Postgraduate Funding
Over the coming months we will be campaigning with local and national government on the proposal of a Postgraduate Funding scheme.
"In November 2012, NUS published a report, Steps toward a fairer system of postgraduate taught funding, which outlined the injustice of having a system of unregulated postgraduate fees that students must pay up-front when finance is usually scarce and inadequate. NUS have argued that access to PG study is now based on ability to pay, not academic ability and potential to succeed.
This is why NUS proposed an income-contingent loan scheme for masters students, with financial support coming from employers for part-time study, from professional bodies to improve access and widen participation in professions like law and journalism, and a government-backed scheme for masters students similar to that at undergraduate-level.
Since the report, NUS has been speaking to the HE sector and to Parliament to address the neglect of postgraduate funding. A Parliamentary round-table was held jointly by NUS and the think-tank Centre Forum, and brought together MPs, Lords, civil servants and experts from the HE sector to discuss the issue and the NUS proposals".
19th April 2013
We will be lobbying Julian Huppert, Simon Burns, Shailesh Vara and James Paice (MPs where our core-campuses are based) for them to sign up to become "Postgraduate Champions". We will discuss the key funding issues for Postgraduates and ultimately gain their support and sign the "Postgraduate Champions Checklist".
We will also be asking our Vice Chancellor Prof. Mike Thorne to sign up to the VC Checklist which will show he believes that postgraduate education is crucial to maintaining the county's research excellence and that the lack of access to PG funding is unfair. By agreeing to the checklist Mike will look to new ways in which ARU can support postgraduates, particularily in terms of funding opportunities and to actively represent the interests of PG students within the education sector.
More info here: nusconnect.org
If you would like to get involved with this campaign, please contact Francesca Rust, President.
f.rust@angliastudent.com