This guide is aimed at helping students understand the Dennis Turner Opportunity Fund
(DTOF), and particularly seeks to explain how we are asked by the Government to assess applications. For general help on how to complete the form please read this guide.
The Dennis Turner Fund is money distributed each year by the University to those students experiencing genuine financial hardship. The Fund cannot provide the main financial support for your studies, as you will be expected to have explored all means of financial help before applying . However, awards do not have to be repaid and can contribute to meeting the costs of childcare, accommodation, books and equipment, a disability, travel and utilities.
Essentially we are only able to help home students, we are unable to help international students and non-home students, even if they are paying the home-rate of tuition fees or are eligible for tuition fee support.
Students studying Equivalent or Lower Qualifications need to ensure they have made realistic provision to cover both tuition fees and living costs. The Fund cannot be expected to compensate for any lack of sponsorship and/or statutory support.
Continuing part-time students must be fully enrolled on an undergraduate or postgraduate course at the University of Wolverhampton in 2015-16. They must be studying a minimum of 50% of a full-time course (60 credits). Disabled students, who study less than 50% because of their disability, may also apply if they study at least 25% of a full-time course.
Any continuing part-time undergraduate student who qualifies for the maximum grant and fee support relevant to the intensity of their course in 2015-16, but whose fee exceeds the maximum fee support available, can apply to the Fund for assistance towards the difference between the statutory support available and the actual fee charged by the University. Students must provide evidence of income in support of their application to AFSS such as wage slips, P60, confirmation of benefits, such as a letter from DWP.
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NB . Please note that before applying for AFSS continuing part-time undergraduates studying 50% or more should apply for fee support by completing a PTG1 form which can be downloaded from www.gov.uk/studentfinance .
The university part time fees exemption scheme is for continuing part-time students studying up to 50% of a full time course.
New part-time undergraduate and postgraduate students, with no previous university study, who are commencing their studies from September 2012, must be studying at least 25% of the full time course equivalent. Undergraduates can apply for the tuition fee loan which covers the full cost of the fees being charged by the University. There is no assistance towards living costs as students are expected to work alongside their studies or claim benefits. To apply for the tuition fee loan go to: www.gov.uk/studentfinance .
Students with dyslexia may apply for help towards the cost of a diagnostic test through the Fund. The University Student Enabling Centre must confirm the test is recommended, and if you only require the cost of the test, we will not insist you have taken out a loan.
If you require help with the cost of a test and you are experiencing financial hardship, we can consider you for a further award from the fund, but you must complete the form fully and provide ALL supporting documentation. (For a full assessment to be carried out students must have taken up all statutory funding)
When we allocate awards, we are asked to give priority to the following groups :

Students with children (especially lone parents)

Disabled students (especially where DSA is unable to meet particular costs)

Mature students, especially those with existing financial commitments

Students who have entered higher education from care for the period of time spanning their 16 th birthday

