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Posted March 11, 2013

Postgraduates ‘Too Poor’ to Study at Oxford

The debate about study costs in British universities has been raging for a number of years now, and a recent incident involving Oxford’s St Hugh’s College has highlighted the need for the issue to be investigated and resolved once and for all.

More than 1,000 students each year are unable to take up their academically earned places in the university as they can't possibly meet the financial demands. With a total of 7,500 students being offered places, this amounts to a staggering 15% who are not able to attend due to non academic reasons.

The issue has been brought to mainstream attention due to the recent case of Damian Shannon, 26, who is now attempting to sue St Hugh’s College for 'selecting by wealth'. Oxford University requires postgraduate students to prove that they have the liquid funds required to cover the course fees. This must be done before students can be accepted to take up their place in the university, and cannot include future earnings being factored in based on part time or weekend jobs.

Postgraduate study fees can cost as much as £41,000 plus an additional £12,900 for living expenses, which makes a place in this university simply unattainable for many students.

Damian Shannon was offered a place on his economic and social history course, but was asked to provide proof of access to £21,000 for fees and living expenses, which he was unable to do. The issue has caused a large amount of controversy, and has now been discussed in parliament, where Salford MP Hazel Blears protested that people from similar backgrounds as Shannon were being discriminated against and were being denied a chance at the same level of higher education as those from more affluent backgrounds, saying the scheme was “unfair and shortsighted”. The university has responded by saying that the process was put in place to ensure that students enrolling would be able to complete their studies without the worry and anxiety of financial difficulties.

Blears wrote to the university to request that they direct some of the £30 million donated to them for postgraduate study towards making more places available on a means tested basis. A university spokesman responded by saying that much of the money had already been allocated to projects, although they were ‘open minded’ towards the idea.

How would you feel if you got accepted to Oxford's St. Hugh's College, to only later discover that you couldn't provide the financial proof needed to secure your place on the course?
 

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