The Complete University Guide in association with The Independent, Uni guide, good uni guide, advice on choosing the right university and course

The Complete University Guide in association with The Independent, Uni guide, good uni guide, advice on choosing the right university and course http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk News for The Complete University Guide in association with The Independent, Uni guide, good uni guide, advice on choosing the right university and course en-gb Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:47:49 +0000 Copyright: (C) Constable & Robinson Ltd 15 British universities launch in India and Pakistan - Imran Khan leads Bradford move 3903 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:47:49 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Bedfordshire is already there, Lancaster announced its programme last month, and Bradford - led by former cricketer and politician, now chancellor of the university, Imran Khan - has successfully launched degree courses in Pakistan.  The three universities are motivated by the enormous potential of the country's young population - 100 million people under the age of 25 - and the ambition to gain an international profile.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">At the end of 2009 Bradford University set up seven degree programmes at Pakistan's Namal College, founded by Imran Khan three years ago, to improve employment prospects for locals. 'When I was campaigning during the 2002 elections in Mianwali, I was appalled at the high level of unemployment among the youth,' says Khan. So far, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> 68 students, including eight women, have enrolled on degree courses in subjects such as mobile computing and web engineering and will be receiving Bradford degrees.</span></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <p class="font-null">Bedfordshire is running Masters' courses and some undergraduate degrees in partnership with the highly-regarded Comsats Institute of Information Technology in Pakistan, and Lancaster University will be following suit - students at Comsats' Lahore campus can sign up for computing, communications systems and business administration and receive both a Lancaster and a Comsats degree. With 1,000 students now in Kuala Lumpur and another 350 in India, the move 'is part of an attempt to have a diversified set of geographical relationships in countries which we think in the long-term are going to be very important,' says Paul Wellings, the Australian-born vice-chancellor of Lancaster. </p> <p class="font-null"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">It's a huge advantage for British universities to secure a future flow of high-quality postgraduates from abroad. Mark Cleary Vice-Chancellor of Bradford said: 'Long-term I don't think there's so much of a future in trying to keep growing your undergraduate numbers. What we're trying to do here is attract students to the UK for postgraduate programmes.'</span></span></p> <p class="font-null"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Full <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/new-frontier-imran-khan-takes-british-degrees-to-pakistan-1915344.html" target="_blank">story by Lucy Hodges</a> in the Independent newspaper.  More details of <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6772">courses for overseas students</a> in the UK can be found on the Complete University Guide's 2010 pages.</span></p> </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3903 Golden reward for language graduates in UK job market 3871 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:54:07 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Languages are a key to financial success it seems - a new report featured on the graduate employment website, Milk Round, gives the mean salary of language grads three years after finishing university ahead of those with degrees in engineering, maths, physics, chemistry, and astronomy.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">At a time when foreign language teaching is under siege in UK schools and colleges, a leading employment magazine, <em>Personnel Today</em> reports that employers rate language skills as highly important, second only to IT skills. </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">In a poll of 500 employers,<em> </em>the journal found that job candidates with a second language had the 'x-factor' for 40 per cent of recruiters.  French (34 per cent), German (25 per cent), and Spanish (23 per cent) were seen as most useful, with a strong second tier emerging, for Polish (15 per cent), Urdu (12 per cent) and Punjabi (9 per cent).  </span></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Dr Lid King, the government's national director for languages commented that the research showed UK employers were demanding candidates with languages and that 'having these skills can really give young people entering the jobs market the edge.'</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Full story at the <a href="http://www.milkround.com/news-careers-advice/221373/Foreign-language-skills-make-jobseekers-more-employable" target="_blank">Milk Round</a> website.  For details and comparisons of language courses in UK universities, see the <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=8727">subject tables</a> in the Complete University Guide's 2010 League Tables.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3871 Fast-growing success for two-year foundation courses 3849 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:15:09 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Universities are being encouraged to offer more foundation degrees, after the take-up for these two-year vocational courses has soared in the past two years. Figures from Foundation Degree Forward (FDF), which promotes employer links with higher education, report that enrolments rose from 27,825 to 99,740 between 2007-9.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Universities secretary Peter Mandelson said that he wanted to see universities offering more of the flexible two-year courses, reflecting the changing nature of university applications - having earlier admitted that it was likely more people would miss out on going to university this year.  The FDF say the growing popularity of these shorter degree courses obviously reflects all the hard work put in to meet the needs of employers and students.   </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Foundation courses are worth two-thirds of an honours degree, and have no formal entry requirements.  </span>At the moment, two thirds of the foundation courses on offer are at further education colleges. Some employers (such as Rolls Royce, Balfour Beatty, Tesco and Norwich Union amongst others) offer financial support for employees studying foundation degrees as a work-based learning option - more information on this is available at the <a href="http://fd.ucas.com/FoundationDegree/About.aspx" target="_blank">Ucas site</a>.  For <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6425">discussion of courses</a> and length of time/entry requirements, the Complete University Guide offers an up-to-date assessment.</div> <div> </div> <div>Story in detail from <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/education/8521911.stm" target="_blank">the BBC</a>.</div> </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3849 New university courses needed for over-50s 3819 Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:30:39 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">UK universities are being encouraged to develop new courses for the growing numbers of 'baby-boomers' now heading towards retirement.  A report by Universities UK, the association representing university leaders, says the ageing population is a 'serious challenge' for higher education institutions.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Practical courses such as moving from full-time to self-employment, ageing healthily, human rights and environmental citizenship, are all recommended and in the US there is already a growing demand for courses on gerontology.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Nicola Dandridge, of Universities UK said, 'The idea that people stop making a useful contribution to society when they reach the age of 60 or 65 is outdated. We are facing a situation where older people are living longer and healthier lives and have, as a consequence, a huge amount to contribute. Universities have a significant part to play in harnessing that contribution.   <div> <div class="logo"> <p>'This report examines the role universities can play in finding fresh ways of adapting and supporting older people. Of course, proposals to support older people into universities must be considered in light of the current funding climate facing the sector. On the other hand, to ignore the potential contribution older people can make to our society and economy is short-sighted.'</p> <p>Full details of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/education/8517996.stm" target="_blank">the report</a> on the BBC website.</p> </div> </div> </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3819 Overseas students must have 'GCSE-level' English to study in UK 3810 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:02:17 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The Home Office has confirmed there will be tougher restrictions on non-EU students who want to study in the UK.  The Home Secretary announced that all applicants must have English skills at the level of a GCSE in a foreign language, and that students must be taking a course of more than 6 months if they wish to bring their dependents.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Students taking standard 3-year degree-level courses will be able to bring their dependents and will still be able to work part-time, whereas those undertaking below-degree level courses will only be able to work a maximum of 10 (rather than 20) hours a week.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The UK is the second most popular destination for students from overseas, after the USA. Here in the UK we welcome more than 350,000 international students each year, more than 20 per cent of the world’s share - and that number has increased steadily over the past few years.</span></span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">For more information on which countries overseas students come from, where and what they choose to study, see the Complete University Guides's <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6772">latest league tables</a> for 2010.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3810 Student complaints about universities mount up - time to name the worse offenders? 3790 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:17:30 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Student ombudsman Rob Behrens believes there should be more openness about universities that are consistently the subject of student complaints.  The total number of complaints shot up to 900 last year - a 23 percent increase on the previous year - and are expected to rise even more steeply this year.