Academic Division
ACCESS TO LEARNING FUND
Notes of Guidance for Tutors, 2015/16
October 2015
ACCESS TO LEARNING FUND
NOTES OF GUIDANCE FOR TUTORS, 2015/16
1.
Access to Learning Fund: purpose and scope
The Access to Learning Fund (ALF) is a discretionary fund, made up by funds
formerly provided by central government and now provided by the University (in
2014 and 2015). The primary purpose of the Fund is to relieve financial hardship
that might impact on a student's participation in higher education, including:

assisting those who need extra financial help to meet particular costs which
are not already being met from statutory (or other) sources of funding;
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meeting specific course and living costs, other than tuition fee costs, which
are not already met from other sources;

providing emergency payments for unexpected crises; and,

intervening in cases where a student may be considering leaving higher
education because of financial problems.
Grants made are non-repayable.
Eligibility
The Fund is there to help any eligible student who can demonstrate a particular
financial need. We continue to use the guidance by the Department for Business,
Innovation & Skills (BIS) but with modifications to take into account circumstances at
Cambridge (ie costs).
All full time students are eligible. Also eligible are part-time students on a
postgraduate course that is a minimum of 1 year.
Eligibility is no longer restricted to Home and EU. The ALF is for ‘Home’ students,
EU students and overseas students.
Allocation of grants
The ALF is a discretionary fund; awards range from £100 to a maximum of £3,500
(cases where assessed need exceeds £3,500 will be referred to the chair of the ALF
committee). It cannot always meet all of the costs that might be applied for and
awards will usually cover only part of the student's additional need.
The Fund cannot be used to meet the cost of tuition fees for any full-time student ut
some fee support is available in the case of certain qualifying part-time courses.
The majority of financial support, will be given to the following Priority groups as
previously defined by BIS:
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students with children (especially lone parents);
other mature students;
students from low-income families;
disabled students (especially where the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs)
are unable to meet particular costs and the institution has no legal
responsibility to do so);
care leavers;
students from Foyers, or who are homeless;
students receiving the final-year loan rate who are in exceptional financial
difficulty (including those unable to work because of extraordinary academic
pressure, or those repeating elements of their course);
self-funding postgraduates.
2015/16
A similar process will be followed as for previous years, with:

a rolling programme of assessment;

adoption of set rates of ‘assumed income’ to be set at the level of the
Cambridge Admissions Office (CAO)/Graduate Admissions Office (GAO)
mimimum Financial Undertaking respectively (new for 2015/6)

standardised expenditure allowances (Composite Living Costs) for food,
household bills, clothing, entertainment, etc., to be set at the level of the
CAO/GAO mimimum Financial Undertaking (new for 2015/6)

variable expenditure allowances (rent, travel, course costs, childcare, other
etc.) over which institutions have some discretion to use either actual or
capped cost;

standardised periods of assessment.
Please encourage students to provide as much information as possible about their
actual costs.
It is expected that the funds for 2015/2016 will total around £130,000, made up of a
non-recurrent grant from the University.
Rates for Assumed Income, Notional Postgraduate Income, support adjustment for
continuing students from low-income households, and Composite Living Costs, rent,
course costs, travel, etc will be based on published CAO/GAO 2015/2016 rates.
The ALF will continue to offer assistance to eligible students toward the costs of
diagnostic assessments for Dyslexia and other SpLDs. Applications will,
however, be subject to means testing.
The particular needs of care leavers and some other priority groups can be
most efficiently and effectively addressed through a process of 'summer reassessment', which is provided for under the BIS ALF Guidance (termed
'summer vacation funding'). Please note that undergraduate care leavers now
qualify for an enhanced rate of the Cambride Bursary if they are resident in
Cambridge throughout the calendar year (similar to mature students).
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The Committee has agreed to reserve ca. £13,000 (ca. 10%, of the ALF
allocation) at the beginning of the year to provide for a scheme of summer
vacation funding. Applications for needs-based support for the summer
vacation 2016 will be considered at the beginning of the Easter Term 2016.
PLEASE NOTE:
There is a separate section on the undergraduate application form for claiming
summer vacation support.
Applications for summer vacation support should normally be submitted no
earlier than 14 April 2016.
