Hi Alex
I think that it would be good to have a co-ordinated response from HEEON /
ECU or whoever!
In my view this will certainly hit some disabled people quite hard: two
groups are most obvious:
1. those who have recently become disabled (or have increased impairment)
and can no longer do their original work, so they wish to re-train
2. those who study because they are unable to find work and like to keep
busy
I'm sure there will be effects too for older people (e.g. studying "for fun"
in retirement) and others too
regards, Deb
Deb Viney
Diversity Advisor, SOAS
Email [log in to unmask]
Tel 0207 074 5007
-----Original Message-----
From: HE Administrators equal opportunities list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alexandra Muir-Mackenzie
Sent: 05 November 2007 11:53
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: HEFCE Circular on ELQ's: impact on students from minority groups
Dear colleagues
Following a ministerial decision, HEFCE have recently published a
consultation circular about the withdrawal of funding for students with
equivalent or lower qualifications. This change in policy will mean that
HEFCE funding is withdrawn for students taking a qualification at an
equivalent or lower level than the one they have already, for example no
funding for people taking a postgraduate taught course in a different
subject in order to retrain if they have already studied at this level. The
change in policy will come into place from academic year 2008/09 and will
affect all categories of new Home/EU HEFCE fundable students - full-time,
part-time, undergraduate and postgraduate.
The HEFCE circular can be seen at
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2007/07_27/
This new policy is bad news for universities - the Open University - the
hardest hit - will lose approximately £30m per annum. We have no real way
of challenging this ministerial decision, except that the final question of
the HEFCE consultation document (consultation question 7) asks whether the
ELQ policy is likely to have a differential impact on students, depending on
their gender, race, disability etc.
We will be responding to the consultation and intend to say something about
the prejudicial impact of this policy, for example on women seeking to
retrain following a career break, or disabled people seeking to retrain to
allow them to move into an occupation where their impairment or condition
can be more easily accommodated etc.
Any thoughts out there on how to build this case?
Regards
Alex
Alexandra Muir-Mackenzie
Equality & Diversity Adviser
University of Portsmouth
Tel: (023) 9284 5039
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