
This petition is now closed, as its deadline has passed.
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to withdraw the instruction to HEFCE to cease funding for students undertaking study for equivalent or lower level qualifications (ELQ). More details
Submitted by Lisa Carson of Open University Students Association – Deadline to sign up by: 07 May 2008 – Signatures: 22,386
We do not believe that this policy is necessary but is actually harmful to the Government’s objectives of widening participation. This policy will not only affect part time, mature students as individuals but will penalise most those universities that have successfully supported lifelong learning, exacerbate the under funding of part time students in general and threaten the range and development of curriculum for all students, but again particularly part time students.
We believe the ELQ policy is a crude and ill considered method of redistributing HE funds based on limited and flawed knowledge about the part time students who will be most affected on a ratio of 10:1 compared to full time students. We are not reassured by promises that current students will not be affected. This policy will cause long term damage and far beyond the boundaries of England and N Ireland and will represent a massive set back to all the espoused benefits of embedding lifelong learning into our culture.
Because there are so many signatories, only the most recent 500 are shown on this page.
Because there are so many signatories, only the most recent 500 are shown on this page.