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EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
ISSUE VII
WEDNESDAY 26 MARCH 2008
A NEW MULTICULTURALISM » 12 Where race-relations are concerned, smoke and mirrors have proven strong currency thus far
PROFILE: TONY BENN » 19 The stalwart of the old Labour left talks to Evan Beswick
18-day ultimatum for postgraduates
Obituary
Dr. Stan Richardson 1943-2008
» SAAS demands immediate payment of graduate endowment » Deferment for second degrees abandoned in attempt to fill gap in finances » Student told to produce money or take out loan
Paris Gourtsoyannis paris.gourtsoyannis@journal-online.co.uk
SCOTLAND'S HIGHER EDUCATION funding body is attempting to claw back funds from graduates in a bid to cover the shortfall created by the abolition of the Graduate Endowment fee, The Journal has learned. The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) last week contacted post-graduate students to demand repayment of the defunct £2,289 fee within 18 days. The SAAS administered the Graduate Endowment for Scottish university students before the Scottish Parliament voted to drop the fee on 28 February and continues to oversee financial aid to EU nationals. Students pursuing second degrees had previously been assured that their debts would be deferred until the end of their post-graduate studies. Luke Dicken, a research student at the University of Strathclyde’s Department of Computer and Information Sciences, told The Journal: "The SAAS contacted me by post said that we now have to pay [the Graduate Endowment] by the end of the month, basically giving us 18 days to raise £2,000,” he said. “If we are unable to do this, it seems they will expect us take a loan out from them to cover it. “I've contacted the SAAS and been told that this isn't an error, and that they ‘sympathise’ with the situation they have been forced by the government to put us in.
“However this doesn't change the fact that every post-grad in the country has just had the rug pulled from under them and now has to try to find the money in the next two weeks, or add further to the debts we are accruing.” The SAAS awards funding to all Scottish nationals studying at university at home and abroad. Its main function is to pay tuition fees on behalf of Scottish students and it was responsible for the administration of the graduate endowment fee. The abolition of the fee means that students graduating from 2007-onwards no longer have to pay the fee, but the scrapping of the charge does not apply retrospectively. Mr Dicken completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Edinburgh in 2006, and is therefore required to pay the Graduate Endowment fee. However, he was assured by the SAAS in 2005 that repayment would not be expected until after the end of his second degree. Referring to the terms of the deal, Mr Dicken said: “it has been generally understood by post-grads to be for the duration of our studies, which was not disputed when I said this to the SAAS during my query of the situation.” Initial inquiries by The Journal appear to indicate that not all postgraduates have been issued with a demand for immediate repayment. The SAAS was unavailable for comment over the Easter weekend, however anecdotal evidence suggests a form of means testing may have occurred.
IN BRIEF
STUDENT FUNDING The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) is an Executive Agency responsible for paying the tuition fees of Scottish higher education students. Scottish undergraduate students, and EU students studying in Scotland, do not pay tuition fees, regardless of fi nancial situation. Traditionally, a proportion of the fees were recouped through the Graduate Endowment payable by approximately 50% of students upon graduation, but this payment was abolished in February this year, and students who graduated in 2007 are also exempt. Students were given the option of paying the full amount a year after graduation, or adding the £2000£2300 payment to their student loan, which is provided by the national Student Loans Company. Students in certain circumstances, including postgraduate study, were eligible to defer the repayment. On the abolition of the endowment, Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “We believe access to education should be based on ability to learn, not ability to pay. Today’s removal of the graduate endowment fee is great news for current and future students and last year’s graduates, helping to significantly reduce their debt burden.”
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More coverage and comment at The Journal Online | www.journal-online.co.uk
Alex Robertson alex.robertson@journal-online.co.uk
I
N 2007, TWO issues of the science journal Phsyica D were devoted to "seminal discoveries made in interface dynamics by Stan Richardson." This marked a celebration of the career of a magnificent mathematician who had speedily established himself as a world class figure in his field. Dr. Stanley Richardson was born near Macclesfield in 1943. He studied at Cambridge, completing the four year long course on the Mathematical Tripos in only three, before going on to do his PhD. He was a keen cyclist, famously traveling to and from his Cambridge interview by bike. Apart from a short stint as assistant lecturer at the University of Manchester, he
spent his next 6 years at Cambridge, coming to Edinburgh as a lecturer in 1971. He was promoted to reader in 1995 and was due to retire in September this year. John Byatt-Smith, a colleague for their 37 years together in Edinburgh, remembers Dr Richardson when he arrived as "the heart and soul of the building; when everyone met for coffee he always brought a little ten minute problem along to share." Dr Richardson was a remarkable example of university teaching at its best. Despite his Further Complex Analysis course having a reputation for being very challenging, it was the most highly attended 4th year course on offer. He taught by explaining, seldom using the blackboard, preferring to talk through his ideas in an animated and engaging way. Continued on page 2