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Autumn Statement: Universities hope for postgraduate loans Autumn Statement: Postgraduate loans of £10,000
(about 11 hours later)
Universities are hoping to hear details of postgraduate student loans in the chancellor's Autumn Statement. A student loan system for postgraduate master's degrees has been announced in the chancellor's Autumn Statement.
University leaders have called for extra financial support to help students stay on for further study. George Osborne said it would "revolutionise" access to postgraduate university courses.
But they have warned of concerns if loans are limited to certain subjects or age groups. He said the cost of postgraduate courses "deters bright students from poorer backgrounds".
The UCU lecturers' union says a better postgraduate funding system is needed for the "replenishment of the academic profession". The National Union of Students' vice president, Megan Dunn, described the move as a "major step in the right direction".
There have been unconfirmed suggestions that the Autumn Statement on Wednesday will be the platform for announcing a system of loans for people staying on for a master's degree. "Creating a government-backed postgraduate loans scheme will make a fundamental difference to the lives and opportunities of students.
It would extend the current system which provides support for three years of undergraduate study. "Many postgraduates are currently funding their study through potentially disastrous measures such as credit cards, overdrafts and personal loans," said Ms Dunn.
Age limit
The government-backed loans, worth up to £10,000, will be available from 2016-17 and will benefit 40,000 students.
They will be offered in any master's subject, but only to students under the age of 30, and will be repaid concurrently with undergraduate loans.
There will be a consultation ahead of the final details, but they could be charged at a higher rate than undergraduate loans, while remaining below commercial rates.
"In recognition of the high private return to individuals," the Treasury says the loans will be designed that, on average, they will be repaid in full.
The introduction of postgraduate loans is part of the drive for a higher-skilled workforce.
There is rising demand for staff with postgraduate qualifications, but there have been concerns that without financial support talented students might not stay beyond their undergraduate courses.
Building plansBuilding plans
There have been many warnings from universities that talented students might not stay on for a fourth year of research if they cannot get financial support - and these pathways to advanced research will be dominated by overseas students. The UCU lecturers' union said it was a step in the right direction, but "more radical ideas were needed".
"Anything which makes it easier for people to make the transition to being a postgraduate is positive," said UCU leader Sally Hunt. 'It's positive that the government has moved to address the current crisis in postgraduate funding, but encouraging people to accrue more debt is not the best way to attract the best and brightest into further study," said UCU leader Sally Hunt.
"However, if government really wants to expand the number of UK postgraduates it must think much more boldly and look at even more radical ideas, such as restoring proper grants or writing off part of a student's undergraduate debt when they complete a postgraduate course. "If we really want to expand the number of UK postgraduates, government must consider even more radical ideas such as restoring proper grants or writing off part of a student's undergraduate debt when they complete a postgraduate course."
"As ever, the devil will be in the detail and we will be closely scrutinising these plans," she warned. "As ever, the devil will be in the detail and we will be closely scrutinising these plans and delivering our own proposals in this area in the new year.
There have been other university groups unconvinced that a state loan system would help poorer students to stay for postgraduate degrees. "It is vitally important that there is proper support for all kinds of postgraduate student, including mature students and those undertaking research degrees, if we are to ensure the replenishment of the academic profession."
The CentreForum think tank says that it expects the loan system to reflect some of its own proposals. Michael Gunn, chair of the Million+ group of universities, said that the announcement would help to reverse a decline in postgraduate study.
It suggested loans of £10,000 for students taking one-year taught master's degrees, repayable once students begin work and reach a certain level of earnings. But he opposed the age limit, calling for the loans to be "extended to all who want to study for postgraduate qualifications".
"This is a landmark moment in higher education policy. Masters students have long been denied the funding opportunities available to undergraduates. A loans scheme will be hugely important in widening access to education's highest tier," said Stephen Lee, chief executive of CentreForum. Universities minister Greg Clark said: "By introducing postgraduate loans, students will have greater flexibility to gain the qualifications they need to get on in life and give the UK the skilled workforce we need to secure long-term economic growth."
The government has already announced an expansion of university places - and there are reports of funding for university campuses and science research centres. The Autumn Statement also included funding for science research centres.
University College London says it is receiving £141m in government support for a campus on the former Olympic Park in east London, known as UCL East, which will open in its first phase in 2018. He announced £235m in the Sir Henry Royce Institute for advanced material science in Manchester, with branches in Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield.
There will be further funding of £270m from UCL, in what vice-provost Stephen Caddick says will be "the largest ever single expansion of UCL since the university was founded nearly 200 years ago". There will be £20m for an innovation centre on ageing in Newcastle and £113m for big data at Hartree.