3.
The Committee on the Access to Learning Fund
The ALF is administered centrally under the supervision of the Committee on the
Access to Learning Fund, a standing committee of the University Council, which
includes representatives from the colleges (Senior Tutors’ Committee and Graduate
Tutors’ Committee), CUSU, the Graduate Union, and the central bodies. The
Committee compiles an annual report to the University Council; the report is also
distributed to the Senior Tutors’ Committee and to the Colleges.
4.
Procedure
Students may apply throughout the academical year, but they should note that most
of the ALF will have been distributed by the middle of Easter Term. Applications will
be accepted until 30 June 2016 or until funds are exhausted, whichever is sooner.
Students may apply more than once during the year (submitting a new application
form each time), but usually only where their circumstances have materially
changed, or where they are applying for exceptional support (for instance, for
assistance during the summer vacation). The level of any additional award will take
into account the amount awarded previously. Awards from the Fund are usually nonrepayable. ALF awards may, however, affect entitlement to Social Security and other
benefits.
Undergraduate link with Cambridge Bursary Scheme
Undergradautes are asked not to submit applications to the ALF until the outcome of
any application to the Cambridge Bursary Scheme is known. Where applications to
the ALF are received prematurely, it is expected that either applications will be
returned to colleges, pending provision of further financial information, or the
administrators will make assumptions about the likely level of bursary available to the
applicant.
Evidence required from applicants
The following documentary evidence should be submitted with each application, as
appropriate:
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 Student Finance England (SFE)/LA student financial support notification
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document;
SFE maintenance loan payment schedule letter;
Evidence of any institutional (University/College) bursaries or grants;
Financial Undertaking Form (submitted to the Board of Graduate Studies), or
evidence of sponsorship/research council studentship;
Evidence of costs claimed in Section 6, where specified (e.g. childcare);
Rent/tenancy agreement (if accommodation is NOT University/College-owned)
or evidence of mortgage.
It is anticipated that Tutors may, at their discretion, wish to see other supporting
documents before signing the declaration. Applicants should be prepared to furnish
the Tutor with the following (in line with previously defined BIS recommendations), if
requested: bank statements; assessment notices for benefits or tax credits, where
appropriate; evidence of savings or other income, or evidence of application for other
sources of income available; evidence of rent or mortgage; if necessary, proof that
the statutory support residency requirements are met. The ALF Administrators may
also ask for this information to be supplied, in order to carry out the assessment.
Completed application forms, which should be counter-signed by the
student’s Tutor - and by the Supervisor (or Head of Dept.) in the case of research
students in their 10th term or beyond - should be forwarded to the
ALF Administrator,
Student Registry,
4 Mill Lane,
Cambridge
CB2 1RZ.
On receipt, forms will be checked and the level of annual surplus/deficit for each
applicant calculated by a formula which compares income to expenditure.
Applications will ordinarily be assessed, decisions made and payments authorised
within four working weeks of receipt, provided that the form has been fully and
accurately completed. Awards will be paid in a single instalment by bank transfer
5.
Checking the forms
There are two application forms – one for UNDERGRADUATES (BA, MSci,
matriculated BTh, affiliated students, PGCE, Part III Maths, MEng, and clinical
medics and vets), and one for GRADUATES (PhD, MPhil, MLitt, MSc, LLM; students
taking a 0.5 MSt or MEd).
For a centrally administered system to operate efficiently and effectively, Tutors must
check and verify the information given on the forms before they are forwarded to the
Academic Division. It is important that Colleges take responsibility for their own
forms, and can guarantee that the details shown on forms are, to the best of their
knowledge, correct and give an accurate picture of the applicant's financial position.
In order to satisfy audit requirements, once they have been completed and signed by
both the student and Tutor, all forms should be stamped with the College stamp.
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6.
How grants will be assessed
Applications will be treated either as a ‘standard’ or a ‘non-standard’ claim; the
assessment process is designed to identify students who have particular financial
needs and those who are in unforeseen financial difficulty, respectively. The overall
objective, as previously defined by BIS, is that most of the available funding should
be directed towards students with a low income and those who have exceptionally
high course-related costs.
Standard Awards are those made to help with the general costs of being a student.
