University of the West of Scotland

The first question at this university is which campus, and it is not a detail — it changes the money by thousands. Teaching runs at Paisley, Ayr, Dumfries, Lanarkshire and in London. The Home Office maintenance requirement is GBP 1,529 a month in London against GBP 1,171 in Scotland, which is GBP 3,222 more a year that has to be evidenced in a bank account — and the difference in what is actually spent is larger still, since London is the most expensive place to study in Britain and Paisley among the least. There is a second campus question with a bigger number attached. Scottish degrees run four years, but a London campus may follow the English three-year pattern. That is a whole year of fees and living costs, and it should be established rather than assumed in either direction. The university is a large modern institution formed around the former University of Paisley, teaching business, computing, engineering, health, education and the creative industries.