Background

The Access to Learning Fund (ALF) is made available to universities by the Government to enable them to provide discretionary financial assistance for students to help them access and remain in higher education.  As well as providing help to students who need financial assistance to meet extra costs that cannot be met from other sources of support, the Fund can help to alleviate unexpected financial hardship.  Students who may be considering leaving higher education because of financial problems are particularly encouraged to apply. You can apply to the Fund at any point throughout the academic year including the long vacation and any help you receive from the Fund is usually non repayable.

Please note that with very few exceptions (see below) the Access to Learning Fund cannot be used to help with tuition fees.

Who can Apply?

The Access to Learning Fund is for home students in one of the following categories:

• Undergraduate students, either full-time or part-time, including NHS bursary holders.
• Postgraduate students, either full-time or part-time, including those who are writing up.

A home student is defined as a person who meets certain residency conditions (the same conditions apply to eligibility for student support, for example, the student loan).   Usually this means you must have an unrestricted right to enter and remain in the UK and you have been ordinarily resident in the UK for three years prior to the start of the course.  None of this time must have been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.  Students who are classified as EU or overseas for fees purposes cannot apply to the Access to Learning Fund but may be eligible for help from the UEA Hardship Fund.

For part-time students who started their courses before September 2012, a part-time course is defined for the purposes of the ALF as being at least 50% of a full time course (at least 60 credits per year for an undergraduate) except that disabled students, whose disability prevents them from studying at least 50% of a full time course, may apply for Access to Learning Fund if they are studying at least 25% of a full time course (30 credits per year).

For new part-time students who started their courses on or after September 2012, a part-time course is defined as being at least 25% of an equivalent full-time course (at least 30 credits per academic year).

If you have to intercalate during the year for health or caring reasons or for some other unavoidable circumstance you can apply for help but the University must be satisfied that you intend to return to your studies.   Any help will normally be offered on a loan basis pending your return to the University.

You will only be considered for help from the Fund if you have made realistic plans to cover your tuition fees and living costs. 

When to apply

Applications can be accepted at any time up to Friday 28 June 2013 (or 15 May 2013 if you are a final year undergraduate).

Where to get the application form

Application forms are available from the Dean of Students’ Office, the Cashiers’ Office in Registry and the Advice Centre in Union House.

Priorities for Assistance

The Fund is there to help any eligible student who has a particular financial need but we cannot help everyone who applies and we may not be able to offer you as much as you think you need. The Government asks us to give priority to the following groups of students when deciding how to allocate the funding:

For full-time undergraduates the priority groups are:

• Students with children (especially lone parents)
• Mature students, especially those with existing financial commitments, including priority debts
• Students from low income families
• Disabled students (especially where the DSAs are unable to meet particular costs)
• Care leavers
• Students from Foyers or who are homeless
• Students receiving the final year loan rate, who are in financial difficulty

For part-time undergraduates and postgraduates the priority groups are:

• Students with children (especially lone parents)
• Students who are self funding
• Disabled students (especially where the DSAs are unable to meet particular costs)

If you are not in one of the priority groups you can still apply but you must provide as much evidence as possible to show why you have a particular need.

You may apply more than once during an academic year for help from the Access to Learning Fund but only if your circumstances have changed.    You should not use the main application form if you apply for a second time but should supply a letter outlining your change of circumstances and provide relevant supporting documentation.

If you experience financial difficulties during the summer vacation you may be able to apply to the Fund for additional help. Please contact the Dean of Students’ Office for further details (e-mail fac@uea.ac.uk or ring 01603 593184 or 593290).

Help with Tuition Fees

The Fund cannot normally help with paying for tuition fees.  If you are a full-time or part-time undergraduate student you should apply for help from  Student Finance England (SFE).  The Fund can only help with the payment of tuition fees for part-time students who started courses before September 2012 whose tuition fees for this year exceed the maximum statutory support available.

If you fulfil the above criteria you can apply for additional help from ALF to cover the difference between your actual fee and the amount of your statutory support. 

How your application for assistance from ALF will be assessed

We have to assess your application according to tightly drawn guidance from the DfES.  Your application will be treated either as a ‘standard’ or a ‘non standard’ claim.   ‘Standard’ applications are based on an additional need model that looks at the difference between reasonable expenditure and expected income.  If you have unforeseen circumstances your application can then be considered under a ‘non standard’ assessment. 

The assessment process for ‘standard’ and ‘non standard’ awards is designed to identify students who have particular financial needs and those who are in unforeseen financial difficulty.  This should result in most of the available funding being directed towards students with a low income and those who have exceptionally high course related costs.

Standard awards are intended to help meet general costs associated with being a full-time student such as living costs e.g. rent or mortgage payments, food, utility bills etc. In addition, assistance with course related costs such as childcare, travel, books and field trips is available for all students including part-time and postgraduate students.

For full-time undergraduate students being assessed for a standard award there is an assumed income , set at what the Government believes is a realistic level: £1,740 per year for students who are not in the final year of the course and £580 per year for final year students. This assumes income from a number of sources including part time work, additional support from parents or partner over the contribution assessed by the SFE, bank overdraft or savings etc. in addition to the maximum student loan.

For full-time postgraduate students a weekly notional postgraduate income amount (NPI) is applied to standard assessments.  This is set at £165 for those studying outside London.  For students with children or who are unable to work due to a disability the amount will be £133 for those studying outside London.

For all full-time students there will also be a set expenditure level, known as composite living costs, based upon state benefit amounts for general living costs such as food and usual household costs eg utility bills.  The relevant amount will be set depending on your circumstances, for example, if you have children:

Single Student                                    £73 per week

Student with Partner                           £115 per week

For students with children, an additional amount of £67 per week per child is added to the composite living cost figure together with a family premium of £18 per week.

In assessing your application, your expenditure will be based on the appropriate composite living costs figure, your rent/mortgage, your travel expenses and your course costs (books, equipment, field courses, childcare).

In accordance with Government guidelines, car running costs will not normally be allowed for single students without dependants or certain disabilities unless you need to travel by car to compulsory placements, or live in a location with no public transport. We will base daily travel costs on public transport rates.  For students living within First Bus city zones 1 – 5 the cost will be capped at £6.03per week, which is based on the cost of a £235 annual ticket giving unlimited bus travel in that area.  (Details and tickets can be obtained from the Union Travel Shop.)

Non standard awards can help to meet exceptional costs, such as repairs to essential household equipment, high costs for students dependent on continuing medication and assistance with priority debts.  Emergency situations (including travel costs for family illness or bereavement and hardship due to burglary or fire) can also be considered under the non standard award assessment.  In addition to these examples, costs for disabled students not met by the Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) can be considered.

Timetable for making a decision

Provided your application form has been accurately and fully completed and the appropriate documentary evidence supplied, an assessment and decision should be made within 4 working weeks of submission.  You should also normally expect to receive a payment in this time. However, in some cases, we may need to defer your initial payment beyond 4 weeks to deal with a particular circumstance.

How you will be notified about the outcome of your application

You will normally receive confirmation of the outcome of your application via your @uea e-mail.  The notification you receive will tell you what to do if you are unhappy with the outcome of your application. 

Social Security Benefits

Applicants are advised that payments from the Access to Learning Fund may have implications for their entitlement to Social Security benefits.  Students who receive help from the Fund can be given a document to present to their local JobCentre Plus/Housing Benefit office to help them in claiming benefits.

 September 2012