Thursday 21 July 2016

Levitate Student: Students & TV Licences

The law is changing so make sure you check if you need a 
TV Licence HERE

Even a room like this without a TV where the student only watches TV on catch up on their phone may require a licence!!

Student Bedroom

Monday 18 July 2016

Levitate Student: Naughty! Retrospective Change Loan Repayment Terms

Remember this..... Watch, Care, Share and #Shout



Music courtesy of Mizudori Dreamer

Well thanks to Martin Lewis, former student Alex True and all of you who signed the petition and wrote to your MPs - there will be a second chamber parliamentary debate on the issue today at 16:30

You can follow the action live  HERE

Wonder how many MPs will be in attendance? We predict a very empty chamber with just a handful standing up for students let down and mis-sold the student loan repayment terms. 

No doubt the government representatives will tell us what a great deal students have and changes are needed to keep the funding affordable......blah blah

The real issue is not changes but RETROSPECTIVE changes and the RISK that further changes could be imposed over the 30 year loan term.


Governments have to change how they deliver services - but that does not have to happen retrospectively. Student Funding changes that affect new students only allow them to make an informed choice about whether they consider the funding system a good deal before the embark on study and a lifetime repaying the funds that helped them access the opportunity.

Changes after the fact are mis-selling and letting down students and families who were naive enough to believe the what the MPs and universities were saying.

What other lender could get away with this? Only an unregulated one....



Friday 1 July 2016

Levitate Student: Brexit & funding for EU students

The EU referendum in the UK  saw the public vote to Leave the with an outcome of approx 48% of people voting to Remain versus 52% to Leave.

The UK is in political turmoil and the future is very uncertain.


What do we know about the future for EU students.


Jo Johnson MP is the UK Minister of State for UnMPiversities and Science. He is the brother of MP Boris Johnson who led the Leave campaign in the run up to the EU Referendum


Unlike Boris, his brother Jo stated he wanted to Remain in EU and indeed his profile shows he benefited himself from studying in universities in Europe.


Jo Johnson MP
 offered the following reassurance on Twitter on the 27th June 2016 



UK welcomes EU students. Current students and this autumn's applicants will continue to receive student finance for duration of their course

Jo followed this by highlighting a statement from the Student Loans Company  .
The statement reassured that students who are EU nationals and their families who are currently on a course in England and those who begin studying from August 2016 who are assessed as eligible to receive grants and/or loans by will be eligible for the duration of their study on that course.

Changes we reported on in March 2016 already mean that any EU national starting a course in England in 2016 needs to have resided in UK for 5 years in order to be eligible for any living cost support. If they have lived in UK for less than 5 years then they are likely to be eligible for tuition fees support only.

So if you are from the EU and considering studying in Higher Education then you may want to apply for a place as soon a possible. You may also benefit from understanding how the Clearing Process works in August.

If you have resided in UK for less than five years but have been working and intend to continue to work alongside your course, or you are a family member of an EU worker then you may be entitled to living cost support as a EEA Migrant Worker or Family Member of a Migrant Worker. 

Previous study at higher education may limit your access to tuition fee support. If this applies to you then you may want to consider studying part-time where your previous study won't limit your fee support so long as your new course is at a higher level than the qualification you achieved from your previous course.

Anyone from EU starting a course beyond autumn 2016 can not be assured that there will be funding for their course from the UK government.