Students from Foyers or who are homeless/estranged students

Students from low income families

Students receiving the final year loan rate and are in financial difficulty.
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.
The Fund Panel will consider assisting full-time undergraduate students with their formal childcare costs. Where students are in receipt of the Childcare Grant we will consider offering assistance towards the remaining shortfall. Students will be expected to provide official receipts as proof of childcare costs. If a student has a partner who is working, their income will be taken into account and this may affect any possible award.
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In order to consider making any of the above awards certain other eligibility criteria may apply. Please note that funds are limited so we cannot guarantee all applications will be successful. To apply for the above you must complete an application form and provide all evidence.
The application forms for 2015-16 are available online through e:Vision where there will be a facility for you to upload your evidence. If you have problems with the online process forms will also be available from Funding and International Support, ground floor
MX building, City Campus, or Here to Help, WA Building, Walsall Campus, and the
Students’ Union Advice and Support Centre in MD.
If you are unable to scan in evidence you may send it in to Funding and International
Support. We cannot return any original documents so please ensure you provide us with photocopies of any documents you need to keep for personal use, i.e tenancy agreements, Tax Credit Notifications. Please mark your envelope Dennis Turner
Opportunity Fund, ‘Private and Confidential’. Our full contact details are printed on the back page of this guide. Application forms will be processed within four working weeks of receipt of ALL evidence. If additional information is required it may take longer to give you a decision. We will contact you via the email address held on your student record so please check regularly!
Closing date for Dennis Turner Opportunity Fund is 29 April 2016
If resources permit, we may be able to help continuing students from the Fund over the summer period (2016). Details will be publicised before the end of the academic year.
In accordance with Government criteria, we will assess income for single students over the academic year , i.e. a 39-week period .
We will assess income for students with dependants or those unable to work due to ill health/disability over 43 weeks as this group of students may be entitled to state benefits and we need to be consistent with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) who assess student income over a 43-week period. Assessments for this group are however commuted to 39 weeks when in their final year.
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Any ‘additional need’ is payable over the period of assessment, i.e. 39, 43 or 52 weeks.
Awards can be backdated and are intended t o cover an applicant’s shortfall for their full current academic year. Support for the summer vacation will be considered separately.
When deciding whether we can make an award, we will consider both your income and your essential expenditure to assess your shortfall. Due to a substantial reduction in funds this year, there is no guarantee we will be able to match your shortfall in full, and we will only be able to award a percentage of the annual deficit.
Large payments will be paid in up to four instalments, with checks being made that you are still in attendance on your course before payments are released. Where the award has been linked to debt, you will need to demonstrate that you have sought debt management advice from a licensed Money Adviser in the Advice and Support Centre in the Students’
Union, or Citizens’ Advice Bureau. Where a debt has been included in the calculation, the Panel will not consider that same debt in any subsequent applications.
Before applying to the Fund, you are expected to have explored all avenues of financial help to maximise your income. For example if you are eligible to take out a student loan but choose not to, you are not eligible to receive help from the Fund.
Postgraduate students will be expected to show that they can pay their tuition fees and have made reasonable provision to cover their living costs throughout their course. For postgraduate students we will apply a weekly Notional Postgraduate Income (NPI) of
£174 for those without children and £140 for those with.
Most students will be able to supplement their income from other sources. Therefore to treat all applications fairly, if you are a full-time student, we do not look at actual earnings from part-time work but apply an ‘assumed income ’ figure, according to your circumstances.
For non-final year, undergraduate students we will as sume an income of £45 per week.
For final year students this figure is r educed to £15.
Assumed levels of income are not applied to full-time undergraduate students who cannot work because they have children to look after, have full-time caring responsibilities or because of their disability.
For part-time post and undergraduate students, we count actual income from earnings and benefits and do not use an assumed level of income.
Income from some state benefits will be disregarded. For example, if you or your partner receives non-means tested benefits that relate to specific circumstances such as
Child Benefit or Disability Living Allowance, we will disregard them.
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Composite Living Costs
To ensure consistency, we apply a standard composite figure for living costs for all students to cover basic expenditure on food, household bills, clothing and social costs.
The standard amounts are:
 Single students £80 per week
 Student with Partner £130 per week
 £70 per child (first two only)