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The ombudsman scheme has been going for five years now, and though it has been called a 'toothless tiger' by some, because many complaints are rejected and overall compensation levels are low - just £670k in the last five years - Behrens says that a review of 3,000 students gave it a thumbs-up overall, seeing it as independent, producing high-quality decisions and giving good value for its cost of just over £2m a year.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">But the respondents also felt that improvements could be made, and an overwhelming 79 per cent of them wanted the names of cricitized universities to be published.  The majority of universities view this as likely to be counter-productive and lead to 'league tables of complaints'.  The University of Bath said it would amount to 'naming and shaming'.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Behrens is planning to consult further, but says his job is 'not to be popular, but to do things that would add to the credibility of the scheme.'</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">To check student satisfaction ratings on individual universities, look at the latest Complete University Guide <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=8726">league tables</a> for 2010.  And to see a full account of the kind of complaints students make, in Lucy Hodges' full story on the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/is-it-time-to-name-universities-that-dont-make-the-grade-1895203.html" target="_blank">Independent</a> website.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3790 University challenge as funding cuts bite deep 3783 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:49:29 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Figures will be released on 16 March giving details of precise funding cuts for each university.  The £500 million worth of cuts will inevitably increase the competition amongst students hoping to gain places next year.  Ucas has said that as of late January the number of full-time graduate applicants had gone up by almost 23 per cent compared with 2009 - the fourth year in a row to see a significant increase.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Overseas students account for a good many of the extra numbers, and there is a rise in mature students seeking to beat the unfriendly jobs market. But those who do secure a place also face larger classes and a cut in facilities as universities try to cope with the drop in funds. </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The government points out that more people than ever before do now take advantae of a university education - a record 2 million students this year, some 390,000 more than in 1997.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">More details from the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/students-to-miss-out-as-university-applications-soar-1893317.html">Independent</a> website.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3783 Students battle to win over MPs as university budgets are hit 3741 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:59:11 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Even as the National Union of Students (NUS) launches its ' Support students or pay the price' campaign, targeting MPs in top university towns, the government has today announced spending cuts of £449 million from the higher education budget.  Student places are likely to be reduced by around 6,000 in the next academic year, according to the latest reports from the BBC.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Teaching budgets, research and buildings funding are all affected, with a total cut of around 1.6% on 2009-10 real terms, says the Higher Education Funding Council for England.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Meanwhile the NUS is mobilising the student vote ahead of the general election - threatening that they and their families will vote against candidates who do not support the union's campaign against any increase in fees in England. "Vote for us or pay the price," they warned.  </span></div> <p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <div>The campaign includes a new <a href="http://www.voteforstudents.co.uk " target="_blank">student vote website</a> which will offer information about those standing for election in their local area, and highlight whether they have signed up to the NUS Funding our Future Pledge: “I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and to pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative." </div> <div> </div> <div>More than 200 MPs and parliamentary candidates have so far signed up, including ex-Health Secretary Frank Dobson, leading backbencher Jon Cruddas, ex-Treasury minister Andrew Smith, former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable and ex-President of the Liberal Democrats Simon Hughes.  <br /></div> </span></p> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The top 20 'student battlegrounds' identified by the union are Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Reading, Cambridge, London, Southampton, Bristol, Leeds, Oxford, Durham, Exeter, Norwich, Brighton, Lancaster, Nottingham, Plymouth and Lincoln.   More details from <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/education/8491004.stm" target="_blank">the BBC website</a></span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3741 Students and universities both benefit from top-up fees, enquiry told 3715 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:16:57 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The £1.3 bn universities have received so far in top-up fees has enabled them to improve facilities, invest in staffing and support students, Universities UK said yesterday.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">At the first public hearings of the government's review of fees, Lord Browne heard from the vice chancellors' group UUK that the system of top-ups of just £3000 a year per student has brought benefits to both universities and students.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">They also claimed that it has not resulted in a lower take-up from students from state schools and poorer backgrounds, contrary to fears expressed by MPs.  Students unions say they are worried that the fees might lead to a two-tier system.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">But Professor Steve Smith, president of UUK, said: "The report highlights what students in England have begun to get in return for their money up to this point. <div> <p>"It is an encouraging picture - better facilities, more teaching staff, better support, advice and space for learning and socialising. These benefits are now being felt by current students and staff as well as by universities' wider communities and the economy." </p> <p>Lord Browne's review continues today and a final report is not due until after the General Election.  </p> <p>More <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/education/8486138.stm" target="_blank">on this report</a> from the BBC website.</p> </div> </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3715 Top university begins high-powered courses on the 'big issues' 3701 Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:15:53 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The London School of Economics already has a worldwide reputation as a powerhouse of Britain's social-science studies.  Now its big-name tutors are offering a new set of modules to teach undergraduates more about the major issues of today's world.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Titled LSE100, the new course will tackle questions such as 'Is poverty history?' and 'How should we manage climate change?' - giving students the chance to broaden their horizons and apply their academic knowledge to real-world problems that will face them when they leave.  Tutors for the new modules are among the LSE's leading experts, while for the students the work is on top of their chosen courses  -  students so far seem delighted to be offered this opportunity. </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">A task force set up to offer ideas for improving the mixture of teaching and research at the university made 43 recommendations, which are now being implemented at a cost of £3 million a year.  The aim is to turn out graduates with a high level of skills in both analysis and communication in the wider context of their chosen subject - a more attractive prospect for future employers.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">For information on <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6543">LSE's courses</a> and position in the <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=8726">league tables</a> see the Complete University Guide's latest statistics.  More details of the changes at LSE can be found in Lucy Hodges' story in the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/the-lse-is-getting-back-to-its-social-science-roots-1873779.html" target="_blank">Independent</a>.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3701 Government pledges to support 'brightest but poorest' students 3675 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:16:07 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Gordon Brown is promising to help 130,000 'bright young people' from poorer backbrounds to get to university, after a report by ex-cabinet minister Alan Milburn reavealed that the law, medicine and other professions are still dominated by people from the affluent middle classes. The Prime Minister spoke of a 'structured package of support', beginning in 2012.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Mr Milburn made 88 recommendations, most of which will be implemented by the government.  They will set up a new forum to encourage the top professions to find ways of widening their pool of recruits and a national internship system, to offer less advantaged youngsters the chance to gain experience of those professions. </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Dr Wendy Piatt, of the prestigious Russell Group of universities, welcomed the report, saying that their institutions were 'constantly seeking to develop the most effective ways of employing real potential.' She added that Russell Group universities already draw on a range of factors in order to identify potential in students, which may not be reflected in traditional qualifications, as well as 'taking into account any barriers the candidate may have faced during their education.'</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">For fuller details of the plans see story on the<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk_politics/8464710.stm" target="_blank"> BBC</a> website.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3675 Looking for a university course this year? New applicants welcome for March 2010 3656 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:09:14 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">If you wish you had applied for a university course this year don't despair - a number of universities are welcoming new students who want begin their courses in February or March. </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Figures released by Ucas to the Independent newspaper, show that there is already a rise in take-up of second semester opportunities, especially welcome for those who have lost jobs or decided to hold back from entering the current difficult jobs market.