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Petition Tag - nus
1. Full Amnesty Now - Reverse Revocation - Save London Met 
Following significant campaigning and political pressure from students, staff, and supporters, the High Court has allowed London Metropolitan University to proceed to full Judicial Review to challenge the revocation of its Tier-4 HTS licence to recruit international students.
As a result of the High Court decision the Home Office, via the UK Border Agency, has now agreed a limited 'amnesty' for current international students at London Met of up to one academic year.
Unfortunately, as welcome as such an amnesty is, it fails to address the needs of over 500 current London Met international students. This includes students in either the first or second year of a three year degree course, and PhD students with more than one academic year of study remaining. This is an invidious position to place such students in.
In addition to the immediate damage the decision to revoke the university's Tier-4 licence has had on its international students, the long term damage to the university as a whole is considerable.
London Met now finds itself in significant financial trouble with anticipated revenue losses following withdrawal of its Tier-4 licence running into £10M's.
We understand that such losses now jeopardise the university's continuation as a community-based public university, primarily serving two of the poorest boroughs in London and the UK - Tower Hamlets and Islington.
Additional notes:
TUC Congress 2012 unanimously adopted an Emergency Motion from the University and College Union (UCU) that demanded a full amnesty for London Met international students and the removal of international students from net migration stats and targets. Details here
Jeremy Corbyn MP (Islington North) has launched a parliamentary Early Day Motion (EDM 437) calling for the reversing of the revocation of London Met’s Tier-4 HTS licence. Details here
ITN London Tonight - News report on 28/9 demonstration demanding a full amnesty for London Met international students:
2. Students' Money To Students
So this Student Services and Amenities Fee...It’s your money that goes to your uni, then they decide what to spend it on - even though it's your money.
Wouldn’t it be better if students had a say in where students’ money was spent?
Who knows what services you need better than you?
3. NUS: Call a national demonstration in autumn term
The government’s Higher Education White Paper threatens our institutions with an unprecedented wave of privatisation modelled on the disastrous experience of the US for-profit sector.
The NUS strategy is defeatist, calling for a review of the impact of the White Paper following its implementation – as if this is a given – and asserting the need for student collaboration with the private sector.
Yet across the higher education sector there is growing opposition to the White paper – from the 20 000 people who have signed the ‘no confidence’ motion in David Willetts, to the Campaign for the Public University, to the UCU. In 2010 hundreds of thousands of school, FE and university students opposed fees increases – the White Paper is about making the new fees regime work.
All this offers an opportunity for a mass campaign against the government which can defeat the White Paper.
It should be the role of the elected leadership to find creative ways to unite and encourage broad opposition, not to demobilise it. Crucial to this is naming what we are against. For these reasons, castigating calls for the scrapping of the White Paper as “ridiculous” and claiming this would not “mean anything” is self-defeating posturing.
The strategy outlined by NUS underestimates the scale of attack on public education and the breadth of opposition, and overestimates the power of the government. An alternative that strives for maximum possible unity across the sector is needed. A starting point should be the following:
4. A National Student Concession Card
The purpose of the petition is to raise support for a National Student Concession Card.
The reciprocal recognition of student concessions is a problem facing all students.
A National Student Concession Card is important because:
1. Students do not have universal access to concessions schemes (such as student public transport concessions) outside their home state;
2. A national concession scheme exists for those holding a senior or pensioner cards but currently nothing similar exists for primary, secondary and tertiary students;
3. The card would offer students another form of identity to use other than a state government issued ‘Proof of Age’ card. This is important as some student cards are very basic, vary in form and are not recognised as formal identification;
4. The card may be able to provide students with a range of third party benefits from students services, and potential recognition for Australian students travelling internationally.
5. Nick Clegg should honour Liberal pledges on Student Tuition Fees
At the last UK General Election Liberal Democrat leader, Mr Clegg made great play of the Tory and Labour parties’ suggestion that student fees would have to be increased. He publicly signed a pledge that he and his party would oppose any tuition fee increases.
Mr Clegg was photographed holding up his signed copy of the pledge, which read, “I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and to pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative.”
More than 500 Liberal Democrat candidates signed the pledge, including every single elected Liberal Democrat MP.
In addition, the Lib Dem election manifesto spelled out that party’s pledge on university fees as follows: “Scrap unfair university tuition fees for all students taking their first degree, including those studying part-time, saving them over £10,000 each. We have a financially responsible plan to phase fees out over six years, so that the change is affordable even in these difficult economic times, and without cutting university income. We will immediately scrap fees for final year students,” read the Lib Dem manifesto.
If that was not enough, Mr Clegg made the following statement while on the election trail: "Despite the huge financial strain fees already place on Britain's young people, it is clear both Labour and the Conservatives want to lift the cap on fees. If fees rise to £7,000 a year, as many rumours suggest they would, within five years some students will be leaving university up to £44,000 in debt. That would be a disaster.”
Now, however, Mr Clegg has supported fee increases of up to £9,000 per year, £2,000 higher than his “disaster” prediction of only a few months ago.
This petion has been started by the National Liberal Party which offers a radical alternative to the Liberal Democrats. If you sign the petition we may contact you about this and other campaigns.
6. ARU Students Against Cuts To Education
The UK Government are planning severe cuts to university funding. Coupled with Lord Browne’s recommendations for a new HE funding system, the sector will be facing the most challenging time in its history.