Student Support Fund
Who can apply
If you are a UK (home) undergraduate or postgraduate student who's experiencing financial difficulty while you are studying at USW we may be able to help you. To be eligible to apply to the Student Support Fund you need to be:
- Studying on a USW campus
- Studying at least 30 credits on undergraduate course or at least 45 credits on a postgraduate course
- Have applied for all funding you may be entitled to
If you're studying at one of our Partner Colleges, contact them about financial support funds.
If you're an EU or international student you're not eligible to apply make an appointment with an adviser to discuss your situation.
Need help with the application?
Make an appointment with an adviser to discuss your eligibility or to discuss your current circumstances.
How the Student Support Fund can and can't help
It’s a safety net for students in financial hardship – it’s not to fund expensive lifestyle choices, eg, expensive mobile phone contracts, holidays, gym membership, digital tv packages, streaming services or non-essential car costs.
You’ll be expected to have put an appropriate level of funding in place before you start your studies. You’ll need to demonstrate you’ve used all the funding available to you – eg, Undergraduate Student Finance or Student Finance for Master courses before you submit an application.
Students not in receipt of student finance must have adequate provision in place for tuition fees and living costs prior to commencing their studies.
As a student, it is essential that you live within your means and take steps to increase your income and decrease your expenditure.
How applications are assessed
Applications to the Student Support Fund are assessed over the whole academic year – so it isn’t usually possible to reapply to the fund. However, if your financial situation changes, you can ask to be reviewed.
Please note that an award from the Fund is not an automatic entitlement – the Fund is subject to review and isn’t guaranteed to be available every academic year or during the whole of an academic year. If the fund is exhausted, it may have to close early.
The application process opens in October each year. Check the application guidance notes when you apply to make sure you’re providing all the evidence you need to. Applications close six weeks before the end of your studies.
Have there been any changes in your income/expenditure since you completed your application? Or has there been a change in your circumstances, eg, changes in employment hours, housing or debts?
If so, please complete a review application explaining these changes and how they’ve affected your financial position – including any evidence.
The Panel can then review your case.
You need to provide bank statements for your application. Depending on what fund you’re applying to, there will be different requirements for the bank statements – so make sure you’re checking that your statements cover the necessary dates.
For all funds, you’ll need to provide bank statements that show your name, account number, all transactions and running balance.
If you’re downloading from your bank’s online banking or from the mobile app, make sure you’re saving the statement in an appropriate format – e.g as a pdf, not a CVS file or downloading to Excel, as these can’t be accepted.
If you’re unhappy with the decision made by the Panel, you may either appeal against the decision, or if your financial circumstances have changed since the submission of your application form, you can ask the Panel to review your case.
- If you’re happy that all of the information contained in your application is correct and your circumstances haven’t changed, you may wish to appeal against the decision made by the Panel.
- If you’d like to submit an Appeal, please notify us in the first instance. You’ll be offered help and support from a Money and Support Adviser with this process.
- If you decide not to meet with an Adviser, please submit your Appeal Letter outlining why you feel you should receive assistance/further assistance to [email protected], citing ‘Student Support Fund Appeal’ in the subject line.
- Once received, your appeal will be passed to the Student Support Fund Panel who will re-consider your case. If the Panel uphold their original decision then the appeal will be passed to the Student Support Fund Committee.
- If the Student Support Fund Committee uphold the Panel’s decision, then your case will be considered by the Director of Student Services.
- Once an appeal has been received, a decision will normally be communicated to you within 20 working days.
- As an appeal is the final action that can be taken by the Student Support Fund, you will not be able to reapply to the Student Support Fund in the academic year, regardless of if your financial circumstances change.
If you’re unsure whether a review or appeal is the best course of action, you can book an appointment with a Money and Support Adviser, who will be able to assist you.
Complaints Process
Students who have submitted an appeal and are unhappy with the decision may wish to consider submitting a complaint to the University.