Standard assessments operate in a largely formulaic way, comparing level of
‘assumed income’ against level of expenditure; if the latter is higher, the student is
viewed as having an ‘additional need’. ALF administrators have discretion to
determine how much or what percentage of this additional need can be met in the
light of the needs of other students and of the ALF budget at their disposal. Grants
will be paid only to applicants who show a net annual deficit, at a percentage of that
deficit. The percentage of deficit awarded ranges, typically, from 50%-80%, with
university priority groups receiving the highest levels of support.
Assessment calculations are based on the number of weeks the student applying will
be in residence. Under the assessment process, standardised rates are adopted for
(a) ‘Assumed Income’ and (b) general expenditure (termed ‘Composite Living Costs’
- covers food, clothes, utilities, entertainment, etc.). In 2015/6, we will adopt the rates
set by the Cambridge/Graduate Admissions Offices’ minimum Financial Undertaking.
The University expects students to supplement their income through, for example,
vacation/part-time work, savings, bank loans or overdrafts, family contributions, etc.
Non-Standard Awards are assessed on an individual basis and are typically made
to students who face exceptional costs, unforeseen or unforeseeable financial
hardship, or emergency situations. Students who are about to withdraw from HE for
financial reasons can also be assessed on this basis, especially where they do not
show additional need under the standard assessment process. Institutions are
expected to award the minimum amount required to allow the student to continue
their course.
In addition, expenditure not fully met through Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs)
or other statutory support can be considered. This includes, for example, the cost of
a diagnostic assessment for Dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties (SpLDs),
provided that the assessment is undertaken by an Educational Psychologist
approved by the Disability Resource Centre. Applications will, however, be subject to
means testing, in accordance with previous BIS guidelines; these allow institutions
the discretion to carry out an income assessment in order to establish that a student
is facing financial hardship, prior to making an award. The Committee is also willing
to consider requests for one-off grants from the ALF to assist, for instance, with the
purchase of special equipment for a student with a disability.
Applications for non-standard awards will be assessed on an individual basis. Space
has been allowed at the end of each form for students and/or Tutors to give details if
the application is non-standard. It is essential that students whose circumstances do
not fit into the format of the form give a clear explanation of their financial position, as
it may be necessary for a special assessment to be made. However, it should be
appreciated that a central scheme is bound to be operated largely by formula, and
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that any significant number of special cases would make such a scheme difficult to
run. Therefore, Tutors are asked to comment only when the circumstances of the
student warrant it. Comments on the academic quality of the student would not be
appropriate. Any especially difficult cases may be referred to the Committee for
assessment.
7. Assessment Procedure
The following assessment criteria will apply for all applications.
(a) Residence
Institutions are expected to use, as another element of standardisation, targeted
Periods of Assessment. The period of assessment is the number of weeks over
which students’ income and expenditure should be assessed and this varies
between student cohorts. The period of assessment for undergraduates without
dependants, for example, is normalised at 30 weeks (i.e. the full academical year
excluding the vacations) with regard to the determination of income levels and of
expenditure on composite living costs, but not with regard to variable expenditure
which depends on actual weeks of residence; for students with dependants, and
those unable to work, the period is 43 weeks (in line with benefits guidance),
whereas for Graduate Students the assessment is taken over the actual number of
weeks of study.
Standard periods of residence
Standard figures for periods of term time residence will be decided by reference to
the course as follows:
30 weeks for undergraduates / affiliated students / MSci / BTh / MEng / Maths
Part III
52 weeks for clinical medical students and Cambridge Graduate Course in
Medicine
30 weeks for clinical veterinary students
PGCE students, and students on other courses as appropriate, are asked to specify
their period of residence, as this is variable.
Research Students should state the number of weeks they expect to be in
residence during the academical year. A small number are expected to claim for 39
or 52 weeks, but it may be significantly less (e.g. 13, 20 or 26 weeks) for research
students about to finish their thesis and who therefore expect to submit part way
through the year, or for students who will be away on fieldwork. Other Graduate
Students (i.e. those taking diploma or MPhil courses) should state how many weeks
they expect to be in residence (usually the length of their course).
