English universities challenging a government decision to prevent weekend-only students from receiving maintenance loans have lost their case at the High Court.
A judge has sided with the government and ruled that weekend-only courses are classified as a form of distance learning, meaning that while learners will be able to access tuition fee loans to cover course costs, they will not be able to receive student finance to pay for the cost of living.
Earlier this year, the Student Loans Company (SLC) halted maintenance loans and childcare grants to 22,000 students on weekend-only courses, who were told that they would have to immediately begin paying back their loan, despite not having finished their studies.
Five universities – Bath Spa University, Buckinghamshire New University, Leeds Trinity University, London Metropolitan University and Southampton Solent University – had launched a judicial review against the secretary of state for education, as well as the Department for Education and the SLC over the dispute, but have now been told they were unsuccessful in their claim.
Many of the courses involved were delivered by smaller private colleges under a franchise agreement with universities that award degrees.
