Warning over sharp drop in number of part-time students

By Graeme Paton. The number of students taking part-time courses at British universities has plummeted by a more than 100,000 in just two years, according to research.
Figures show a 40 per cent drop in candidates studying while holding down a job or balancing family commitments, it emerged.
The study by Universities UK, the vice-chancellors’ group, warned that students were being driven away from part-time courses because of a "perfect storm" of pressure on household budgets during the financial crisis combined with a rise in tuition fees. More...