Student Support Fund Policy and Guidance

Student Support Fund 2023/24

Our policy and guidance on how to apply.

What is the Student Support Fund? 

Managing your finances is an essential part of student life, and we understand that sometimes situations outside of your control can cause things to go slightly off track.

The Student Support Fund is designed to help ease unexpected financial pressures by providing non-repayable, short-term financial support. 

This support is intended to meet the immediate needs of students who are struggling with an unanticipated situation which is having a negative impact on their studies.  

The Fund is open from 1st August 2023 to 31st July 2024, and you can apply at any point during this time. However, making an application doesn’t guarantee you’ll receive a financial payment, and we can’t support with the payment of: 

  • University tuition fees.  If you have concerns about paying your tuition fees, please contact the University Finance team at fees@chester.ac.uk. 
  • Pre-existing debts from before you joined the university. If you’re struggling with debt, please let us know as we have other support available.
  • Travel costs associated with Experiential Learning Abroad or extracurricular activities. 

Can I apply? 

Our eligibility criteria ensures we’re able to support as many students as possible, whilst making sure our funds reach those who need help the most.  

Therefore, to apply to the Fund you’ll need to meet our eligibility criteria over 3 areas: 

1. Length of Study

You need to be a current UK home or International University of Chester student, with at least 6 weeks (42 days) remaining before the end of your final term. 

If you’ve interrupted your studies, you’re still entitled to apply to the Fund. However, if you’ve been suspended from the university for financial or disciplinary reasons or have withdrawn from your studies, unfortunately you’re not eligible to apply.

You must be up to date with your fees or any fee payment arrangements. 

2. Programme of Study

You need to be registered on one of the following programmes at the University of Chester: 

  • Full time Undergraduate (120 credits): This includes distance learners following a Higher Education course, sandwich courses and any periods of placement.

  • Full time Postgraduate (120/180 credits): This includes students following a Higher Education course at a level above first degree, and those writing up their thesis (who may not be attending the institution).

  • Part time Undergraduate and Postgraduate: You must be registered for at least 25% equivalent of your full-time course in the academic year you apply.

3. Student Fee Status

Depending on your student fee status, our eligibility criteria does differ slightly: 

UK home students studying at undergraduate level: 

  • You need to meet the ‘home’ residency requirements of your UK Student Loans Company provider. 

  • You’ve applied for and taken the full entitlement of any means tested maintenance loan and / or grant offered to you, or you have the necessary financial provision in place to support your studies.

  • You’ve explored all other avenues of financial help available to you e.g., savings, overdraft, family support.

UK home students studying at part-time undergraduate or postgraduate level and international students studying at any level: 

  • You need to show you had the necessary financial provision in place to support your studies
  • You’ve experienced an unexpected emergency which has left you in financial difficulty.
  • You’ve explored all other avenues of financial help available e.g., savings, overdraft, family support 

What is necessary financial provision? 

All students starting at the university should have the finances in place to support their studies. This includes having the money to pay tuition fees, buy course equipment and support your everyday living costs.  

This funding must cover the full length of your studies and must be in place each time you start a new academic year. 

For many students, this funding is provided through a tuition fee and / or maintenance loan.  However, if this doesn’t apply to your course, you must be able to show you had the finances in place at the start of your course and an unexpected change in your circumstances has left you in financial difficulty. 

What information will I need to provide? 

So we can get a full picture of your situation, you’ll need to let us know who lives in your household, your income and expenditure details (including any savings), and the circumstances or reasons that led to you making an application.

We’ll also need some practical information such as your address and contact details. 

We’ll also need to collect some core evidence to support your application: 

  • Two months recent bank statements for your main account.  These must be in PDF format. 
  • Balances for all your other accounts 
  • Evidence of your funding  
  • Evidence of your rent and the length of your contract 

This information may be sufficient for us to complete our assessment. However, in most instances additional evidence may be needed such as utility bills or evidence of the unexpected circumstance etc. 

We know supplying personal information can feel uncomfortable, and please be reassured we’ll only ask for what we need to support your application, and we’ll explain why we need it. 

Unfortunately, we can’t progress your application without the supporting evidence, so if you haven’t provided this after 2 requests, we’ll close your application.   

What is the assessment process? 

Once your completed application form has been received, it’ll be passed to a member of the Your Money team to assess. The assessment is completed in 4 stages: 

Stage 1: Eligibility Check

The first thing we’ll do is review your application to check you’re eligible to apply to the Fund. 

If you’re eligible to apply, we’ll move to the next stage of the process which is to complete a basic financial calculation to better understand your situation. Please note, if you’re expected to have made your own necessary financial provision for your studies, a calculation won't be completed.
 
If you’re not eligible, we’ll send an email to your student email account to explain our decision.  

We know this can be a difficult message to hear, so you’ll also have the opportunity to meet with our Student Money Adviser to discuss your application and explore other support that may be available to you.  

Stage 2: Financial Calculation

If we’ve not asked you to show evidence of necessary financial provision, we use the financial information provided in your application form to complete a basic financial calculation to better understand your situation.   

