Conference notes the success of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in Government in delivering record funding for Scottish Universities and Colleges, together with a better deal for students through the abolition of student tuition fees and the restoration of student grants.

Conference welcomes the role of Liberal Democrat MSPs in abolishing the graduate endowment and ensuring that the legal duty on the government to provide grant support is retained.

Conference restates its commitment to building the fullest opportunities for lifelong learning without financial barriers, to a Higher Education sector that can deliver for Scotland’s economy and provide an excellent learning experience for students, and reaffirms its opposition to English-style fees and top-up fees being introduced in Scotland.

Conference notes that the Scottish Government

1. Has failed abysmally to meet the funding bid from Universities Scotland to keep Scottish higher education competitive.
2. Has dropped the pre-election pledge to pay off all outstanding student loans and replace loans with grants.

Conference believes that:

1. There must be adequate funding for our universities and colleges to ensure that they can meet the needs of the Scottish economy and provide students with a study experience of the highest international standard.
2. Students should be able to access an adequate living income during their time at University.
3. The current threshold of repayment for student loans does not reflect graduate level earnings.
4. Part time students should not continue to pay fees while full time students do not.

Conference calls for the Scottish Government to:

1. Ensure colleges and universities continue to be funded as needed to remain competitive, provide the best possible learning experience for Scottish students and to counter the threat of top-up fees in Scotland.
2. Introduce a minimum income guarantee for students from a combination of grants, student loans and household income.
3. Provide an increase in grants to benefit the most vulnerable students.
4. Move towards the abolition of tuition fees for all part time higher education students.
5. Reduce graduate debt further by easing the cost of debt repayment.