A group of York students has won the opportunity to have their very own I-phone application developed after winning The App Challenge final, held at the Ron Cooke Hub on Wednesday, January 18.
YUSU Welfare officer Bob Hughes has warned students to be vigilant after a student loans phishing scam has been revealed.
Her Majesty the Queen will be visiting York on Maundy Thursday, 5th April, as part of the 800th anniversary of York’s Charter for the traditional “Royal Maundy” ceremony.
A flood caused by a heating system “failure” forced the university IT services to shut down many essential systems on Sunday night, causing problems for many students on the eve of their exams and assignment due-dates.
New government legislation on tuition fees could prove unsustainable with as many as three quarters of university students being unable to repay their university debt.
It was reported, in the Independent on Sunday, that government statistics reveal that only a small majority will ever be able to pay back their university fees in full, under the new government system. Many ministers believe that many graduates will work all their live attempting to pay off the debt they have incurred from going to university.
These statistics, reports the Independent, have brought questions about the sustainability of the new system to centre stage. Labours shadow university minister Gareth Thomas said "When even they think such a high number of students will not be able to repay their loans in full, it underlines just how unfair and unsustainable it is trebling student fees."
The Finsbury Park People, a local London news sight, reported that many local MPs fell disgusted at the rise in tuition and believe that the move will turn universities back into elitist institutions, making them the preserve of the social, and not academic, elite.
It is clear that many MPs have been frustrated by the coalitions move to increase tuition fees, including many Liberal Democrats. The vote passed with a slim majority of only 21 votes, while 28 Lib Dems voted against the bill with 8 abstaining. However, the partisan nature of many MPs has seen them vote along party lines even if they initially had been opposed to the bill.
The Finsbury Park People cites the case of MP Lynne Featherstone. After promising, before the May election, to oppose any increase in tuition fees, she followed party lines and voted for the bill rather than resign her junior ministership. Many of these MPs have become the target for NUS demonstrations and protests.
In spite of these new statistics David Willetts, the university minister talking to the Guardian, argued that the new rules governing tuition fees will prove to be beneficial. He remarks that the new rules will present more opportunities to ethnic minorities and part time students. Even if the new legislation provides better opportunities to students all the statistics point to the fact that most will be left with debt they will be unable to clear for the rest of their lives.
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