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Only some universities so far are offering the chance to make a late start - they include Kingston, London South Bank, Coventry, Buckingham, Oxford Brookes and London Metropolitan  - but there appear to be considerable benefits for the university as well as the student. Popular courses can be expanded, less mainline ones kept going.  The students may find that in the second semester they get more attention from academic staff, who are often overstretched at the start of the year.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Opportunities are growing - this year London Metropolitan is offering around 900 places for a second semester start in a wide variety of subjects, ranging from dietetics to business and digital media, while London South Bank still has half its nursing training places on offer.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">More details of this story in the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/boom-time-for-degrees-in-the-new-year-1866058.html" target="_blank">Independent</a>.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3656 Snow break - Ucas gives a week's grace to university applicants 3641 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:56:26 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Due to the extreme weather conditions, Ucas is offering extra time to applicants who still have to get their university applications in.  The original deadline of 15 January for receipt of applications has now been extended to Friday, 22 January.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The move recognises that schools and colleges have been closed and individual applicants may have suffered delays and setbacks because of the snow and freezing weather. Still, Ucas is urging that applicants who can get their paperwork in by the original deadline should do so.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">For more details see the Complete University Guide pages on <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6723">Applying</a>, and the <a href="http://www.ucas.ac.uk/news/january/extendeddeadline" target="_blank">Ucas</a> website.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3641 Hottest for fashion? Northumbria University comes to London 3623 Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:46:41 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Famous for its top-rated fashion courses, Northumbria University will be launching premises in London from next month. The Northumbria school of design is currently based in Newcastle, and has won an international reputation for its fashion degrees and highly-rated fashion students - now it has decided it can go further and faster with a new base just around the corner from the Business Design Centre in trendy Islington.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">As well as studying and living in London, furture fashion students will be able to undertake work placement at the capital's top fashion houses, and benefit from a wider base of job opportunities.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Fashion is not Northumbria's only claim to fame.  The university has gone from strength to strength in the last two years, and in the most recent Complete University Guide league tables it came 58th out of 114 universities, up from 73rd position the year before.  The new Vice Chancellor, Professor Andrew Wathey, has said that he wants to build up Northumbria's reputation for research and over the next 5 years has plans to spend over £17 m hiring the best possible academic staff.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">"We advertised 40 new academic posts last spring and we're planning another campaign this academic year," he says. "This is not about pulling in prima donnas who will sit and just do research. It's about really strong academics who will be good teachers and researchers." <div> <p class="font-null">For more information on this story and Northumbria university's plans see Lucy Hodges' article in the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/northumbria-university-heads-south-to-get-the-london-look-1859077.html" target="_blank">Independent</a> newspaper, and details of Northumbria's courses and <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=8726">league table</a> results can be found on the Complete University Guide's pages.</p> </div> </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3623 Students should keep Facebook entries private when looking for a job 3613 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:24:27 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Nearly every student has a Facebook profile - around 98 per cent according to a new survey by graduate recruitment website Milkround. Students much prefer this social network site to others such as MySpace (43 per cent) or Twitter (38 per cent).  But the wiser ones have learned to keep the sites private from future employers.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Images of yourself having had a few drinks, or in other compromising situations, are not what employers want to see - and many recruiters do check to see what they can find out about a potential employee.  So the 13 per cent who do not currently opt for privacy settings are taking a risk.  A few respondents to Milkround's survey said they keep two profiles, one for social networking and the other for job hunting.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">See <a href="http://www.milkround.com/news-careers-advice/211472/Every-student-and-graduate-has-a-Facebook-profile" target="_blank">full story</a> on Milkround website.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3613 UK unis more popular with overseas students than their US competitors 3598 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:05:27 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">In 2010, one in ten of every students in a UK university will come from overseas - a far higher figure than in the USA for example - and in many British universities you can expect to rub shoulders with fellow students from over 100 different countries.  Since 2008 numbers show a healthy rise.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">To see where students come from, what they choose to study, and which institutions they go for, see the Complete University Guide's latest international <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6772">league tables for 2010</a>.  Demand is especially strong from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Nigeria and the USA.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">There are lots of useful tables and statistics, based on the numbers of overseas students attending each university. You can cross reference with previous years, and also go to the main <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=8726">League Tables</a> and <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=8734">Subject Tables</a> to check how those institutions preferred by overseas students rate on quality.  </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3598 Work placement funding for cash-strapped students - a little sugar with pre-budget pill 3525 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:40:20 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Tough cuts to university sector funding announced in the pre-budget report were offset just a little by news of the Government's plan to give extra help to students from low-income backgrounds who want to do short unpaid internships.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The advantage of on-the-job learning by means of unpaid work placement and internships is well known, but there have been increasing worries that such opportunities are not accessible to many undergraduates whose families cannot afford to support them while they work.  Steve Smith, president of Universities UK welcomed this move, despite concerns about the cuts to the university sector as a whole. He said, ' The opportunity for students to get hands-on experience in their chosen fields puts them in a very strong position when they come to apply for jobs after graduation.'</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">On the Complete University Guide's pages you will find lots of helpful advice about careers and <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6670">links for work placement</a> and training.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3525 New managers for student loans firm - in time to prevent chaos next year? 3495 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:14:39 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Nearing the end of 09/10's first university term there are calls for the resignation of the head of the Student Loans Company (SLC), as many students throughout the country remain without funding.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">A report by Professor Sir Deian Hopkin examining the delays found that only 5% of phone calls were answered at the peak of the delays and universities have had to pay out thousands in emergency funds for the students who were unlucky.  Failures of equipment, online facilities and lost documents were found to have contributed to the problems - students' letters to the BBC confirm that documentation has been lost, not once but many times and that they have spent many fruitless hours attempting to telephone the SLC.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">In response, England's Higher Education Minister David Lammy said there will have to be changes in how the Student Loans Company is managed and the SLC has announced that there will be a 'restructuring' of senior management. <p>But NUS president, Wes Streeting said, 'Given the catalogue of failures identified by this report, heads must roll if the public are to have any confidence in the SLC in the future.'  Concerns about next year's cycle of applications were also raised by Pam Tatlow, chair of the Million+ group of new universities. </p> </span></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Full <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/education/8401730.stm" target="_blank">story and letters</a> from individual students on the BBC website.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3495 Donation means £4 million payout for maths and science students at top universities 3491 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:39:36 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Up to 4,000 students at the UK's top universities will benefit from a £3 million donation from an Iraqi exile.  Government matching will top the fund up to £4 million, so the students, many from poorer backgrounds, will receive scholarships worth £1000, to assist them to study science and math-based courses.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Dr Naim Dangoor, a Jewish Iraqi, came to Britain from Iraq in the 1960s.  He is now a highly successful property magnate, and is making the donation to show his gratitude to his host country.  