These are adjusted according to household status, i.e. if you are single, a couple or have dependants.
Housing costs
We also apply capped and fixed amounts relating to housing, transport and study costs.
The Fund is a ‘hardship fund’ and a limited resource, therefore we can only consider expenditure on essential items . We cannot, for example, reward lifestyle choices or subsidise excessive spending and payments on satellite TV subscriptions, gym membership and entertainment activities. The running of a car instead of using public transport must be justified unless you have children, a disability or caring commitments.
Close examination will be given to your outstanding payments or debts. We have to distinguish between priority and non-priority debts, where a priority debt is one where
‘non-payment would give the creditor the right to deprive the debtor of her/his home, liberty, essential goods or servic es’ (The Debt Advice Handbook, by the Child Poverty
Action Group, 4th ed, p.116). Secured loans, rent arrears, council tax, gas and electricity charges are examples of a priority debt. The Fund will consider priority debts but will not assist with personal/car loans or ongoing credit/store card repayments that reflect nonpriority lifestyle choices. I f you are facing a financial ‘emergency’ or there are special circumstances attached to your application, we will look at this on an individual basis.
In addi tion to your income and expenditure details, we will also need your partner’s, and if you have children, costs relating to them. For example the food total for the household is likely to be higher for a student with children than for a single student. Please also include evidence of any additional financial responsibilities as a result of a disability or caring for adults.
Decisions regarding support are taken on a year-on-year basis, with no guarantee in future years. The criteria and procedures adopted may be modified at short notice to reflect funds available.
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If you are entitled to claim State Benefits, you are advised that payments from the Fund may affect your benefit payments.
Any payment from the Fund that is for course-related costs, such as childcare, will be fully disregarded for means-tested benefit purposes. An award paid in instalments for these costs will also not affect such benefits. If your award is paid to you in one instalment it will be treated as capital, but note that as the capital limit is now between
£6,000 and £16,000, any award from the Fund should not affect your claim. Where payments are for everyday living costs, such as rent, food, utilities or clothing and are paid in instalments they w ill be taken into account for benefit purposes, with a £20 per week disregard (this may overlap with other disregards on your loan income, hence please note that a combined maximum disregard of £20 is allowed).
For students eligible for State Benefits, a letter is available from Funding and
International Support to present to your Job Centre Plus/Housing Benefit Office. This will detail what the Fund payment was for and how it was paid.
Awards made from the Fund are intended to cover the full academic year 2015-16. It should therefore not be necessary to apply to the Fund again unless your circumstances change. However if you do experience a significant reduction in income or increase in expenditure, do not complete a new application form , simply email us at
Money@wlv.ac.uk. You will need to supply relevant supporting evidence and information.
If you are suspending your studies and not attending your course due to illness, bereavement, family illness, caring responsibilities or pregnancy but have not permanently withdrawn from your studies and intend to return after your time out, you can still apply for help from the Fund. If you withdraw from your course of study after having been awarded a grant from the hardship fund, you must inform us immediately.
You may be asked to repay any outstanding award.
We hope this leaflet has helped explain the criteria the Government ask us to use to assess your application to the Fund. However if you disagree with the decision and believe we have made an error in your assessment, you may appeal in writing within
14 days to the Chair of the Dennis Turner Opportunity Fund, who can be contacted through Funding and International Support. Please explain clearly why you disagree with the decision and note that the appeal may result in the award remaining unchanged.
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The team is made up of the following members:
Jackie Nolan –Fund Co-ordinator
Tel: 01902 322425; E-mail: J.Nolan2@wlv.ac.uk
Manjit Sangha
–Fund Assessing Officer
Tel: 01902 322295: E-mail: M.Sangha2@wlv.ac.uk
Meena Verma –Fund Administrator
Tel: 01902 322048; E-mail: M.Verma@wlv.ac.uk
Laura Powick
– Information Officer
Tel: 01902 321070; E-mail L.Powick@wlv.ac.uk
Balvinder Chodda –Fund Administrator
Tel: 01902 322063; E-mail: B.Chodda@wlv.ac.uk
We are based on the ground floor of the MX building, our address is:
Funding and International Support
Ground Floor, MX
Camp Street
University of Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
WV1 1AD
T : 01902 32 1070
E : Money@wlv.ac.uk
We can give information on a wide range of money matters, or visit our website at www.wlv.ac.uk/fund for helpful information and application forms for the Dennis Turner
Opportunity Fund.
The Gateway - offering support to prospective students through face-to-face appointments, telephone and/or online facilities
Tel: 01902 321032
Email: gateway@wlv.ac.uk
Web: www.wlv.ac.uk/gateway
Advice & Support Centre
Students’ Union
City Campus
Tel: 01902 322038
E-mail: advice@wolvesunion.org
Web: www.wolvesunion.org.uk
Citizens Advice Bureau
Find your nearest office by visiting: www.citizensadvice.org.uk
National Debtline www.nationaldebtline.co.uk
Consumer Credit Counselling Service www.cccs.co.uk
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