Graduate Students in their 4th year research or beyond
The Committee on the Access to Learning Fund believes that the Fund should
assist, where possible, students who are in their fourth year of research: research
councils pay particular attention to submission rates and, although the PhD is a three
year course, it is widely acknowledged that many research students take slightly
longer than this to complete. There is some evidence that research students who are
unable, for financial reasons, to remain in residence after three years take longer to
submit. Research students in their tenth, eleventh and twelfth term of research will in
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general be assessed on the basis of the notional postgraduate income (NPI), the
rate of assumed income previously set by the BIS of £8,840 p/a (note: this is lower
than the GAO Financial Undertaking figure that would have been used during years
1 to 3 of the Phd). Their income is expected to be derived from a number of sources
(e.g. income from supervising, or grants from their Department/College, loans, etc.).
They should complete the standard Graduate application form in the usual way.
From 2004/05, the Committee on the Access to Learning Fund decided to introduce
closer scrutiny and consideration of applications from students their 10th term of
research or beyond, so that the funds may be applied more stringently and
effectively. In particular, more information about the applicant’s funding and
registration histories, together with a realistic estimate of the time needed to
complete their course, is requested. In such cases, additional certification from the
student’s Supervisor (or Head of Department) is required; the Supervisor is asked to
comment on the reason for the over-run, the expected date of submission, and the
availability of departmental funds to support the student (especially where the overrun is due to circumstances beyond the applicant’s control – such as the
refurbishment of facilities, non-availability of resources or equipment, etc.)
Students must not claim beyond the end of their course and research students
must not claim after they have submitted their thesis.
Short Vacation claims
Students who wish to apply for additional support for the short vacations should
complete the relevant sections on the undergraduate form. Rent and/or subsistence
out of term will be treated as an additional expenditure. An application for assistance
must include an explanation of the applicant's special circumstances and of any
income she/he expects to earn to support her/him self over the vacation. Tutors
should note that in general students are expected to be supported by their parents or
from other sources during vacations. Students may claim for up to 5 weeks for each
short vacation.
Claims for support during the short vacations will not automatically be accepted.
Students may claim, for example, if they need to pay rent in Cambridge to retain a
property in the short vacations, or if they have nowhere else to go. They may only
make a claim for living costs if they have to support themselves fully in the vacations.
Claims for subsistence based solely on a failure to obtain a job, will not be met.
Some support may be available if the applicant is unable to work in vacations
because there is clear evidence that their academic workload is abnormally and
exceptionally high, where they are 'repeating elements' of their course, or where
moreover there is a high risk of failure in examinations (and the student is danger of
leaving HE as a result). Any such claims must be clearly supported by the applicant's
Tutor, and full details given of why support is needed.
Some students 'elect' to stay in residence, and so incur extra costs, on the basis
that, for instance, they wish to concentrate on academic work (rather than take paid
employment, as the universityexpects), and hence improve their degree
performance, or need access to facilities, etc. This does not quite accord with the
previously defined BIS directives, which indicate that students should be supported
in short vacations largely in the circumstances outlined above; in general such
applicants cannot be supported from the Fund and they will need to access other
funding available in colleges and departments, as appropriate.
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Veterinary students on Extra-Mural Studies/Seeing Practice, or students on teaching
practice, undertaking directed reading or vacation courses, should also consult their
department or College about applying for a vacation study grant or similar support for
required elements of their course. Students eligible to apply for such support are not
ordinarily expected to apply for support from the ALF. Any support available from
departments, etc. must be declared.
Summer Vacation (Long Vacation) 2016
In accordance with previous BIS recommendations, a small amount of the ALF
allocation will be set aside at the beginning of the year to provide support for
undergraduates in their non-final year who anticipate severe financial hardship over
the summer vacation 2016.
Priority will be given to the following: students with children; students who are ill or
with a disability and are therefore unable to undertake work, and other benefits are
not available; care leavers; students from Foyers, or who are homeless; students
who have no alternative substantial means of support in circumstances where the
ALF Administrators are satisfied that they are unable to secure alternative funding;
students who are required to re-sit examinations or re-take elements of their course.
