Part-time students at the University of Westminster might have something to say about last weeks' education and skills select committee report, which recommends that the distinction between part-time and full-time students be dissolved. That's if they remain students after a recent 100% hike in fees, says Gemma Tumelty, president of the National Union of Students.
The university is doubling the fees per module for part-time students on some courses (part-time module retrievers are excluded).
But this won't just affect new entrants: many current students already studying at the university will also see their course costs doubled. These students have applied and enrolled to pay costs they have factored into their tight budgets, in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Now they will be faced with a stark choice - stump up or ship out.
The students' union at Westminster has been inundated with part-time students who are worried that they will have to drop out because they can't afford to continue.
Full-time students are protected by law from this sort of fee increase mid-way through their studies. Part-time students are not. This is an outrageous oversight.
Part-time students make up 40% of the higher education population. Many of them are struggling to study alongside work or family commitments. The government says it recognises that the future economic success of this country depends on getting more people in this position into higher education. But getting them into education is the easy part, keeping them there is what is proving difficult.
Given that the population of part-time students is predicted to increase, it is essential that they be supported to the same extent as full-time students. If this means removing the rigid distinction between full and part-time students, then the NUS would welcome such a move.
The acid test for this proposal is whether it would it have a positive impact on the rights of those part-time students at Westminster. If it does, then we will be tentatively taking our first small steps forward.