The scholarships will be administered by the Russell Group of universities, and the 1994 group. <p class="font-null">Dr Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group, said: 'We hope more people will be prompted to consider studying science and maths-based subjects at the UK's leading universities. </p> <p class="font-null">'Although there has been a welcome increase in science and maths students in recent years, we have been deeply concerned by the long term decline in students taking these subjects at A-level and beyond. </p> <p class="font-null">'Schemes like the Eliahou Dangoor scholarship build on this upturn in popularity which, in the long run, will mean that the UK can continue to be home to more than its fair share of the world's top scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs.'</p> <p class="font-null"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/top-universities-to-offer-new-scholarships-after-donation-1835799.html" target="_blank">Full story on the Independent</a> website, and details of <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=7703">funding and finance for students</a> on the Complete University Guide's pages.</p> </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3491 Engineering students from around the world drawn to UK universities 3478 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:10:04 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Engineering courses at British universities are climbing steadily as one of the favourite study areas for international students - numbers have increased from around 16,000 in 2008 to 19,000 plus in 2010. </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">In 2010, as in the current year, Imperial College London will top the table for attracting overseas students in four areas of engineering study - Aeronautical and Manufacturing, Chemical, Electrical, and Mechanical - and it is also in the top three for Civil Engineering. In General Engineering Coventry will again attract the most students, over 350 this year and last, followed by Oxford and Cambridge.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Other institutions consistently in the top 3 or 4 are Kingston, Nottingham, and Bradford. </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Demand around the world for trained engineers is rising in many areas of business, developing green technologies and finding solutions to pressing world problems. UK universities and the UK's Engineering Council recently held a conference to improve its collaboration with universities, to protect the quality of courses and encourage a continuing dialogue between universities and the professional engineering institutions.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">For fuller details on <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=7767">which courses</a> overseas students take and <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6364">where</a>, see the Complete University Guide's new league tables for 2010.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3478 Top-name companies offer career paths to Chinese and Asian students 3476 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:50:07 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Training in the UK and the prospect of a future career, are currently on offer to Chinese and other Asian students through a number of graduate schemes.  Top names such as KPMG, Rolls Royce, ICI, Tesco and Ernst and Young are just a few of the companies offering such opportunities, many featuring extensive international travel.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Companies are keen to hire Asian and other overseas students in the UK as part of their international graduate training programmes. These allow graduates to train in the UK offices for one to three years, and then relocate to the organisation's offices in their home countries. The length of time spent in the UK varies between companies, according to the needs of their business.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Details of many such schemes can be found on the websites of individual universities such as Manchester, reflecting the growing percentage of international student intake.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Chinese and Asian students make up by far the majority of visiting students to the UK - see the new league table of <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6361">where students come from</a>, on the Complete University Guide's tables for 2010.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3476 American students choose UK in ever greater numbers 3473 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:42:00 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">With more and more Americans choosing to study abroad, the UK once again came out as their top destination this year - a total of 33,333 US students visiting in 2009 is 2 per cent up on the previous year, according to a report from the Institute for International Education (IEE).  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">This is including short and medium-term programmes at all levels.  For full-time university courses the figure for 09, according to the Complete University Guide's league tables, is just over 3,000 US students, and will be almost 4,000 in 2010.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">New York University remains the leading institution for sending students abroad, and three favourite subject areas for study are social sciences, business and management, and the humanities.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">“US students who choose to study in the UK reap a wide variety of benefits,” said Sharon Memis, director of the British Council USA.  “They get to experience a diverse culture, attend universities with high standards and select from a variety of college programs.  At the same time, they can enjoy learning in a common language and easily travel to other European countries.”</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">For full details of <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6361">which countries</a> international visiting students will come from next year, see the 2010 tables on the Complete University Guide.  The <a href="http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/?p=150651" target="_blank">IEE report</a> gives further breakdown of how US nationals study abroad.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3473 Strong international pull of British universities 3466 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:10:45 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">In recent years the number of non-EU students who are choosing to attend British universities has almost doubled, according to a report by Universities UK.  New league tables for 2010 confirm that</span> at some institutions a very high percentage of the students are from overseas - the London School of Economics, for example has a figure of 45%, and Imperial College has 35%. </div> </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Others in the top bracket for international intake are:</span></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">University of the Arts London 28% </span></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Lampeter 27% </span></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Essex 25% </span></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Royal Holloway 25%</span></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) 25%.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">And at least seven other universities in the UK will take at least a fifth of their students from overseas next year.  Oxford and Cambridge take only 11 and 13% but their worldwide reputation for excellence in both teaching and research is believed to be a factor in the success of British universities as a whole.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">For lots more information on <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6361">international students coming to study in the UK</a>, what <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6362">subjects </a>they choose and <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6802">where</a> they study, as well as pages showing visa requirements and advice on finance and accommodation, see the Complete University Guide's new league tables for 2010.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3466 Manchester - a favourite with both EU and non-EU students 3464 Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:34:35 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Manchester University easily tops the charts for overall numbers of both EU and non-EU students coming to study in the UK next year, proving attractive for accountancy, medicine, chemical and electrical engineering and mathematics courses, amongst others.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Other universities tend to appeal more strongly to one group or another - Edinburgh Napier, for example, is the favourite choice of EU students, with around 1250 due to attend in 2010, particularly for civil and general engineering, but it doesn't feature in the top 20 for non-EU students.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Many overseas students go for city universities, and three favourites with both EU and non-EU applicants are sited in London - the University of Arts, London, UCL, and Imperial College.  The joint top five are:</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Mancheter 4021, University of Arts 3428, University College London 2884, Nottingham 2477 and Imperial College London 2187.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">For <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6363">full results</a> and to see what subjects overseas students choose <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6364">at which universities</a>, visit the Complete University Guide's <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6798">just-released league tables</a> for 2010.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3464 Business studies top of the pops for overseas students 3463 Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:39:42 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">In 2010, prospective students coming to the UK to take Business Studies courses will again far outnumber those choosing any other subject.  The new tables show that over 35,000 students have signed up for Business Studies, compared to around 19,000 for the next most sought-after courses in Engineering and Technology.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Middlesex, Bedfordshire, Northumbria, Westminster, and Aston are attracting the most overseas attention, each will be taking over 600 students in Business Studies next year.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Earlier this year the British Council said that there were many more overseas students attending university in the UK than previously thought - the number for 2008 was probably over half a million.  </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">In business and administrative studies 83 per cent of postgraduates were from overseas and in social studies it was 73 per cent. In two other areas - biological sciences and engineering and technology - they accounted for 72 per cent and 62 per cent respectively. </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">A spokesperson for the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills said the figures were proof of the success of the UK's higher education sector. <div> <p>'Students are attracted to study here because of the world class reputation of our universities and by the high quality degrees that are valued across the world.' </p> <p>For the latest tables see the Complete University Guide pages giving a full breakdown of how many overseas students will be taking <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6362">which courses</a>, and <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6364">where,</a> in 2010.</p> </div> </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3463 2010 intake of overseas students looks strong 3458 Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:20:10 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">New figures just in for 2010's intake of overseas students look healthy, despite fears that recent changes to visa requirements would adversely affect the number of non-EU students coming to British universities.  Students from India and Pakistan have continued to increase in number, from around 3,000 and 2,000 in 2008, to 4247 and 2677 in 2010.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">However, China, though still right at the top of the table, has shown a notable decrease since 2008, when it accounted for 31 per cent of the overseas student intake with over 20,000 students, whereas the figure for 2010 will be 21 percent, just 17,000.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Updated statistics showing <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6361">how many overseas students</a> come to this country's universities, <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6363">where they go</a> and <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6362">what they study</a>, are now on the Complete University Guide's website.  </span></div> </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3458 No more lectures? New media bringing big changes to the way students learn 3431 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:26:02 +0000 <p class="font-null">Formal university lectures, where students sit and listen to a live lecturer while taking their own notes, could soon be a thing of the past. A report by Lucy Hodges in the <em>Independent</em> describes the successful innovation by Russell Stannard, a lecturer in multimedia/ICT at the University of Westminster, who now offers his students a wide range of tuition options on video.</p> <p class="font-null">It works like an individual tutorial the student can open on their own computer - Stannard can give a lecture, mark essays, give feedback and notes, comment on performance and give pointers for improvement, general or specific.  He began the process when tutoring some Chinese students in English three years ago, by creating a video of himself marking and discussing their work. Since then he has won awards and grants for the technique, and the Masters degree on multimedia he teaches at Westminster has soared in popularity.</p> <p class="font-null">His websites include one for teachers that shows them how to use programs such as Photoshop, Twitter or Wikimail, and another for students - allowing them to get to grips with the range of new media on the internet for free. They don't have to sign up for a course at Westminster.  So far his results seem to prove that the methods aid students to learn successfully without spoonfeeding them.</p> <p class="font-null">Read more at the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/time-to-wave-goodbye-to-oldfashioned-lecture-notes-1822851.html" target="_blank">Independent</a> website, or on <a href="http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/feedback.html" target="_blank">Russell Stannard's</a> dedicated website </p> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3431 Students lobby MPs to stand against higher fees 3417 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:24:23 +0000 <div> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Three hundred students from around the country took action at Westminster yesterday, demanding that MPs reject the idea of higher university fees.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Following the launch of the government's independent review of higher education funding and student finance, due to make its report in autumn next year, students fear a big jump in maximum permitted fees will be recommended.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The students talked to over 60 MPs, including Higher Education minister David Lammy, and asked them to sign a pledge promising to vote against any raising of the fees limit, and to find a fairer means of extra funding. A number of MPs did sign, including Diane Abbott and Charles Kennedy.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The National Union of Students say that public opinion is very much on their side, quoting a YouGov poll from last Sunday, which showed that only 12 per cent of interviewees thought the government should even consider an increase in fees.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Full story on the <a href="http://www.nus.org.uk/en/News/News/Hundreds-of-students-demonstrate-to-demand-MPs-speak-out-against-fees/" target="_blank">NUS website</a>.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3417 Student:teacher ratios at Leeds will soar after planned cuts 3409 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:29:30 +0000 <div> <div></div>  <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Leeds University looks set to fall to the foot of the table of student:teacher ratios (SSR) for leading universities if £35m worth of planned cuts go ahead.  Hundreds of staff will lose their jobs and the university, currently two-thirds of the way down the Russell Group SSR league, faces the prospect of strike action in the New Year, over the proposals.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The University and College Union (UCU) said on Friday that following the proposed cuts Leeds' average SSR would rise from 15.8:1 to 17.6, comparing unfavourably with its rivals Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle.  At present only Liverpool has a better SSR among the northern England universities in the Russell Group. The Biology department at Leeds is already showing the effects of losing 30 staff this year - its SSR is expected to hit 20:1.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The Vice Chancellor, Professor Michael Arthur, said savings were needed to allow the university to protect itself from inevitable cuts in public expenditure and from a 'turbulent economy'.  They were taking measures now in the hope of avoiding compulsory redundancies in the future.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">But UCU members at Leeds have vowed to fight the cuts and say the university's accounts for 2007/8 showed a surplus of £86 million, yet even departments making a surplus have been told to identify 10-20 per cent cuts for the coming year.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">For fuller figures on <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=8726"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0066cc;">student:teacher ratios</span></span></a> see the Complete University Guide's 2010 League Table, and further details of the <a href="http://www.ucu.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0066cc;">cuts and action</span></span></a> on the UCU website.</span></div> </span></div> </div> </span></span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3409 Bar is raised for graduates applying to top firms 3386 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:11:08 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">It looks as if future graduates will need to raise their game to appeal to top employers.  The magazine Personnel Today reports that a 2.1 degree is becoming the minimum for</span></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">entry into graduate schemes run by the likes of Sainsbury's and many leading City firms.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">As the number of jobless under-25s nears one million, and unemployment amongst graduates is now at 8 per cent, employers are able to take their pick of the brightest students. They are demanding high standards both at degree level and at A level - many such as the accountancy firm KPMG now require at least an A and two Bs instead of 3 Bs.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Looking for ways to ease the situation, David Blanchflower, professor of economics at Dartmouth College, and a former member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, has called for the suspension of national insurance contributions for employees under 25 and for subsidies for employing young people.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">More details from the <a href="http://www.milkround.com/news-careers-advice/211065/Graduate-employers-raise-entry-requirements" target="_blank">Milkround</a> website, and <a href="http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2009/11/09/52912/100000-graduates-looking-for-work-as-employers-raise-the.html" target="_blank">Personnel Today</a>.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3386 Huge majority against any rise in university fees 3375 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:57:05 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The National Union of Students has revealed that by far the majority of people interviewed in its recent poll would be against any rise in university fees.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">As the government prepares to launch its review of fees, which will consider significant rises to the current maximum of £3225, over half those who participated in the NUS/Compass poll of 2,152 people said they would actually like to see fees abolished.  Only one in ten agreed that increased fees were necessary. </span></div> <div><span style="font-size: x-small;">59% felt that lecturers should be included in the consultancy process and almost everyone thought the review should be conducted openly.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The results back up a recent poll by the University and College Union, who say they are now concerned that the government review will not be published before the next General Election - allowing politicians to duck the issue.</span></div> <div><span style="font-size: x-small;">For <a href="http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=4272" target="_blank">full details</a> see the UCU website.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3375 Unemployed graduates urged, 'Try public sector' 3367 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:32:13 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Graduates struggling to find work would do well to look to the public sector, says the website for student careers advice, Milkround.  