Student accommodated by alien gets cramp (8)
I believe the answer is:
strangle
'cramp' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'student accommodated by alien' is the wordplay.
'student' becomes 'l' (as in L-plates for learner drivers).
'accommodated by' is an insertion indicator.
'alien' becomes 'strange' ('strange' can be a synonym of 'alien').
'l' going inside 'strange' is 'STRANGLE'.
'gets' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for strangle that I've seen before include "Asphyxiate, throttle" , "throttle or choke" , "Finish off" , "Subdue" , "gag" .)