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Wonkhe SUs · The 2026 webinar box set

Money money money

Cozzy livs, hidden costs and how to make sure students survive in the year ahead.

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We get behind the official story of an inflation-linked maintenance uplift to the actual story of real-terms cuts, a frozen threshold and a package far below what students need. We map the hidden costs from application to graduation, the maintenance cliff, and the fraying safety net of bursaries and hardship funds, and set out a playbook for getting costs down, protecting the money, surfacing hidden costs and going national in time.

What we cover

  • The official story versus the actual story – an uplift pegged to forecasts that keep undershooting, baking in real-terms cuts.
  • Mind the gap – students need £18,632 outside London for a minimum standard of living; the maximum loan covers just 55%.
  • The frozen threshold – the £25,000 maximum-support line, unchanged since 2008, and fiscal drag cutting support quietly.
  • Who gets hit hardest – working to cover living costs rising fastest among the least advantaged students.
  • Heating or eating – two-thirds of universities now running food banks, mostly delivered by SUs.
  • The forgotten cohorts – PGT, PGR, international and LLE students, each with their own broken settlement.
  • The hidden cost map – application fees, materials, resit fees and graduation gowning, often priced after commitment.
  • The maintenance cliff – why a "free" resit on assessment-only status can cost a student months of maintenance.
  • New legal levers – the DMCC Act, drip pricing, and pricing a three-year degree as £29,375, not "£9,535" plus surprises.
  • The playbook – get costs down, protect the money, surface hidden costs, and be in the room before July.

Things to read

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