As the UK's private job market slumps under the weight of the recession, with 44 percent more graduates unemployed this year compared to last, the public sector is showing a year-on-year increase in employment.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Employment, teaching and social work are three particular areas of opportunity, according to the latest report of the Higher Education Careers Services Unit.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">In contrast, the report shows particularly steep falls in the number of graduates taken on in private industry related to construction, architecture, civil engineering, and building, as well as drops in the highly sought after finance, business and IT sectors.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The chief executive of HECSU said that the impact of the recession on the jobs market would be likely to continue, perhaps until the graduation of the 2010 cohort.  But he added that taking a degree remains a valuable aid to finding employment, while an Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Service spokesperson also stressed the importance of planning ahead.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">To help you plan, find out about <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=8829">career options</a> on the Complete University Guide's Prospect pages.  </span></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">See more on this story at the <a href="http://www.milkround.com/news-careers-advice/210876/Public-sector-offers-best-graduate-employment-prospects" target="_blank">Milkround</a> website.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3367 First figures show a 12% rise in university applicants for 2010 3358 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:38:32 +0000 <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Competition for university places next year looks likely to be greater than ever, to judge by the number of applications received by this October's deadline.  Applicants for medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses, as well as for places at Oxford and Cambridge, are notably higher than the corresponding 08 figures:</span></div> <div></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Medical places are up 13.7%, dentistry up 12.6% and veterinary medicine up 14%, while the rest of the sector including Oxbridge was up 11.6% on this time last year.</span></div> <div></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">There is also a significant increase in the number of applicants from outside the UK, up 16.6%.</span></div> <div></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">At the same time there has been a rise in unemployment among graduates - the rate as of January this year was almost 8% as opposed to 5.5% the previous year.</span></div> <div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/education/8338245.stm" target="_blank">Full story</a> on the BBC website.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3358 Hike in grants promised for students in Scotland 3336 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:32:43 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Students in Scotland are to receive grant increases next academic year totalling £30m, the Scottish Education Secretary has announced.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Fiona Hyslop said that after discussions with the National Union of Students they had agreed on rises of up to £1227 for poorer students, and up to £1000 for mature students, while £2m would be allocated for students needing childcare facilities.  The allocation of funds has received cross-party support and will affect around 75,000 students.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8330453.stm?ad=1" target="_blank">More details</a> on the new funding from the BBC news site, while the Complete University Guide's page <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=7709">Crossing Borders</a> gives an explanation of how funding works in the different parts of the UK.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3336 Crime watch: Where is the safest place to study? 3332 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:54:52 +0000 <p>Manchester has the highest numbers of burglaries, robberies and violent crimes outside London.  Lucy Hodges of the Independent asks "What does that mean for students?"</p> <p>Manchester has toppled Nottingham from pole position of most crime-ridden university city outside London, according to new figures published today. The city famous for its football teams and for its universities (Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan and Salford) beats all others for the number of burglaries, robberies and crimes of violence put together, says the Complete University Guide in its annual league table of crime.</p> <p>Although there have been no gang-related killings in Manchester for at least a year following the jailing of the Gooch Gang, no one is complacent that the multiracial area of Moss Side, in which many students live, has turned a corner. There is new optimism, however, and the city's leaders must be hoping that its position at the top of this year's crime league table does not mark a new trend. </p> <p>The second most crime-ridden city is Nottingham, followed by Liverpool, Bristol and Leeds. Although Nottingham is now in second place, it remains the burglary capital of the country, according to the figures for 2005/07 which come from the Home Office. Students are particularly vulnerable to being burgled because of all the laptops, sound systems and other equipment they have. </p> <p>Bernard Kingston, founder of the Complete University Guide, says: "While these crimes are the three most commonly perpetrated against students, the figures relate to all victims, not just students. No such comparable data exist for university students, either on or off campuses, but it would be reassuring for university applicants and their parents if they did. It is clearly a matter of considerable concern when considering where to study as an undergraduate." </p> <p>For the second year running the safest places to study are Lancaster, Canterbury and Bath, all relatively quiet cities. These three "old" universities are set apart from these cities in beautiful green campuses.  For the<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/crime-watch-why-students-may-think-twice-about-studying-in-manchester-1810839.html" target="_blank"> full article in the Independent  ></a></p> <p>To see the full table for<a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6369"> Safety & Security ></a></p> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3332 Lancaster, safest city to study 3331 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:00:31 +0000 <p><strong>Crime Figures to Aid Student Choice, p</strong><strong>ersonal security and risk to possessions a consideration for university applicants</strong> </p> <p>Choice of subject and academic reputation are the key factors would-be students will consider when choosing where to study.</p> <p>But personal safety - and the security of valuable possessions such as laptop computers, mobile telephones and music players - can never be far from applicants' minds - and from the minds of their parents.</p> <p>The Complete University Guide today lists the crime statistics most relevant to students for cities with two or more universities across the whole United Kingdom. The data, derived from officially recorded statistics for categories of crime committed outside London, is averaged over a three-year period.</p> <p>Dr Bernard Kingston of Mayfield University Consultants, said: "Security of person and property are sadly important considerations that young people have to take into account when selecting a university. The choice of institution is not simply based on academic reputation and performance, but on the quality of life students will enjoy for the three or four years of their course."</p> <p>"Unlike many other factors, the incidence of criminal acts is outside the control of the university. Nevertheless, this does not mean that potential students should ignore it. It is simply one more question they are entitled to ask."</p> <p>Cities ranked, safest first</p> <p><strong>English, Welsh and Northern Irish cities</strong></p> <ol> <li>Lancaster</li> <li>Canterbury</li> <li>Bath</li> <li>Brighton</li> <li>York</li> <li>Swansea</li> <li>Southampton</li> <li>Cambridge</li> <li>Oxford</li> <li>Belfast</li> <li>Newcastle</li> <li>Cardiff</li> <li>Coventry</li> <li>Sheffield</li> <li>Leicester</li> <li>Birmingham</li> <li>Leeds</li> <li>Bristol</li> <li>Liverpool</li> <li>Nottingham</li> <li>Manchester</li> </ol> <p><strong>Scottish cities</strong></p> <ol> <li>Aberdeen</li> <li>Dundee</li> <li>Edinburgh</li> <li> <div>Glasgow</div> </li> </ol> <div>To see the<strong> </strong><a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6369"><strong>Safety and Security table ></strong></a></div> <div>To see <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=7500"><strong>Top Tips to staying safe</strong> ></a></div> <div>To note</div> <div> Definitions differ somewhat for Scotland and thus figures for the Scottish university cities are listed separately and should not be compared with the others</div> <p>(The statistics cover 25 UK universities and are derived from Home Office statistics including the reports of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and British Crime Data.)</p> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3331 Queries over Mandelson's missing university plans 3322 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:04:33 +0000 <p>What has happened to Lord Mandelson's review of student fees and where is the 'road map' promised for UK universities?  The question is being asked by education experts and the media this week, as there is so far no sign of either.</p> <p>The BBC's correspondent Mike Baker points out that the New Framework for Higher Education, a precursor to the fees review, launched by Peter Mandelson's predecessor John Denham in February 2008, was due to appear on the 19th October. But nothing has been said about it, despite the fact that the reports it was to be based on were all completed some time ago.</p> <p>Baker suggests that Lord Mandelson may be waiting until he can announce the fees review at the same time, but is delaying because as yet he has not found anyone suitable to head up the project.</p> <p>He points to hints about some of the routes the review might take, such as students being expected to foot more of the bill for their studies, to ease the burden on the treasury. Cuts are implicit in the term 'increasingly tight fiscal constraint' says Baker, words used by Lord Mandelson this week.   Yet if students have to pay more, they will also need bigger loans from government.</p> <p>Widening participation in higher education, increasing skill-based studies to improve the quality of the UK workforce, flexible learning and more short-term and part-time courses are all areas likely to be examined in the review, when it finally happens.</p> <p>See <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8323137.stm" target="_blank">Mike Baker's full article</a> on the BBC website.