Anglia Ruskin University will stop giving student bursaries in cash, and instead will give them credit that has to be spent at the bookshop John Smith, Varsity has learnt. This has raised questions from the student body over why just one shop has been favoured, and whether this is in their best interests of ARU students.

“We surveyed over three hundred students and the overwhelming majority were against the plans,” said ARU Students’ Union President Nick Evangelista. “Many said they wanted the choice to spend the money as they saw fit, to help with finances on a day by day basis. It is felt that the new scheme simply won’t allow for this,” he said.

 “Limiting students to purchase books only through John Smith will cost the students more. This is an academic bookshop after all,” he continued.

The only other publically-funded institution that has a similar deal with John Smith bookshop is the University of East London, which was the previous employer of Anglia Ruskin’s Vice-Chancellor Michael Thorne.

It is unclear whether any other bookshops were invited to tender for the business, or to pitch alternative deals. “We were never made aware of any other competing interests at all when consulted,” said Evangelista.

The new credit system, called ‘Aspire’, will be introduced for students starting at the university next September. It replaces the £3 million cash-based ‘Anglia Ruskin Scholarship Award’, which allowed students to shop around for books and learning materials.

An award of £500 a year will be paid to eligible students via the Anglia Ruskin Aspire Card, subject to good work and attendance. To encourage take-up, the university and the bookshop are offering £50 in bonus credit for the first year of study plus a ‘free books’ promotional offer.

John Smith is setting up a book store in the ARU campus. “John Smith is setting up on site to allow shareholders to cream off the profits, not to help the students. It is a money-making venture, nothing more than that,” said Evangelista.
Anglia Ruskin has hit back at this criticism. In a statement issued to Varsity it stressed the benefits the ‘Aspire’ scheme will bring to students.

“The amount of money on offer has increased from its current first year total of £500 to £550. As importantly, the money under the scheme is available to students much earlier, with £100 available to students to spend immediately on opening up an account and the full credit of £550 paid into the student account in February,” said Andrea Hilliard, Corporate Communications Manager at the university.

The university reasserted that the scheme was a flexible one: “[Aspire] allows [students] to buy a whole range of items other than books, such as computer equipment and stationery items”.

Further advantages of the new scheme, according to its advocates, include a revamped bookshop in Chelmsford and a campus-based store in Cambridge. Set to displace the Student Employment Bureau from its prime location on site, the on-site store is the first of its kind for the leading bookshop.

However, the popularity of the old ARSA Award will be hard to surpass. It was an instant hit with students and University staff alike when introduced at the University two years ago, improving key performance and attendance indicators. The Sunday Times University Guide 2008 described it as “a sensible approach given the problems the institution had with a high dropout rate”.

John Smith was founded in Scotland in 1751. It now specialises in campus-based stores, with 28 bookshops at universities in three countries.

Students paying the full fee of £3,145 and based at either the Chelmsford or Cambridge ARU campuses will be eligible for the new grant. They will have the opportunity to choose between the two schemes this year before the new ‘Aspire’ scholarship is fully phased in next year.

Craig Hogg