US FEDERAL FUNDING FOR STUDENTS AT UK CONSERVATOIRES

Motion Text

That this House very much regrets the changes to US federal aid to overseas students which has had a profound effect on conservatoires in the UK, reducing both the opportunities for US students to study in the UK and the income of the institutions affected; understands that the requirement for foreign institutions to have their own degree awarding powers was intended to exclude bogus institutions; notes its effect is to exclude some of the UK's world-class institutions, such as Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, The Guildhall School of Music and Drama and LAMDA, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts; further notes the comment made by the Minister for Higher Education earlier this year that `America loses out if some of our excellent universities and colleges become inaccessible for gifted American students and other students miss out from the enrichment provided by their American peers'; and calls on Martha Kanter, Under-Secretary at the US Department of Education to review urgently the policy.