Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to find ways to appeal to younger voters who backed Labour over her during the general election.

The full article can found here:
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/sep/09/theresa-may-looking-at-easing-student-debt-burden

With her party’s annual conference just weeks away, May is looking at proposals to change the formula through which many graduates pay interest rates of more than 6%, more than double the inflation rate, according to the Sunday Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/09/tories-plot-slash-student-loan-rates-attempt-court-young-voters/

She is also considering a plan to name and shame universities that charge high fees but fail to improve students’ earning potential, the newspaper said.

A No 10 source described the report as “pure speculation” but May’s close allies have this summer voiced concerns over student debt and higher education.

Qualifi can offer an alternative to going to University, namely study locally and via a blended learning model in order to obtain vocationally related qualifications of equivalent level to Honours and Masters degrees. In addition Qualifi Level 5 qualifications allow successful learners to progress on to final year University Honours Degree and those gaining a Level 7 Qualifi qualification can progress on to the final year of a Masters degree. Qualifi L3, L4 , L5 and L6 qualifications are recognised by the Student Loan Company for Advanced Learner Loans. These alternative routes provide a better value proposition than the current £9,250 per annum tuition fee levied by the majority of universities in England and Wales. Mr Goodyear invites prospective HE students to carefully Qualifi’s alternative pathways to a degree and/or masters; a means of avoiding high levels of debt.

By Sean Coughlan – Education correspondent: http://www.bbc.com/news/education-41168446

Head teachers say that applicants to university in England must be told “as soon as possible” how much they will pay in tuition fees in autumn 2018.

The first deadline for applications for next year is next month (October) – but ministers have not yet decided whether to raise fees to above £9,500.

The tuition fee level will be decided “by autumn 2017, before the majority of students have applied for a University place for 2018-19”, said a Department for Education spokesman on Wednesday.

Tuition fees are rising to £9,250 this autumn, but there is also an inflation-linked increase planned for next year, which would take fees over £9,500 for courses beginning in autumn 2018.

Rising debts

Mr Barton said that with students now considering university places, the government should “confirm the tuition fee cap as soon as possible”.

“We are also concerned that universities have been allowed to raise their fees, but that the government has frozen the £21,000 threshold above which graduates are required to start making loan repayments,” said the leader of the ASCL head teachers’ union.

“If inflation is recognised for universities, it should surely be recognised for students too.”

Qualifi  provides an alternative to the expensive University 3 year full-time Hons Degree (and Masters). Qualifi’s Advanced Learner Loan recognised Level 4 and Level 5 followed by final year University Hons Degree Top Up year. The pathways outlined in more detail on the Qualifi website offer students a cost effective alternative means of gaining an Honours Degree.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jul/27/work-work-balance-how-to-juggle-a-job-with-postgraduate-study

The Guardian recently ran  the report on the problems faced by post graduate students and how to manage their study whilst in employment.

In response, Qualifi qualifications provide students with flexibility through the use of a blended learning delivery model; a model that enables you to work while you learn. Our approach helps students to avoid some of the problems associated with a more traditional mode of delivery; problems the author of this article refers to:

https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2017/aug/18/if-degree-apprenticeships-are-to-widen-access-we-need-to-raise-awareness

Newspaper headlines, like the Guardian this week, have been dominated by A-level results and the fall in university acceptances. But few talked about the alternative higher education routes available to these students – specifically degree apprenticeships. These valuable programmes could play a major role in widening participation in higher education, plugging the UK’s widening skills gap and closing the gap in attainment levels between the richest and poorest students. Yet awareness of them is still unacceptably low.

The article from the Guardian focuses on Degree Apprenticeships, however, there is broader message that needs to be communicated to young people. Namely that there are several alternatives to University Full-time degree programmes not just Degree Apprenticeships. Higher Level Vocationally Related Qualifications provide opportunities to study up to level 8 with opportunities to convert and top up to Hons Degrees and Masters along the way. Access to this HE route can be via many routes, including A-levels, apprenticeships, foundation degrees, HNC/D equivalents, partial study  as well as Recognition of Prior Learning and experience.

Qualifi has a range of alternative pathways available across meany sectors https://qualifi.net/university-pathways. For more information, please contact us.