As funds for this purpose will be limited, it will only be possible to make grants to
students who can demonstrate exceptional and identifiable financial hardship. Full
and comprehensive details of the reason for the claim should be given, together with
tutorial support and relevant evidence of income and expenditure. Early application,
in the Easter Term, is advised. For those previously assessed over 30 weeks, the
summer period of assessment will be a maximum of 12 weeks).
There is a separate section on the undergraduate application form for claiming
summer vacation support. Applications for summer vacation support should normally
be submitted NO EARLIER than 14 April 2016.
(b) Income
Assumed income: undergraduates
In arriving at the level of income that is assessed, the ALF Administrator looks at the
combination of statutory, institutional, household and personal support available to
the student. The applicant’s full student support entitlement will be taken into account
and should be stated; this includes statutory support (Maintenance Grant/ Special
Support Grant, HE Grant, Maintenance Loan, and equivalent awards for students
from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), institutional grants or bursaries (such as
the Cambridge Bursary Scheme and college awards), together with any additional
support, such as the teacher training bursaries, NHS bursaries, etc. The student’s
own income and expenditure will be assessed, along with that of any partner/spouse
(including civil partner) living with them, where applicable. Applicants should note,
however, that income from certain sources (for instance statutory funding awarded
on low income grounds) will be disregarded in whole or in part, according to the
previous defined BIS directives; this ensures that students who need extra support
are not penalised when applying to the Fund.
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In the treatment of income, institutions are required by the BIS to adopt an ‘assumed
income’ figure in the assessment of undergraduates. The assumed income rates
are: £1,796 for non-final years; £599 for final year. It is expected that students will be
able to supplement their income from a variety of routes, for example, vacation work,
bank overdrafts, savings or additional parental support where appropriate; the
assessment uses an assumed income figure to cover these elements of income
rather than taking into account actual income. The exceptions to this are students
with dependants or those incapable of work due to ill health/disability.
Assumed income: Graduate Students
Graduate Students must be able to demonstrate that they made realistic financial
provision to fund their course of study (i.e. to cover tuition fees, course costs, and
living costs); students in general are thus expected to have funds available for their
course as guaranteed on any Financial Undertaking Form submitted to the
University. Where students have not made realistic provision, a payment from the
Fund may not be appropriate. The Fund should not be expected to provide help with
core living costs and administrators are hence required to assume a Notional
Postgraduate Income (NPI) as set by the Graduate Admissions Office as a
condition of admission (£12, 250 for 2015/6). It is assumed that such income will be
derived from a number of sources – e.g. grants/scholarships, earnings, partner’s
earnings, savings, loans (e.g. Professional & Career Development Loan), overdraft
facilities, etc. Students who have been in receipt of a research council maintenance
stipend or studentship are expected to have made some provision from their
studentships for any costs incurred through over-running. In essence, the ALF is
intended as a safety net for students in financial difficulty rather than their main
source of support.
Income over and above the NPI from whatever source, including from Research
Council grants, career development loans, or other such sponsorship received, is
included in the assessment. This includes, where appropriate, income from tax
credits and Social Security benefits, but excludes the Disabled Students’
Allowances. Any partner/spouse’s net income is counted in full (the partner’s
essential expenditure is included in full to balance this). Any income received for the
purpose of paying for tuition fees is disregarded in full. (For example, a student is in
receipt of a career development loan for £8,000, £3,000 of which is for tuition fees.
Therefore only the remaining £5,000 should be counted as income.)
Undergraduate Maintenance Loan (for living costs)
Before submitting an application, full-time students must have applied for their full
entitlement of student Maintenance Loan and have received the first instalment
before receiving any payment from the Fund; this will be determined from the
payment schedule letter issued by SFE. Applicants are furthermore expected to have
applied for all other statutory and institutional grants, loans and bursaries (including
access bursaries for those on low incomes) to which they are entitled before
applying for help from the Fund. NB: money from the ALF is paid on top of the
standard student finance package; it is not meant as a substitute for it. Usually,
students should apply after the start of their course when they know how much
standard student finance they will get.
Grants will not be made to students who are eligible to apply for a Maintenance Loan
(all students using the undergraduate form with the exception of affiliated students)
but who have NOT taken one out. No exceptions can be made and the Government
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has highlighted the fact that student loans do not carry interest, in the commercial
sense, but are merely adjusted to the rate of inflation. The maximum Maintenance
Loan is therefore included as income in the assessment for all eligible students.
