News round-up: Proposal to lower student loan repayment threshold met with outrage

News round-up: Proposal to lower student loan repayment threshold met with outrage

by | Oct 1, 2021 | Academic freedom, Augar Review, Boris Johnson, Casual staff, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Employability, Free speech, Government, Humanities, In the News, League tables, Marketisation, News round-up, Opinion, UCU, Uncategorized

Ministers are understood to be considering lowering the student loan repayment threshold to £23,000, or an average increase of £400 in repayments per year. The decision has been met with widespread criticism and concern about how this might affect those on lower...
News round-up: University staff to be balloted on strike action

News round-up: University staff to be balloted on strike action

by | Sep 17, 2021 | Academic freedom, Augar Review, Boris Johnson, Casual staff, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Government, Humanities, In the News, Marketisation, News round-up, Opinion, UCU, Uncategorized

UCU has voted to support a motion calling for industrial action over pensions, pay and casualisation, with potential strikes looming before Christmas. Meanwhile, the sector has shown mixed reactions to the sacking of Education Secretary Gavin Williamson in the...
News round-up: Covid vaccine passports will not be required for university students

News round-up: Covid vaccine passports will not be required for university students

by | Aug 6, 2021 | A-levels, Academic freedom, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Employability, Erasmus, Erasmus+, Further education, Government, Humanities, In the News, Marketisation, News round-up, Opinion, Racism, Uncategorized

Last week, the Department for Education confirmed that there are no plans to implement the use of vaccine passports on university campuses, after some ministers and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had discussed the benefits of a passport system. Nevertheless, the DfE...
News round-up: Office for Students confirms cuts to arts and creative subjects amid government reforms

News round-up: Office for Students confirms cuts to arts and creative subjects amid government reforms

by | Jul 23, 2021 | Academic freedom, Casual staff, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Free speech, Further education, Government, Humanities, In the News, Marketisation, News round-up, Office for Students, Opinion, Press Releases, Tuition fees, Uncategorized, University funding

The universities regulator, The Office for Students, has this week confirmed drastic cuts to funding for arts and creative subjects amid government plans to redirect the money to fund other “high-cost” subjects including science, technology, engineering...