As our Fund is intended to meet immediate need only, this calculation does not take into account every expense you have. We consider your situation in line with the assumed outgoings of a frugal student lifestyle, which is a process agreed with the National Association of Student Money Advisers (NASMA) and the NUS. 

Stage 3: Pre-assessment Meeting

We’ll send an email to your student email account inviting you to book a pre-assessment meeting. Please book your meeting as soon as possible, as your application cannot be progressed until this has taken place.

In our email, we’ll give you a list of the core evidence you need to provide to support your application. It would be really helpful if you could bring as much of this as possible to the meeting, as this will speed up the time it takes to assess your application.  

During the meeting, we'll review your application form and calculation with you, and make sure we have all the evidence we need to progress to the next stage.  This is also a good chance for you to ask any further questions you have.  

Please check your student email account regularly and communicate with us throughout the process. We rely on this to ensure all our applicants are assessed as quickly as possible. 

To ensure fairness to all applicants, please be aware your application will be closed if:

  • You don't book an appointment after two requests.
  • You miss your appointment without letting us know in advance.

Stage 4: Assessment and Decision

When deciding if you’ll qualify for an award, we assess the priority of your situation and the risk you face by considering: 

  • The outcome of your financial calculation   
  • The circumstances and reasons for your application 
  • The evidence supplied  
  • The preventative measures you’ve taken
  • Your access to other forms of financial support
  • The impact of not making an award to you
  • The amount of funds we have available at the time. 

How will I be advised of a decision?

Once we’ve made a decision about your application, we’ll contact you via your student email account to let you know the outcome. 

If your application has been successful, we’ll let you know:  

  • Why you are getting a payment and how much you’ll receive. 

  • How the payment will be made. 

  • Any conditions attached to you receiving a payment. 

If your application has been unsuccessful, we’ll let you know: 

  • The reason your application was unsuccessful. 

  • The details of any other support available to you. 

If relevant further information comes to our attention, awards may be changed or removed.

How will payments be made 

  • Direct payments through a third-party platform. 
  • Items bought on your behalf.  
  • Food vouchers. 
  • A combination of all of these.

Please remember, our funds are limited and reaching the assessment stage doesn’t guarantee you’ll receive an award.

We’ll decide which payment options best suits your situation and, in most cases, payments are made in instalments rather than as a lump sum.

If you withdraw from your studies or are suspended on financial or disciplinary grounds, any outstanding payments from the Fund will be cancelled.  

Can I appeal an unsuccessful decision?

If you’re unhappy with the outcome of your application, you’re entitled to raise an appeal with us.

Your appeal must be sent within four weeks from the date of our decision and must clearly state the reasons why you’re asking for a review.   

 Your appeal will be reviewed by the Financial Support and Front-Line Services Manager and another manager working in the university.

We aim to review all appeals within 14 days of being received.  The decision will be final, and if you’re still unhappy, you’ll need to follow the formal complaints procedure for the university.  

How do I apply?

All applications can made online

If you’re having difficulties accessing the form or have specific needs and would like some support completing the form, please contact us via studentservices@chester.ac.uk to let us know. 

Once you’ve sent your application, you’ll be contacted by a member of the Your Money team to advise you about what happens next. We do our best to acknowledge all applications within 10 working days, however this may differ during peak times.  

Our funds are limited, so support will usually only be given once during the academic year.  

In exceptional circumstances, repeat assessments will be considered.  To ask for a reassessment, you’ll need to contact us at studentservices@chester.ac.uk to arrange a repeat assessment meeting.

You don’t need to complete a new application form, but you’ll be asked to explain how your situation has changed since your earlier application and may need to supply evidence to support this.  

How will you use and share my data?

The University of Chester is a data controller in accordance with the 2018 legislation.  Student Services follows University policy in matters of data protection.  Any formal enquiries concerning the use of data noted here should be addressed to the Deputy Director of Student Services.

Our Privacy Statement explains how we use your information.

We’re always trying to improve, so our Student Services Support Staff may use anonymised data from applications for research purposes to support the future direction of the Fund. 

Fraudulent Information

Failure to disclose all relevant information and / or supplying false information will automatically disqualify your application.  This may also lead to disciplinary procedures resulting in possible expulsion from the university or other disciplinary action. 

Where we suspect that misleading or fraudulent information has been provided, any payments from the Fund will be suspended pending the outcome of an investigation.  

If you’re found guilty of any misconduct, your entitlement to claim from the Fund will be permanently withdrawn. The university may seek to recover any monies paid and may instigate disciplinary proceedings. 

Where can I get other help and support?

As a student at the University of Chester, you have access to a wide range of support services to help you in different aspects of student life:

  • Wellbeing and Mental Health 
  • Disability and Inclusion 
  • Counselling 
  • International support
  • Financial Support
  • Proctor’s Office

To find out more, please contact the team on 01244 511550 or email studentservices@chester.ac.uk.

Other information about the Fund 

In line with the principles of good administration, we treat all applications fairly and consistently under the terms we’ve set out in this document. We’ll do our best to process all applications in a timely manner.  

We’ll monitor this Fund on an ongoing basis to ensure we’re delivering the best service possible.  To support this, we may get in touch with you after a decision has been made to ask for feedback about the Fund and your experience with us.