Muslim students
The ALF Guidance as previously defined by BIS, acknowledges that the requirement
for applicants to have taken out their full entitlement of Maintenance Loan in order to
be able to apply to the Fund may be a concern, due to particular religious beliefs, for
some Muslim students but the Department did not change its policy on this issue.
In dealing with a student applying under these circumstances, an ALF assessment
may still be made but it will be assumed that the student has financial support
equivalent to the student maintenance loan when it comes to calculating whether the
applicant has an 'additional need' (i.e. deficit of income over expenditure). It should
be noted that ALF cannot be used to replace a deficit resulting from a decision not to
take out a student loan.
Students who choose not to take out a maintenance loan should be made aware that
this decision has a knock-on effect in terms of other funding, such as the ALF, where
the terms and conditions require students to have applied for their full statutory
entitlements. (NB: Any full-time students who have an entitlement to claim benefits
will have the student loan taken into account as income whether they take one out or
not.)
Parental/household contribution
The expected ’household’ contribution to the applicant’s income will be assumed at
the level set out in the SFE/LA assessment, the underlying principle being the ability,
rather than willingness, to contribute. If the applicant’s parents/family have refused to
complete a financial assessment form, or there is evidence of special circumstances
such as relationship breakdown or estrangement and the applicant is therefore only
able to take out the non means-tested element of the loan, the student may still be
eligible for ALF but further information may be required, and the applicant is likely to
be asked first to seek re-assessment by the SFE/LA. Reasons for any claim must be
clearly stated, and Tutors are asked to verify that the claim is legitimate. Students
who find themselves in financial hardship because their parents are no longer able to
meet the cost of the household contribution due to a drop in income (of 15% or
more) should apply to SFE for a reassessment.
University and College fees
The Fund cannot be used to meet the costs of tuition fees.
State benefits (all students)
Students should declare any income received through state benefits, i.e. Disability
Allowance, Income Support and Housing Benefit, Child Benefit, Tax Credits, Pension
Credit, etc. Applicants should note, however, that certain benefits are disregarded, in
whole or in part, in the financial assessment, according to the previous BIS
directives. Students should be encouraged to seek advice on their eligibility for state
benefits. In particular, students with disabilities or with dependent children may be
entitled to housing benefit and/or income support. The CUSU Student Advice
Serivce (telephone (3)33313) is able to offer advice on such matters. Students will
wish to be advised, however, that payments from the ALF may affect their
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entitlement to Social Security benefits, particularly income support, housing benefit,
family credit and certain payments from the Social Fund.
Household/Parental Support (all students)
All students (undergraduate & graduate) should include details of any support they
receive towards maintenance from their parents, guardians or other family. Parental
contribution towards fees should not be included. In the case of undergraduates, the
parental/household contribution as assessed by SFE should be shown separately on
the form in the appropriate section.
Students with partners
Both the student’s own income and expenditure along with that of their partner
(including civil partner) or spouse, where applicable, will be taken into account. A
partner’s net earnings and other income should be stated in full (and the partner’s
essential expenditure should also be included in full on the application form). If a
student is no longer living with their partner as ‘husband’ and ‘wife’, the student is
expected to seek re-assessment by SFE. Similarly, the student may need to be
assessed for ALF entitlement on the basis of single person living costs and no
income from a partner.
Capital, savings and other sources of income (all students)
All students should declare any other income they receive from whatever source,
including for example from investments or sub-letting. Graduate Students should
include an estimate for the academic year of income expected from supervisions and
any part-time employment.
(c) Expenditure
Living costs
There are two forms of standardised expenditure allowance: Composite Living Costs
(CLCs); and, variable expenditure. The university has determined a fixed amount, in
line with the Department of Work and Pension rates, for the composite living cost,
which is to be used in all assessments; the CLC is designed to ensure that
applicants are assessed equitably, regardless of which institution they attend and
regardless of individual lifestyle choices. The CLC covers basic costs such as food,
household bills, clothing, entertainment, etc. The following table gives an illustration
of amounts to be used in ALF assessments:Student Profile
Single student
Based on DWP applicable
amount
(Assuming no disability in
family)
£ per
£ per year
week
£242 £12,584 (52 weeks)
Single student with child
Student with partner
£322
£376
£16,744 (52 weeks)
£19,552 (52 weeks)
Student with partner and 1 child
Every Additional child (both single or
with partner)
£456
£80
£23,712 (52 weeks)
£4,160 (52 weeks)
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Variable expenditure is assessed for rent, travel, course costs, childcare, local and
other exceptional costs; institutions have some discretion to use either actual or
capped costs in this part of the assessment. An additional £318 per annum is
allowed in standard assessments to cover basic course expenditure, in line with BIS
recommendations.
