Guide to The University Hardship Fund
&
Application Guidance Notes
For Full-time Undergraduate Students
What is it for?
Edge Hill University has put aside money, called the University Hardship
Fund, to enable Student Services to support students who need extra
financial support. Awards are made to those students who have higher
than expected costs (such as single parents) or to those students who
have a sudden financial emergency (for example a burglary) or those
facing serious financial problems during their course. The Fund can be
used for course-related costs such as childcare, books/equipment, travel
or general living costs such as rent. If you qualify for a payment from the
Fund it will not usually have to be repaid.
If you think you might need to apply to the Fund for support, then it is
important not to wait until you have run out of money. Advice is available
from the Student Financial Support Team based in the Student
Information Centre (based at the Ormskirk campus), by e-mail
FinancialAdviceTeam@edgehill.ac.uk or by telephoning the team on
01695 657250.
Help with Tuition Fees
The Fund cannot be used to help you pay your tuition fees. Tuition fee
support can be applied for through your student funding body.
http://www.gov.uk/studentfinance. This support is subject to previous
study rules.
September 2014
Who can apply?
You must meet certain residence requirements to qualify for help from the
Fund. The application form will give you more information about the
residence requirements. All undergraduate students who receive support
from Student Finance England/ Wales/ Northern Ireland are eligible to
apply. Overseas students can apply to the Fund, but please be aware
that that support is limited and would only be offered in exceptional
circumstances.
The Fund is intended to assist any eligible student who has a particular
financial need but the fund cannot cover all of the costs students may
require. Priority is given to the following groups of students when deciding
how to allocate the funding:
 Students with children (especially lone parents);
 Students with caring responsibilities.
 Disabled Students (especially where the Disabled Students’
Allowance is 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;
 Mature students, especially those with existing financial
commitments, including priority debts;
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.
Emergency Short-term loans from the Fund
If you have not received your student funding at the start of term, because
you have not yet received a financial assessment, you can apply for an
interim emergency short-term loan from the Fund. You will be expected to
repay this loan when your first instalment of student funding arrives.
Further advice is available from the Student Financial Support Team
based in the SIC, by e-mail FinancialAdviceTeam@edgehill.ac.uk or by
telephoning the team on 01695 657250. Drop-in sessions will be Monday
10am to 1pm, Tuesday 1pm to 4pm, Thursday 1pm to 4pm and Friday
10am to 1pm.
September 2014
Intercalating Students
If you are not attending your course for health reasons or because of
caring responsibilities and you have not permanently withdrawn from your
studies and you intend to return after your time out, you can apply for help
from the Fund.
Postgraduate Students
If you are a postgraduate student, you will be expected to show that you
can meet your tuition fees and that you have made realistic provision to
support yourself throughout your course before we will consider your
application to the Fund.
NHS Bursary Holders
All students in receipt of an NHS bursary can also apply to the Fund.
Students with children
If you have not yet applied for Child Tax Credits, you should do so
immediately. You can get an application form from HM Revenue &
Customs by phoning 0345 3003900 or you can download the form from
the internet www.hmrc.gov.uk/index.htm
Students entitled to claim Social Security benefits
If you are entitled to claim Social Security benefits, you are advised that
payments from the Fund may affect your benefit payments. The Fund can
offer short-term help to continuing students at the start of the academic
year (usually September) for those whose Income Support or Income
Based Job Seekers Allowance has stopped, but who cannot yet access
their student loan and supplementary grants.
How to apply
You can apply for help from the Fund at any time during the academic
year. You can also ask for your application to be reassessed during the
academic year if your circumstances change. You will need to provide
evidence to show your change in circumstances. The application form can
be downloaded from http://www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentservices/university-hardship-fund/
You can also email FinancialAdviceTeam@edgehill.ac.uk or telephone on
01695 657250 if you would like a copy mailed to you.
September 2014
How we assess your application
When deciding whether we can make a payment from the Fund, we will
look at your expected income and what we consider to be ‘reasonable’
expenditure on living costs, rent, travel and course-related costs such as
childcare. If you are facing a ‘financial emergency’ or there are special
circumstances attached to your application, we will look at this on an
individual basis.
For the purpose of an application to the Fund, some of your income will be
disregarded. If you or your partner are receiving benefits we will not take
into account any non-means tested benefits, which are for particular
circumstances, such as Child Benefit, Disability Living Allowance. We will
not take into account your actual earnings from part time work if you are a
full time student; instead we will use an “assumed income” figure. This is
a set figure the assessor will enter onto your form to reflect the income it is
assumed you could bring in through a part time job. If you cannot work
because you have caring commitments or you have a disability, we will
not use this assumed income figure when looking at your application.
How long will it take to process your application?
Depending on when you apply and your particular financial situation you
should receive a reply to your application within 4 working weeks of your
application being complete. If your application is incomplete, it could take
longer than this.
We will send you a letter explaining the decision we have made about
your application. If you do not understand this letter or you want a
breakdown of how we made our decision, please contact the Head of
Student
Financial
Support
Services
via
e-mail:
Lynndi.walsh@edgehill.ac.uk
If you want to appeal
You can appeal against the decision if you are still not satisfied. The letter
you receive about the decision will tell you how to do this.