</p> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3322 Government to consider university league table plans 3305 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:12:05 +0000 <div> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">A government-backed focus group is recommending new league tables for universities, colleges and other further education establishments, to be based on student satisfaction, drop-out rates, future employment prospects, and future earnings.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The University and College Union (UCU) is unimpressed by the plans and said today that the focus group, Ukces (the UK commission for employment and skills), should have consulted staff and students properly before coming up with the proposals, which will be taken into consideration by the imminent government overhaul of the skills sector. The benefits mooted would include allowing the government to do away with many of the expensive quangos that currently monitor education provision in England.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">However, UCU's General Secretary, Sally Hunt, felt that the pressure of league tables would raise 'a whole host of problems'.  She suggested institutions might turn applicants down if they felt they were less likely to succeed and would thus affect their ratings, adding, 'The league table culture has been a disaster in hospitals and schools.'</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">See <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=7281">comparisons of universities</a> throughout the UK on the Complete University Guide's updated 2010 league tables.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3305 Law students remain confident of successful careers 3293 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:10:11 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Amidst general gloom and recessionary caution, Britain's law students remain confident in their choice of career.  A survey of 2,400 postgraduates carried out by the College of Law found that although they have some concerns about their chances of finding a pupillage or employment, nearly two thirds believe they will spend their working life in the law, and the rest expect to stay at least fifteen years in the profession.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Despite debt burdens ranging from an average of £14,200, and with a quarter of them owing more than £20,000, the law students do not see such debts as a barrier to higher education.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Even when asked about recent media reports that average student debt could soar to £23,000 plus, 90 percent of respondents said this would not have deterred them from taking a law degree.  </span></span></span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">University College London, Oxford, and Cambridge are top of the latest league table for Law studies, with Cambridge coming out with the highest score for graduate prospects, at 94%. For full rankings see the Complete University Guide's <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=8727" target="_blank">league tables</a>.</span></div> <div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Full story from the <a href="http://www.milkround.com/news-careers-advice/210866/Law-students-confident-of-lifelong-careers" target="_blank">Milk Round</a> website.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3293 Educational success can depend on a postcode 3285 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:38:00 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Does our education now depend on the university postcode lottery?  A new report released yesterday by the University and College Union (UCU) has shown that there is a widening gap in educational success between regions and cities throughout Britain.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Despite £1.9 billion spent on improving take-up of further education since 2005, the differences between educationally strong areas and underachieving ones has grown larger.  UCU's report analysed 21 of the largest cities in the country and parliamentary constituencies throughout England, Wales and Scotland.  They found that the overall average for people with no educational qualification is 12.4%, while the average for those with a degree-level qualification or above is 29% -  but behind those averages lie huge and growing differences.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Twelve London constituencies, led by Richmond Park, are in the <a href="http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=4212" target="_blank">top 20</a>  for  degree-level education among the working-age population and have shown improvements of up to 12% over the past four years.  Other high-ranked city areas are in Bristol, Manchester, Sheffield, Edinburgh and Glasgow.  The <a href="http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=4213" target="_blank">worst 20</a>, many of which have actually declined in recent years,  include areas of Birmingham and Doncaster, where levels of degree-holding population are below 10%.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Full <a href="http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=4209" target="_blank">tables and details</a> at the UCU website. </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3285 University fees may double under Tory government 3263 Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:00:49 +0000 <div> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Students may face much higher university fees if the Conservatives win next year's election.  Shadow universities secretary David Willetts has hinted that he could raise the cap on tuition fees to £7,000 - more than double the current level in England.</span></span></span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <div><span>Mr Willetts has said he would like the Government review of fees that is due to start in the next few weeks to be made cross-party in the interests of openness, though it is not scheduled to report back until after the election. <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <div><span>Students and lecturers have accused the two main parties of a 'cosy consensus of silence' in refusing to reveal whether or not fees will rise and by how much. <p class="storycopy">The National Union of Students estimates the average cost of attending university now stands at more than £42,000 and despite income from part-time jobs and grants, the average graduate builds up nearly £20,000 of debt by the end of a three-year course. </p> <p class="storycopy">The Complete University Guide offers valuable practical advice both on <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=7703" target="_blank">finding financial support</a> and on <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=7824" target="_blank">managing the debt</a>.</p> </span></div> </span></div> </span></div> </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3263 Student loans go up for sale 3236 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:08:40 +0000 <p>Gordon Brown's proposed sale of the student loan book will not result in higher repayments for students, said the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, yesterday.  </p> <p>A grand sale of public assets, including the Tote and the Dartford tunnel as well as the student loan portfolio, would form part of a long-term wider proposal to raise some £16 billion towards closing the problematic government deficit.  But fears that the loans sale might result in a market-based interest rate were dismissed by the BIS, who said that there would be no direct impact on students.</p> <p>The Conservatives also favour the asset sale, but the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said it was a bad time to sell and the government would receive only 'distressed prices'. </p> <p>A separate review of higher education fees in England is to begin shortly to decide on the possibility of increases and there are also suggestions that the subsidy on loans should be reduced, putting more of a burden on to students. Definite proposals are unlikely until after next year's election.</p> <p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/education/8302389.stm" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Full story</span></span></a> on the BBC website.</p> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3236 Oxford and Cambridge divided over A-star grades 3225 Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:22:17 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The new A* grade at A-level is set to become a condition of entry starting from next summer for applicants to Cambridge, but Oxford's admissions chief told the Headmasters' and Headmistress's conference last week that the university would not take the new grade into consideration for at least two years yet.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The deadline for applications to Oxbridge is 15 October, and offers made are based on predicted grades.  Mike Nicholson, Oxford's director of undergraduate admissions, explained that a lot of teachers had said 'very clearly' that the new qualification was one they had not yet had a chance to teach, therefore 'the idea we can accurately predict who will get it is difficult.'   Geoff Parks, Cambridge's head of admissions, has confirmed that from 2010, candidates would need to have one A* and two A-grades to gain a place. </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">University College London, which last week knocked Oxford out of one of the top slots in the league table of universities published by the Times Higher Educational-QS, has also said it will ask for the A* grade together with two As, in certain subjects from 2010.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Further information on the <a href="http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/A-star_grades_at_A-level" target="_blank">new A* grades</a> is available on the Student Room website.</span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3225 Warm welcome for Tory pledge of 10,000 new university places 3212 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:13:35 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">  <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The Conservative party's announcement this week that they will create a further 10,000 student places for 2010 has been met with approval all round.  The NUS and higher education groups have described it as 'bold', 'creative', and 'innovative'.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The Tories say they would fund the places by offering incentives for students to pay their loans back more promptly than is currently the case.  <p>NUS President Wes Streeting said: 'We welcome the Conservatives' creative solution to a serious short term problem.' </p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <p>The plan was originally outlined by the vice chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, Professor John Craven, earlier this year.  Now it has been taken up by the Conservative party in a move to convince voters they will support higher education and help to get young people into useful employment.