Part-time and distance-learning students are often forgotten in discussions around higher education policy and practice.
At the Open University, we know this better than most. It is most evident in England’s student finance system, which seems to disregard many of the barriers that parents, carers and people who work face in accessing higher education qualifications, especially at full-time intensity.
However, with the Lifelong Loan Entitlement on the horizon, and the cost-of-living crisis forcing many more students to seek more flexible ways of conducting their studies, there has never been a better time to raise awareness, both in government and across the sector, of the opportunities to build more equity into our future student finance system.
That’s why we (the Open University Students Association) invited fellow elected student leaders from institutions across England to sign an open letter to the Department for Education urging the government to make changes to student finance support for part-time and distance-learning students.
