“I imagine being a student is like being on X Factor” Karl Pilkington Pages 14-15 The independent student newspaper of the University of Sheffield // www.forgetoday.com
Bursaries system highlights inequality By Robert Golledge
English student Family income: £17K A Levels: AAB Bursary: £420
Chemistry student Family income: £250K A Levels: AAA Bursary: £785
In some cases richer students receive more support. Figures correct at time of printing.
Photo: Helen Munro
Affluent students could be receiving bigger bursaries than their poorer counterparts due to a flaw in the University of Sheffield’s bursary scheme. Currently, University of Sheffield students who study priority subjects (usually Pure Sciences and Engineering) will automatically get a bursary regardless of their household incomes, if they receive at least one A grade at A Levels. Students who study non-priority subjects (usually Social Sciences and Arts) are only entitled to a bursary if their household income is less than £35,000. Some students from more affluent backgrounds studying priority subjects will therefore receive a larger bursary than students from poorer families who are studying non-priority degrees. A report published earlier this week by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) has pointed to uneven distributions of money across the higher education sector. According to the University of Sheffield’s bursary calculator, a Chemistry student with a household income of £250,000 with three A grades at A Level will get a £785 bursary, whilst an English student with a household income of £17,000 with two As and a B at A Level will receive £420. A Chemistry student with a household income of more than £35,000 with two As and a B at A Level will receive £520, exactly £100 more than the less affluent English student. Continued on page 2
Uni feels the crunch in staff pay deal By Robert Golledge Staff at the University of Sheffield could be in for a pay increase of more than 10 per cent this year due to the rapid rise in inflation. This October, university staff across the country are due to get a pay increase of 2.5 per cent or the September Retail Price Index (RPI, a measure of inflation), whichever is higher, under
the terms set out in the threeyear pay deal for 2006-2009. RPI is currently 4.8 per cent. This is on top of a nationwide pay increase of three per cent in May this year which means that nationally pay will increase by about eight per cent. A number of University of Sheffield staff received an additional pay rise of three per cent back in January of this year, meaning in total their pay will rise by about 11
per cent. Since the 2006-2009 Higher Education Pay Deal, university staff have received increases totalling more than 10 per cent over 22 months, plus a minimum of an extra 2.5 per cent this year. With the expected RPI figure to be around five per cent, the three-year pay deal could be worth up to 18 per cent for University of Sheffield staff. Continued on page 3
Friday September 19 2008 // Issue 1
Indecency in Union on the increase By Ciaran Jones Security staff at the Union of Students have had to deal with a sharp increase in indecent behaviour in the past year, whilst the number of arrests on the premises have also risen. Cases of indecent behaviour, such as exposure and sex in toilets, rose by 44 per cent from 41 incidents between August 2006 and August 2007 to 73 reports in the following 12 months. This rise is being attributed to the introduction of a zero tolerance policy on reports of indecent behaviour, with security staff being instructed to take all complaints of this nature seriously. Alex Pott, Union Finance Officer, said: “When these figures were released it took everyone by surprise but the increases are due to a new Union zero tolerance policy.” Reports of arrests also rose 44 per cent in the last year from 22 incidents in the period between August 2006 and August 2007 to 39 such cases since then, though these figures are very small in relation to the number of users at the site each year. One factor in the increasing number of arrests is that the police are being called out more frequently to deal with people who refuse to leave the area after being removed by security staff. Over 1200 people were ejected from the Union between August 2007 and August 2008, representing a six per cent drop on the figures for the preceding 12 months. Drug finds were down by almost a half over the same time frame, with just 49 cases since August 2007. This reflects the stringent approach taken by Union security staff to drug taking within the building, where a zero tolerance policy is in operation. The statistics presented to the Union Health and Safety Committee also show that security staff are now extending patrols to outside smoking areas to deter people from using these places to take drugs. Increased patrols inside the building and the visibility of closed circuit television cameras are also helping to tackle the problem. Alex Pott said: “Drug taking has always been something which the Union takes seriously. “We hope to further deter people from engaging in this type of activity.”