Poor suffer most from student finance deal

Students from non-traditional backgrounds are most disadvantaged by student finance arrangements, the European Access Network's annual conference heard yesterday.

Geoffrey Copland, vice-chancellor of Westminster University, told delegates at Prato in Italy that the UK government must take the needs of non-traditional students into account in its review of student finance. He also called for the funding premium paid to universities for each such student enrolled to be increased from 10 to 35 per cent.