September 2014
Application form guidance notes
It is important that supporting documentation accompanies your
application form. Applications that do not have supporting documentation
are incomplete and cannot be processed.
IF YOU ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
OR PAPERWORK FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL SUBMISSION OF
YOUR FORM, THIS MUST BE DONE WITHIN 28 DAYS, OTHERWISE A
FRESH APPLICATION MAY NEED TO BE COMPLETED AND
UPDATED BANK STATEMENTS WILL NEED TO BE PROVIDED.
Details of information required
Below is a list of documentation you may need to submit with your
completed application form. If any evidence is missing no assessment
will be made. In addition to this, you may need to submit further
documentation specific to your situation. If you have to travel back to your
parental home to care for an ill relative you should supply evidence of
coach/rail tickets. If you have any questions on what documentation you
need to provide please contact the Finance and Welfare Rights Advisers
on 01695 657250.
List of documentation that may be required:
 Student Funding notification (showing Student Loans, Grants and
Allowances, if applicable)
 NHS bursary award notification
 Tax Credits Award notification
 Birth certificates for dependant children
 Local Housing Allowance/Housing Benefit letter of entitlement
 Letter of entitlement to any other benefits received by you and/or
your partner
 Evidence of Maintenance/Child Support payments
 Last 3 wage slips for partner
 Mortgage statement/letter from mortgage company
 Tenancy agreement (if relevant a letter from parent)
 Evidence of childcare costs
 Evidence of car expenses (insurance, essential car repairs, car loan,
car tax)
 Public transport tickets for 1 return journey from your term time
address to the University
September 2014
Documentation requirements continued:
 Car Insurance certificate
 Car Insurance Schedule (showing annual premium)
 Receipts of any recent essential work done to the car for
maintenance and repair
 Car loan agreement
 Car Tax renewal notice/photocopy of tax disc
 Postcode of partner’s place of work or public transport tickets for
travel from home to place of work
 Council Tax bill
 Life Insurance/Critical Illness policies
 Buildings Insurance policy
 Evidence of repayments agreed with creditors to repay priority debts
 Last 3 months bank/building society statements for all accounts held
by you and your partner (all debit transactions over £100 and all
credit transactions, regardless of value, must be briefly explained in
writing on the statements).
How to complete the application form
Answer all questions on the application form by printing clearly in black
ink or ticking the appropriate boxes.
Part 1: Personal Details
Complete all sections
Telephone number(s) – please detail both your landline (including the
area code) and mobile number (if available).
Part 2: Course Details
Course title - please detail your full course title, for example BA English
Campus – please provide the site at which you mainly attend, for example
Ormskirk or Knowsley College.
Part 3: Personal Status/ Accommodation Details
Complete all sections.
September 2014
Part 4: Dependants’ Details
Complete this section (if relevant) giving details of any children who are
financially dependent upon you.
Part 5: Disability/Special Medical Needs
Complete this section if relevant.
Parts 6A, 6B and 7: Income & Expenditure
Complete both income and expenditure sections.
It is important that you fill in these sections as accurately as possible.
Parts 6A and 6B – Income
Maintenance Loan
Please put in the maximum loan you receive.
If eligible, you must take out a Maintenance Loan before receiving help
from The University Hardship Fund. In the case of students applying for
loans through their student funding body, you must have applied for your
full entitlement.
If your parents have refused to complete a financial assessment form and
you are therefore only able to take out the non means-tested element of
the loan, this does not make you ineligible for the Funds but further
information may be required.
Other income
Please include any other income you have (including savings) and specify
what that income is.
6B: Partner’s income
If you have a partner (who is living with you) please indicate any income
they have under section 6B. Add together your income under 6A and
your partner’s income under 6B and put this figure in the overall total box.
September 2014
Part 7: Expenditure
Please include all expenditure that you (and your partner) have. NB -your
CLC (Composite Living Cost) figure will be entered in by your assessor.
Composite Living Cost:
A Composite Living Cost figure has been determined to cover expenditure
on basic costs such as food, utility bills, clothes, home contents insurance,
TV licence, mobile phone costs, entertainment, clubs & societies which
ensures that all applicants are treated fairly regardless of where they
study and regardless of their individual lifestyle choices. The CLC figures
are fixed and are used in all standard award assessments (your assessor
will complete this section of the application for you). The Composite
Living Cost figures for the academic year will be available from September
and you may, if you wish, request a copy from a member of staff in the
Student Financial Support Team (Student Services).
Bank details
Please complete this section in full. You must submit the last three
months bank/building society statements for all accounts you hold.
Please explain any credits regardless of value and any debits over
£100 by making a note beside the figure on your statements.
Part 8: Supporting Statement
You must submit a supporting statement, succinctly explaining the
reasons for applying and what you are applying for assistance with.
Part 9: Declarations
Please tick all the relevant boxes that apply to your circumstances and
remember to sign and date your application form.
Remember:Incomplete applications will delay your request for funding
and will not be processed until all information is complete.
September 2014