Bristol University’s Independent Student Newspaper Issue 243
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Monday 21st November 2011
• www.epigram.org.uk
Uni tells poorest students: get a job
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27
• Bristol to be least affordable Russell Group
university for those from low income families • Find work to study, disadvantaged students told Tom Flynn Editor Bristol is set to be the least affordable English Russell Group university for new students from low-income backgrounds from 2012, Epigram research has found. Its current bursary system provides up to £1260 a year for students from the lowest-income families, and helps almost 33% of students meet the cost of studying in Bristol. But from next year most bursaries are being axed, continuing only for a small number of students from the local area enrolled on the ‘Access to Bristol’ scheme. Despite all other universities in the prestigious Russell Group retaining some form of meanstested cash bursary to supplement maintenance costs, Bristol have replaced their scheme with tuition fee waivers worth up to £5,500. In a briefing to University Council members on the new access measures, the University states that the purpose of the change is, ‘to send a simple message to students from the lowest income families that they will pay no more in fees than they do now.’ ‘Our Student Recruitment team believes the key message that has been heard by prospective students, particularly those from the poorest backgrounds, is about tuition fee debt and our fee waiver packages are intended to address this.’ In the report, the University also cites anecdotal evidence in support of its new system, saying, ‘Feedback from our recent open day is that applicants and parents from low income groups were impressed by our financial support package. The University was also praised in The Sunday Times 2012 University Guide for having, ‘one of the most generous packages of student support’.
Max. 1st year 2015 Bursary and cash bursary scholarship spend
Institution University of Oxford
£4,300
£7,150,000
University College London
£3,500
£7,319,000
London School of Economics
£3,500
£2,203,000
Imperial College London
£3,500
£4,017,000
University of Cambridge
£3,500
£7,135,000
University of Nottingham
£3,000
£11,878,000
University of Warwick
£2,500
£4,040,000
University of Birmingham
£2,000
£2,029,000
University of Sheffield
£1,400
£5,445,000
University of Manchester
£1,000
£13,802,000
University of Leeds
£1,000
£10,666,000
University of Liverpool
£1,000
£6,740,000
Newcastle University
£1,000
£2,388,000
Kings College London
£1,000
£3,050,000
Southampton University
No data
£1,990,000
University of Bristol
£0
£643,000
However, the value of fee waivers as support for students has been called into question, as they offer no help until long after graduation. Alex, a 2nd year economics student, told Epigram, ‘I’d find fee waivers completely useless. I’m aware that my student debt is there and rising but it’s not important to me while I’m still studying, I’d much rather have the cash to help me with living which is a far more pressing concern’. Bristol’s access agreement, already approved by OFFA (the Office for Fair Access), implies that without bursaries, poorer students have to find part-time work in order to meet the basic costs of studying in Bristol. The access agreement in place before the bursary system was cut makes assurances that students eligible for state support will have sufficient funding to cover ‘normal maintenance costs’. Continued on page 2
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