Category Archives: Higher education

Sussex university students warned they may not graduate if fees remain unpaid

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Those struggling to pay debts include students from overseas who have seen the value of their currency crash

Hundreds of students at the University of Sussex have been warned they may be unable to graduate or re-register for the next academic year if they fail to pay outstanding debts.

Those affected include students from Nigeria and Iran who have been struggling to pay their fees after the value of their currencies crashed. Other international students, as well as UK students, are also among those in debt.

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Labour says early general election leaves many government commitments ‘in the bin’ – as it happened

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Bills, including smoking ban for people born after 2009, unlikely to become law before 4 July vote

Rishi Sunak is now speaking at an event in Ilkeston in Derbyshire. It is in the Erewash constituency, where the Tory MP Maggie Throup had a majority of 10,606 at the last election.

He repeats the claim that a Labour government would cost every family £2,000.

Labour’s spending promises cost £16 billion per year in 2028-29, or £58.9 billion over the next four years.

But their revenue raisers would only collect £6.2 billion per year in 2028-29, or £20.4 billion over the next four years.

I don’t really think the arrangements in Scotland for the school holidays have really been anywhere near the calculations made by the prime minister …

I think it would be respectful if that was the case but it’s pretty typical of the lack of respect shown to Scotland that we’re an afterthought from the Westminster establishment and particularly the Conservative establishment.

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Next government must make hard university funding decisions, fast

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Labour sees no electoral gain in flagging sector’s funding crisis – but losses cannot be sustained much longer

Why are universities in such financial dire straits? According to one sector leader, it’s because they are losing money on two of their three income streams, while their third source is under attack by the government.

“We are already in a state where teaching home students operates at a loss, doing research operates at a loss, and the international student market has been diminished by the government’s rhetoric and policy. And those are the three areas where universities get their income,” said Rachel Hewitt, chief executive of the MillionPlus association of modern universities that includes Bath Spa, Wolverhampton and Sunderland.

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Ex-ministers warn UK universities will go bust without higher fees or funding

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Exclusive: Vice-chancellors suggest fee rise of £2,000 to £3,500 a year, but others say that is ‘politically impossible’

Vice-chancellors and former ministers are warning that the cash crisis facing universities is so serious that the next government will have to urgently raise tuition fees or increase funding to avoid bankruptcies within two years.

They said the state of university finances was more dire than revealed in last week’s report by the Office for Students, which forecast 40% of England’s universities would end this year in the red.

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Dignity, joy, a raised fist: Biden renews pitch to Black voters at Morehouse commencement

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Gaza protesters wore keffiyehs as Biden tried to assure the crowd: ‘Your voices should be heard, I promise you I hear them’

It was, in the end, an artful compromise.

Joe Biden got to speak uninterrupted and renew his pitch to Black voters. Protesters got to make their point by wearing keffiyehs or raising a fist. Even the skies were merciful, hinting at but never quite unleashing rain.

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Biden vows to fight ‘poison of white supremacy’ at Morehouse speech

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Speech warmly received at historically Black college despite backlash from students in weeks leading to address over war

Joe Biden told graduating students of Morehouse College that American democracy has failed the Black community, but vowed to continue fighting “the poison of white supremacy”, in a widely watched speech to a historically Black college during an election year.

Despite a backlash from some students and alumni in the weeks leading up to Biden’s commencement address, including over the Hamas-Israel war and concerns that Biden would use the speech as a campaign event, the president’s address to the all-male school was warmly received. He used his speech to reaffirm his commitment to democracy in the wake of the January 6 insurrection, and to reiterate his call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

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Police arrest six student protesters at University of Pennsylvania

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Pro-Palestinian students were attempting to take over a university hall to protest school’s refusal to negotiate in ‘good faith’

More than a dozen pro-Palestinian activists, including six students at the University of Pennsylvania, were arrested after attempting to occupy a hall on the university campus late Friday.

The protesters were arrested around 9pm after trying to take over Fisher-Bennett Hall but had been met with a response from university and Philadelphia police, according to reports. The Daily Pennsylvanian reported that protesters caused the evacuation of an alumni event at the Penn Museum.

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Morehouse College faculty votes to give Biden honorary doctorate in split vote

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Vote to confer was a 50-38 decision as students and alumni protest at Biden being commencement speaker over handling of Gaza war

Morehouse College faculty voted on Thursday to confer an honorary doctorate on Joe Biden during its upcoming graduation ceremony on Sunday, for which he plans to deliver the commencement address.

The vote to confer the honorary doctorate was a 50-38 decision, with about a dozen faculty members abstaining ahead of the planned visit, which has prompted protests from some students, faculty and alumni over the president’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.

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‘Self-defeating’: senior Tories warn Sunak against clampdown on international students

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Party members say visa restrictions will damage economy and lead to the closure of already-struggling universities

Universities will be plunged into greater financial distress and Britain’s economic recovery dented should ministers proceed with a new “self-defeating” clampdown on international student visas, senior Tories are warning.

Vice-chancellors believe a renewed attempt to reduce visa numbers is just weeks away after ministers ordered their immigration advisers to make an emergency assessment of how a visa designed to attract students to the UK was operating. The report is expected to land on the desk of home secretary James Cleverly next week.

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Trinity College Dublin agrees to divest from Israeli firms after student protest

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Five-day encampment in university grounds that caused the college major loss of income ended in victory for campaigners

Students at Trinity College Dublin have ended a five-day encampment after the university pledged to cut ties with Israeli companies.

