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://news.scotsman.com/education/Student-punched-lecturer-in-head.6033110.jp A STUDENT who punched his lecturer on the head was yesterday ordered by a sheriff to pay £200 in compensation. William Allan, 23, a music business student at James Watt College in Greenock, attacked lecturer Rodrick McKenna after an argument erupted on a class night out, Glasgow Sheriff Court was told. Mr McKenna, 49, had told the student he could stay at his home after the night out, but changed his mind later in the evening. The pair started arguing about it in Burger King in Union Street, before Allan punched Mr McKenna and a member of staff called the police. Defence lawyer Nicholas Nimmo told the court that Allan was effectively stranded in Glasgow, and when he later saw Mr McKenna he lost his temper. Sheriff Alfred Vannet ordered Allan to pay the compensation at £20 per month. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 4 Feburary 2010, 7:01 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://news.scotsman.com/education/Student-punched-lecturer-in-head.6033110.jp http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.journal-online.co.uk/article/6372-university-forced-to-cut-teaching-staff-and-student-numbers Students, politicians and representatives have accused the SNP of "storing up problems" after the government cut funding for teacher training courses. The University of Edinburgh last week announced plans to radically reduce places offered on teacher training courses at Moray House School of Education. The cuts, introduced by the Scottish government on university education courses across Scotland, may result in up to 40 staff redundancies. The decision led to demonstrations by teachers and students outside the Scottish Parliament last Wednesday. The heaviest cuts are to places in the Primary Postgraduate Diploma in Education, which will fall from 280 to 66, mirroring a national reduction from 1350 to 400 places. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 6 Feburary 2010, 11:18 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.journal-online.co.uk/article/6372-university-forced-to-cut-teaching-staff-and-student-numbers http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jM1T4sSi-d6087y-AFWLI8I8ddgw Students from ethnic minorities are still under-represented at the UK's elite universities, research suggests. Both Oxford and Cambridge are still recruiting fewer black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) students than the average in other universities, according to a study by the Race for Opportunity campaign. Just over one in 10 students at each of the two institutions (11.1% at Oxford and 10.5% at Cambridge) are from a BAME background, it says. Across the country, almost one in six UK university students (16%) were BAME in 2007/08. In order for Oxford to reach this average, it would have to recruit 44% more students from BAME backgrounds, the study concludes. Students of Chinese or mixed ethnicity were well represented at both universities, the findings show, but fewer students were of Indian, African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage. There are seven times fewer Black or Black British Caribbeans at Oxford than there are on average at other universities, the report shows. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 6 Feburary 2010, 11:19 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jM1T4sSi-d6087y-AFWLI8I8ddgw http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.gairrhydd.com/news/914/student-loan-company-job-cuts-anger-students Student leaders have reacted angrily to news that the Student Loans Company (SLC) is to cut 150 jobs at its Glasgow and Darlington offices. SLC says the job cuts follow the completion of work to move loan and grant applications online. The bulk of redundancies will be in IT. The SLC, which employs 1,894 staff across four sites, struggled to complete payments of loans and grants to new students last year for the start of the 2009-10 academic year. Students reported widespread processing problems and paperwork going missing, and more than 100,000 students were forced to depend on hardship funds from their university, or turn to their families for financial support. The company denies that reducing staff levels will have any impact on SLC`s ability to get applications processed and funds paid on time. It also says staff numbers involved in customer service will not be affected. But Aaron Porter, National Union of Students Vice-President, says he is still concerned. [ Submitted by ukstudentnews.co.uk - submitted 6 Feburary 2010, 11:21 GMT ] 6 Feburary 2010 http://www.ukstudentnews.co.uk/cgi-bin/openlink.cgi?link=http://www.gairrhydd.com/news/914/student-loan-company-job-cuts-anger-students