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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

Student Loan next term

37 replies

clayspaniel · 19/03/2020 19:33

My DS has been told that his first year is over now but that he will still have to pay fees as teaching will be delivered online - even though it’s a practical course. Does anyone know if there will be reduced fees to reflect the reduced teaching/learning they are getting?

OP posts:

titchy · 19/03/2020 21:34

No! As you said, teaching is still being delivered, just online. Staff still need paying you know.

Original poster

clayspaniel · 19/03/2020 23:46

Government should step in and pay staff wages - don’t think students should have to shoulder that burden.

OP posts:

Purplepooch · 20/03/2020 06:51

Seriously? They are not choosing this, they are doing the very best to keep learning going.
Universities need funding to keep going.

Original poster

clayspaniel · 20/03/2020 07:06

Yes seriously! Government is stepping in to help businesses. Funding staff in public services like universities should also be included during closures.

OP posts:

titchy · 20/03/2020 10:03

Ffs. Your child will I'm certain be getting all the online materials he needs, and a massive cost to his institution and staff - my IT department worked throughout the entire weekend, day and night, just to make sure that we could deliver in this new way. Extra lab sessions needed will be rescheduled to next year. He won't lose out. And be honest - he's not handing over wads of twenties of his own cash is he, which businesses are having to do.

Original poster

clayspaniel · 20/03/2020 14:29

Well yes it is their own money ultimately. University was free for people of my generation - and would have been again if Corbyn had won the election.

OP posts:

fedup21 · 20/03/2020 14:30

What happens about the halls of residence fees/maintenance loan for the summer term?

titchy · 20/03/2020 15:24

Well yes it is their own money ultimately

Only if the repay the lot which the vast majority won't.

Maintenance will be paid for the third term. (OP if you think the final terms fees should be given back to the loans company presumably you'd also agree that the final term maintenance should also go back to the SLC?)

Anecdotally a lot of places are cancelling halls contracts for after Easter so students won't have to pay. Private landlords will doubtless not follow suit...

1963mes · 20/03/2020 21:51

Does anyone know if there will be reduced fees to reflect the reduced teaching/learning they are getting?

They are not getting reduced teaching or learning. As pp wrote, universities are working around the clock to move all resources online. There will be massive amounts of online support, involving far, far more teaching hours than ever before.

Original poster

clayspaniel · 22/03/2020 13:54

Neither of my student dcs have had any work yet.

Yes titchy of course I think the maintenance loan should be ca cancelled as well as the fees. Pointless comment.
It’s about time higher education became free again. The CV19 crisis has shown so many of the flaws of capitalism.

OP posts:

Kuponut · 22/03/2020 14:04

What happens about the halls of residence fees/maintenance loan for the summer term?

I contacted Student Finance England on Friday to ask this - it's down to be paid as normal.

PostNotInHaste · 22/03/2020 14:08

Well DD is screwed if they cancel the maintenance loan as can’t pay the rent on the flat she lives in. What a ridiculous idea.

PostNotInHaste · 22/03/2020 14:10

And it is incredibly early days and the staff are doing their best to sort things out, give them a chance. It’s unchartered waters here for goodness sake. The pressure everyone is under across the country is immense.

Kuponut · 22/03/2020 14:31

@PostNotInHaste I asked student finance and maintenance loans will still be paid. I asked since my course lot were going into apocalyptic overdrive panicking about it!

Also had an email from the NHS bods - travel expenses, child dependants allowance etc all will be paid as planned.

I've just formally applied to defer my exams till the summer - no way I can do them online with the kids climbing the walls in the house. Shall see what comes of that - I know some unis are cancelling exams - ours are still making exam related noises at present.

SueEllenMishke · 22/03/2020 14:33

No there shouldn't be a reduction in fees. University staff are working incredibly hard to ensure that students still get taught all the material just in a different format. I can't speak for other lectures but I'm also spending a lot more time on pastoral care - making sure my students are coping.

And as for university being free again - it's totally impractical and would never have worked without us going back to an elite HE system

titchy · 22/03/2020 14:35

Yes titchy of course I think the maintenance loan should be ca cancelled as well as the fees. Pointless comment.

Well then you haven't got a fucking clue have you? You want hundreds of thousands of students homeless and starving over the next few months?

You do know that that majority of students aren't in the '18 years old and able to go back to mum and dad's to live' category yes?

PostNotInHaste · 22/03/2020 15:02

Thank you Kuponet

MarchingFrogs · 22/03/2020 15:31

of course I think the maintenance loan should be ca cancelled as well as the fees.

Okay, so you don't want them to have it - how do your DC feel on the subject? It's their loan.

Original poster

clayspaniel · 22/03/2020 17:33

If there wasn’t so much of this Dunkirk spirit - universities working incredibly hard etc - if they all said no then the fees could be cancelled. If university was free and publicly funded then staff would be paid during the closure. As for people making patronising comments about maintenance loans - if there was a benefit system in place then they wouldn’t need the ML. When I was a student you claimed benefits in the holidays if you couldn’t get a job. The UCU were supposed be on strike this term (fully supported by most students) yet now they are working harder than ever to deliver courses on line that just won’t be suitable for practical courses. By the way this started as a simple question - not sure it deserved quite the self righteous tone that the replies displayed!

OP posts:

titchy · 22/03/2020 17:47

So cancel fees, and pay staff how? You can jump on your high horse as much as you like - but back in reality unis are funded largely from fees (as an aside if we went back to fully publicly funded your kid wouldn't be at uni - this vast majority wouldn't, so be careful what you wish for).

The UCU strikes were mostly over btw, those few that were due to take place have been cancelled.

And putting everyone getting a ML onto benefits - lol. Really just lol. Why not let them eat cake OP. Do some maths.

LittleDragonGirl · 22/03/2020 17:48

Well unfortunately where not back in the day of being able to claim benefits while a student - unless you have children.. hell if me and DH didnt receive maintence loan next month we would be homeless, as at the moment working to cover the cost isnt a option, and any benefit we did receive wouldn't cover our rent and Bill's.

What a absolutely awful idea.

VivaLeBeaver · 22/03/2020 17:53

Your child will still get a degree at the end of this. And most likely without having to sit as many exams. They still get taught all the content. It's a global fucking emergency.

SueEllenMishke · 22/03/2020 18:13

If you cancel fees how do you propose we pay staff .....not to mention maintain buildings and services?

People are jumping on you because you clearly just don't get it. As an academic I can assure you (and my students) that they will get everything they need for their qualification plus far more pastoral support than would usually be expected of me.

When university was 'free' a much smaller percentage of the population attended university. You can't have free HE when 50% of school leavers are going into university.

TKAAHUARTG · 22/03/2020 18:36

My DS has been told that his first year is over now but that he will still have to pay fees as teaching will be delivered online
Which one is it OP? The first year is over? OR all teaching is online?

Original poster

clayspaniel · 22/03/2020 20:07

What I do get is that there IS money for funding this! If labour had won GE university would have returned to be publicly funded! So many people have become acclimatised to expect everything to be privately funded and blinkered to any other possibilities. Even this government is starting to find money to help out in this crisis. Another future is possible!

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