Student leaders claimed victory on Wednesday night for a US-style campaign that had disrupted the campus and blocked access to the Book of Kells.

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Students stage pro-Palestine occupations at five more UK universities

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The protesters in encampments at Oxford, Cambridge, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Soas are demanding institutions end ties to Israel

Students at five UK universities have become the latest protesters to stage occupations to pressure their institutions into divesting funds from and ending partnerships with Israel.

Students set up encampments at the School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas) and at Oxford, Cambridge, Liverpool and Edinburgh universities. They are the latest in a global student uprising that is expected to build over the coming week across European campuses after starting at universities in the US, where hundreds of students and staff have been arrested for their involvement.

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‘There are people in tents writing dissertations’: UK reaches for scale of US campus protests

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Pro-Palestine protesters hope encampments at universities will contribute to an ‘international student revolt’

Students across Britain have said they hope pro-Palestine protests will reach the same scale as those seen on US campuses as they call for universities to divest from companies supplying arms to Israel.

Protests have spread across university campuses in Sheffield, Bristol and Leeds, after a crackdown in the US on protests, which led to mass arrests of students and staff.

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More than 2,000 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested across US campuses

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Police arrest more than 200 students at UCLA as law enforcement clears camp at Dartmouth, arresting more than 90 students

More than 2,000 people have now been arrested during pro-Palestinian protests across dozens of US college campuses in recent weeks.

Police arrested more than 300 pro-Palestinian demonstrators on college campuses on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, pushing the total past 2,000, according to an Associated Press tally.

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Sunak backs police action as Jewish students condemn ‘toxic’ protests

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PM backs action in case of disorder on campuses after claims that pro-Palestinian protests create hostile atmosphere

The prime minister has backed a police crackdown on any outbreak of disorder on university campuses after Jewish students said pro-Palestinian encampments were creating a “hostile and toxic atmosphere”.

In recent days, new encampments have been set up at the universities of Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol and Newcastle, among others, after violent scenes on US campuses resulted in mass arrests of students and staff.

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Campus protests: UCLA students in standoff with police as demonstrations spread across US

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More than a thousand supporters at a pro-Palestine encampment in California face arrest by police, a day after it was attacked by pro-Israel counter-protesters

Tensions are growing at the University of California where hundreds of police in riot gear have gathered after warning pro-Palestinian protesters to disperse or face arrest, a day after their encampment was violently attacked by masked counter-protesters.

Police began forming lines near the encampment at the Los Angeles campus and ordered the dispersal of more than a thousand people who had gathered in support of the protesters on Wednesday night, warning over loudspeakers that anyone who refused to leave could face arrest.

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UCLA chancellor condemns ‘instigators’ who attacked pro-Palestinian camp on campus

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Los Angeles mayor calls late-night attack by counter-demonstrators ‘abhorrent’ as footage shows people wielding sticks

The University of California in Los Angeles was reeling on Wednesday following a late-night violent attack by counter-demonstrators on a pro-Palestinian protest encampment, as the state’s governor condemned a slow response from law enforcement to some of the worst violence seen since students across the US intensified their protests in support of Gaza.

As the Los Angeles mayor called the violence “abhorrent” and California’s governor said he was monitoring the situation, UCLA announced it was cancelling all classes on Wednesday “due to the distress caused by the violence that took place on Royce Quad late last night”.

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Crackdowns intensify on pro-Palestine campus protests as hundreds arrested

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Tensions continue after night of unrest at UCLA and Columbia, as New York mayor blames ‘outside agitators’ for escalation

Crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests at US colleges spread on Wednesday after protest hotspots intensified overnight, leading to some violence and hundreds more arrests amid widespread controversy over universities calling in police and claims about “outside agitators” driving escalation.

The number of arrests of student protesters had exceeded an estimated 1,300 by Wednesday afternoon since the start of the latest bout of protests two weeks ago, as more students were detained. This added to tallies by the Associated Press and Axios earlier on Wednesday, across more than 30 campuses, coast to coast and north to south.

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Columbia University calls for inquiry into leadership as student protests sweep 40 campuses

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Professors at Emory University arrested as campuses follow Columbia’s lead in demanding ceasefire and divestment

At least 40 pro-Palestine protest camps have arisen across US campuses following Columbia University’s example earlier this month, as the New York school’s senate called for an investigation into its leadership, the New York Times reported.

While many remain provocative though peaceful, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment by their institutions from companies with ties to Israel, hundreds of students and outside protesters have been arrested, and there have been some fierce clashes with police.

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Foreign states targeting sensitive research at UK universities, MI5 warns

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Ministers considering more funding to protect important research sites, with China seen as a particular concern

MI5 has warned universities that hostile foreign states are targeting sensitive research, as ministers consider measures to bolster protections.

Vice-chancellors from 24 leading institutions, including Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London, were briefed on the threat by the domestic security service’s director general, Ken McCallum, and National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC) chief, Felicity Oswald.

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Israel, Gaza and divestment: what we know about the Columbia student protests

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The university is to hold virtual classes after protests on campus culminated in the arrest of more than 100 students

Over 100 students at Columbia were arrested last week after refusing to leave a pro-Palestine protest encampment set up on the university’s main campus. The arrests have since set off a chain of events, including the re-establishing of the encampment and solidarity protests on other US college campuses.

On Monday, Columbia announced it will hold classes virtually to try to “reset” the situation on campus. Here’s what we know so far about what’s happening at Columbia.

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