Should the Mature Students Bursary Fund be administered by Universities and Colleges?
Mature students should receive a clear message about the support they will receive in the form of a uniform entitlement, regardless of the student’s choice of institution. There will also be significant resource implications for universities if they were to administer the scheme which would need to be addressed so as not to further burden overworked university administrations. Creation of the Mature Student’s Bursary Fund should not, however, be simply taken from university Access Fund allocations. Despite the proposed introduction of the Access Bursary some of the most needy students (including students from low-income families and those social groups with a cultural resistance to debt) are likely to still require additional help from university Access Funds. Should some students studying elsewhere in the UK be entitled to Access Bursaries even though they are outside the scope of the Graduate Endowment? The Society believes that students studying outside Scotland should be eligible f