Rent
Students should show their weekly rent or its equivalent. Students who have paid
different rents at different times of the year (usually because they have moved part
way through the year) should clearly show this.
The maximum rent figure that can normally be claimed is £150 per week and most
students will only be permitted to claim for rent up to this figure. Any claim for rent
greater than £150 per week will need to be justified, and an exception will only be
made if the student can make a special case for having to rent expensive
accommodation. However, claims for rents higher than £150 from applicants in the
priority groups for support (students with dependent children, with disabilities,
mature undergraduates, those entering HE from care or who are homeless) will be
considered.
Students who are one of a couple where their partner is dependent (i.e. has no
separate income) and who have an allowance for the partner in their student grant,
may be allowed an additional subsistence allowance for their partner. The full rent
on the couple's home may be included in the student's application. Students should
include a note of explanation as part of their application. Students should be aware
that their non-student partners may be able to claim Housing Benefit and/or Income
Support.
Mortgages
Students paying a mortgage rather than rent may be made an expenditure allowance
according to their circumstances up to the following maxima, which may be varied at
the administrator's discretion:
Single or couple with no children
Single or couple with one child
Single or couple with two or more children
£75 per week
£100 per week
£125 per week
Further allowances are made for disabled children. It is assumed that students with
dependent children will have applied for all forms of statutory support, benefits,
allowances, and other means of financial support for their child-related costs to
which they are entitled; all sources of income must be stated on the form.
Undergraduate parents are eligible for two statutory grants: the Childcare Grant,
which will meet up to 85% of their actual childcare costs in both term time and
vacations; the Parents’ Learning Allowance (PLA) to meet their course-related costs.
Students with dependent children may also be eligible for Child Tax Credit from the
Inland Revenue.
Graduate Students with children who are funded by research councils and similar
bodies are expected to apply for any young dependant's allowance, if available, and
other relevant additional benefits and allowances to which they are entitled.
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Childcare costs
Students with dependent children are a priority group for support from the ALF. The
Fund can provide financial assistance with formal childcare costs (childcare that is
‘registered’ or ‘approved’ by an appropriate regulatory body, e.g. OFSTED) and/or
informal childcare costs (subject to previously defined BIS directives on informal
childcare) that are not met by statutory or other funding. Applicants who wish to
claim for the costs of childcare must provide evidence of the actual costs incurred
(e.g. copies of recent receipts/statements, or contract with childcare provider).
Students should approach th University Childcare Office in the first instance to apply
for a Childcare bursary.
If the applicant has children living with a former partner, they may claim for costs
associated with visits/weekend or holiday care, depending on level of contact/care.
Full details should be supplied.
Other Additional Expenditure
Exceptional travel costs home
Students will be allowed to claim travel costs in excess of £200 per annum, up to a
maximum of £350, for travel between Cambridge and their permanent (UK/EU)
home each term. Students should specify their destination, the cost per trip, and the
number of trips they expect to make (no more than three return trips will normally be
allowed).
Students should not claim for travel costs associated with repeated visits home to
see, for example, a spouse or a relative, or travel costs incurred with respect to job
interviews. The Committee consider that subsidy of such expenditure is not a
legitimate use of the ALF, and that College hardship funds would be a more
appropriate source of support.
Special equipment allowance
An additional expenditure allowance of up to £355 for special equipment may be
claimed by Architecture students, clinical Medics and Vets, or those on comparable
courses. Students should not claim for expenditure on books as an element has
been included in the weekly subsistence and other allowances.
Up-keep of a car
Students may claim additional expenditure of £550 towards the up-keep of a car if
they can show that this is strictly necessary for medical reasons, or if they have
children, or if it is necessary for their own travel during clinical attachments for the
Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine or similar courses.
