UCU calls for fairer student bursary system

Responding to a report by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) on access agreements and bursary payouts made by universities in 2007-8, UCU said there were clear inequalities in the current system and backed calls for a national bursary scheme.
 
The union is angry that average bursaries for poorer students in Million+ universities (£779) are almost fifty percent less then for students in Russell Group universities, who were given average payouts of £1,340.

'We firmly believe that sentencing students to record levels of debt is not the way to open up access to university.'
Sally Hunt
UCU general secretary

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: 'The system desperately needs an overhaul. At a time when we should be looking to widen participation, there is still a clear divide. Financial support should be based on what students need, not where they happen to be studying.
 
'We are very concerned about the lack of participation by students from lower socio-economic groups in England, the only nation where we have a dedicated Office for Fair Access (OFFA). We firmly believe that sentencing students to record levels of debt is not the way to open up access to university. The fact is that despite record sums of money having been spent on widening participation, there has been very little change in the proportion of students from the poorest backgrounds entering higher education.
 
'Proper student maintenance support, including a national bursary scheme, is needed to address these clear imbalances. It shouldn't be up to individual institutions to decide the level of financial support that they give.'