Exhibition: 50 Years of the OU Students Association

The campaign for part-time undergraduate loans

The Association was part of a long-running campaign to make student loans available to part-time students. 

In 1992, the Government had been considering changing the accessibility of loans after much concern about financially disadvantaged part-time and mature students. The then Secretary of State for Education, Kenneth Clarke understood the difficulties that part-time students who did not qualify for a loan may be facing. 

Extending the loan scheme at the time would mean a change in regulations, however the concern was whether making the loan available to part-time students would be a feasible move. 

The long-held debate came to a head in 2011, when higher education fees rose across the sector, seeing significant increases in the cost of tuition. As this threatened the very ethos and mission of the University, a successful outcome was finally seen for the Association and OU students as the playing fields were levelled, with loans becoming available to part-time students. This enabled more students to continue their education and change their lives for the better.