Short periods away
Veterinary students eligible to apply for statutory financial support are in general not
expected to claim for periods of Seeing Practice or Extra-Mural Studies (EMS), etc.
They should consult their Department or College about applying for a grant from the
Vacation Studies Fund or similar schemes that support these required elements of
their course; they are also expected to have applied to SFE for any Long Course
Loan to which they are entitled. Any financial support from departments, etc. must be
declared. Self-funding students (that is, those not eligible to apply for SFE support)
who are not eligible to apply for assistance from the Vacation Studies Fund or similar
funds may make a claim for seeing practice as part of their main application for the
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ALF; each case will be considered on its merits. (See also ‘Short Vacation claims’,
above.)
PGCE students may claim for subsistence and rent for periods spent on teaching
practice, but would not normally be expected to also claim for rent in Cambridge.
Second or family home
In general, students should not claim for rent/mortgage paid on a second home
retained for vacation use. Mature students, or students with families not with them in
Cambridge, may make a special case for exceptional assistance with the cost of
running a second home, but this must have the support of their Tutor. It is essential
that full details are given in support of claims of this type.
Part-time students
Students undertaking part-time research and taught Masters degrees (Ph.D., etc.)
are eligible to apply. However, the ALF is not expected to meet the core living costs
of part-time students; it is expected that part-time research students will request
assistance mainly for additional course-related costs (such as childcare, travel), as
they are likely to have other sources of income, such as earnings from employment
or state benefits. Part-time assessments will be made on an individual basis, and in
accordance with the BIS directives.
(d) Self-funding students
With the limited allocation available, the Committee can only hope to assist selffunding students who are already in residence and whose circumstances have
changed unexpectedly and unforeseeably for the worse since they were admitted,
and who are as a result experiencing severe and exceptional hardship. Colleges
should not encourage students to assume that they will receive a grant from the
Access to Learning Fund to enable them to come to Cambridge, and must not
accept any financial guarantee for admission which includes such funding.
Full details about the financial circumstances of self-funding students (self-funding
undergraduates are taken to be students who are not eligible for public or other
statutory funding) must be supplied, and Tutors are asked to verify that the
information given presents a complete and accurate picture of the student's financial
position.
Self-funding students whose circumstances have not changed since they gave their
financial guarantee for admission will be assessed purely on their housing and living
costs. It will be assumed that they have funds sufficient to pay their University and
College fees, and to cover subsistence at least at the minimum level required by the
Graduate Admissions Office, or at the standard basic maintenance allowance for
undergraduate students, as appropriate.
Self-funding students who are claiming that their circumstances have unexpectedly
and unforeseeably changed since they gave their financial guarantee for
admission should give full details and clearly show the change from their original
financial guarantee (which must have been sufficient to cover fees and
maintenance). In all cases it should be clear from the application how the student
expected to finance their studies when they gave their financial guarantee for
admission, and how their financial position has changed.
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(e) Students on a year abroad
Applications to the ALF will in general not be accepted from undergraduates who are
on a year abroad during 2015/16. Tutors are advised to contact the relevant Faculty
or Department for advice about hardship funds available through the Faculty.
(f) Queries concerning assessments
As ALF grants will in general be assessed by an income/expenditure formula, or
according to other guidelines previously defined by BIS, there should be few grounds
for ‘appeal’. If an applicant is dissatisfied with the outcome of their application and
believe that there has been a miscalculation or misunderstanding of the figures
provided, they should initially discuss the matter with their Tutor before contacting
the ALF Administrator.
Errors due to mis-recording or a misunderstanding of information will be corrected
and a re-assessment made. Queries should take the form of a detailed case by the
student, together with a supporting letter from the student's Tutor, and should be
submitted in writing within four weeks of receipt of notification of the outcome of an
application. The ALF Administrator will seek to resolve cases of disagreement
through discussion with college tutorial staff, and if necessary through consultation
with the Chairman or other senior members of the Committee on the Access to
Learning Fund, whose decision shall be final.
Sally-Ann Gannon
Secretary, Committee on the Access to Learning Fund
Student Registry
Academic Division
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