</p> </span></span> <p> </p> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">More on <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/leading-article-tory-triumph-1799028.html" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0066cc;">this story</span></span></a> in the Independent.</span></div> </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3212 Why a university education is good for your health! 3201 Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:59:13 +0000 <div class="logo">A new report by a Swedish research team suggests that well-educated women not only live longer themselves, they assist their partners to do so too. </div> <div class="logo"> </div> <div class="logo">A man married to a woman who left school without going on to further education has a 25% risk of dying earlier than if she had gone on to university, according to the study in the journal of Epidemiology and Community Healthcare.  Findings are based on a study of 1.5 million working Swedes.  </div> <div class="logo"> </div> <div class="logo">It's not rocket science -  authors explain the results by saying that well educated women are more likely to understand their own health needs, and those of their spouse and children.  <p>Dr Robert Erikson, who led the research, said: "It's still the case that women tend to put the food on the table and in that way have a very direct influence. </p> <p>"Women with higher education may also receive better medical treatment and their partners may benefit too." </p> <p>Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, of the UK's Faculty of Public Health, agreed that the study shows how closely education, lifestyle and long-term health are linked together. He commented, </p> <p>"If we're serious about radically improving the health of the nation, we must fully invest in high-quality education at all levels." </p> </div> <div class="logo"> </div> <div class="logo">For more encouragement to become better educated, see the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/8291667.stm" target="_blank">full story</a> on the BBC website.</div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3201 £14.3m funding for new university will help create a 'powerhouse for education' 3183 Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:49:50 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">  <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">A new university in south west Wales, the University of Wales Trinity St David, is to receive a substantial award to create a much improved campus it was announced today.  The first students will enroll there from September next year.</span></div> <div> <div class="logo"> </div> <div class="logo"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Trinity College in Carmarthen, and Lampeter University, began operating as a single institution this summer after recommendations by governors of both colleges suggested that the merger would prevent threatened redundancies and consolidate opportunities for students, amongst other benefits.</span></div> <div class="logo"> </div> <div class="logo"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Now the significant award from the HEFCW (Higher Education Funding Council for Wales) will be used to build up existing academic departments and improve campus facilities. <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <p>Vice-chancellor Medwin Hughes welcomed the education minister's approval of the award, saying, "This is history in the making, which will not only create a powerhouse for education in south west Wales but will also bring a much-needed boost to the regional economy."</p> </span></span></div> </div> </span></span> <p> </p> </div> <div></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3183 Call for earlier exam results after 1200 make the grade, but miss their places 3177 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:28:08 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">A call to bring exam results forward has come from Geoff Lucas, the secretary of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, after as many as 1200 students who had to have papers re-marked found they were at the back of the queue for university places this year - even though many of them gained three straight As.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The situation has been made worse by this year's oversubscribed placement, and  Mr Lucas described it as a 'national scandal'.  He said that at least 20 independent schools had contacted him about the matter, and he was sure state schools were equally affected. <p class="font-null">In the <em>Times Educational Supplement</em>, he wrote about two pupils – a boy from a comprehensive school and a girl from an independent, who missed out. The girl was told by an admissions tutor, after it was confirmed she had the required grades, that if she had got them on the first marking, she would have been all right.  </p> <p class="font-null">He said, "It is a failure that potentially affects all aspiring university entrants, irrespective of gender, race, socio-economic background or schooling." He felt it essential that Ofqual took action now.</p> <p class="font-null">Previous attempts have been made to persuade exam boards to change the timing. Dr Ken Boston, former head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, wanted A-levels and GCSEs brought forward to late May so pupils would have their results by the end of the summer term. </p> <p class="font-null">This would have brought the added advantage of allowing university applicants to give their actual results, rather than predicted grades, but the prevailing view was that it would allow less time to prepare for exams.</p> <p class="font-null">However, exam regulators are now confident the date for results could be brought forward because new technology will allow them to be passed electronically to schools</p> <p class="font-null">Find <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/calls-for-earlier-exam-results-as-students-miss-university-places-1793501.html" target="_blank">the full story</a> in the Independent newspaper.</p> </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3177 Funding promises are not being met, say students 3165 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:58:26 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">  <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The official line was that all those students who applied for their grants on time would get their money by the start of term, but reports are coming in that in many cases this is not happening.The director of Fair Access, Sir Martin Harris, who champions the lot of poorer students, has said he is 'extremely concerned' about the continuing delays to grant and loan payments.  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The Student Loans Company (SLC) promised that money would go to those who applied before the deadlines and who supplied all the necessary documentation, but some complainants say it has lost paperwork or claims never to have received it. Others say they were told their online applications have been deleted and they need to re-apply using paper forms. <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <div> <p>Local authorities used to handle applications before they were centralized this year with the SLC, and one council worker said that 'standard' letters sent out by SLC could be 'appallingly vague or even incorrect'.   For example, payment schedules automatically show the first day of term for receipt of payment, when in fact it is always two or three days later. </p> <p>The SLC is also looking into cases where applicants have been allocated funding of "£00.00p". </p> </div> </span></span></div> <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">For <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/education/8279383.stm" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0066cc;">more on this story</span></span></a> see the BBC website.</span></div> </span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3165 National Student Survey 2009 3147 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:08:03 +0000 <p>The league table that has big hitters at the bottom</p> <p>Prominent institutions such as Manchester and Edinburgh were rated poorly for student satisfaction while Buckingham came top.</p> <p>The most satisfied students in Britain are at the University of Buckingham, the liberal arts college established under the auspices of Lady Thatcher in the 1980s, according to figures compiled by the Complete University Guide (CUG) and based on the National Student Survey. This is the first time that Buckingham has appeared in the CUG. In previous years it was omitted for technical reasons.</p> <p>Its vice-chancellor Terence Kealey says: "We come top of the National Student Survey because we charge full fees. Full fees not only allow us to fund teaching properly but they also ensure that we treat the students - not the Government - as our clients." </p> <p>In second place is St Andrews, the Scottish university that educated Prince William and saw a corresponding huge rise in applications, especially among young American women. Third comes Loughborough, which has risen from sixth and is becoming increasingly popular.</p> <p>For the full article see <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/the-league-table-that-has-big-hitters-at-the-bottom-1792047.html" target="_blank">The Independent ></a></p> <p>For the summary of <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=9352">The National Student Survey ></a></p> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3147 Students should bear brunt of funding cuts, say business leaders 3134 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:32:33 +0000 <div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <div> <p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">As the government prepares to launch a major review of the funding of higher education and student fees in England, a report by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said today that the extra money needed to fund universities should come from savings in the student support system. It should not be raised by slashing teaching budgets or cutting student numbers. </span></p> <div> <p>The report also calls for more sponsorship and bursaries from businesses and  says universities should focus more on economically valuable subjects such as science, technology, engineering, maths and languages. In the CBI's opinion, the government's stated aim of getting 50% of young people into higher education should be abandoned. </p> <p>But the National Union of Students has attacked the recommendations as 'gross hypocrisy' from the 'fat cats at the CBI'.  And NUS president Wes Streeting said:  </p> <p>'At a time of economic crisis, when many hard-working families are struggling to support their offspring through university, I am astonished that the CBI should be making such offensive recommendations.'  He said 'these people must be living on a different planet.'</p> <p>Read <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8263672.stm" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0066cc;">the full story</span></span></a> on the BBC website.</p> </div> </div> </span></span></div> http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/news/item.htm?pid=3134