ACCESS TO LEARNING FUND 2014/15 – FULL TIME STUDENT
GUIDANCE NOTES
Please read the following guidance notes before completing your application form to the Access to
Learning Fund (ALF). The guidance notes cover two sections:
SECTION 1
Explains what the fund is for, eligibility, the assessment process and what happens
next.
SECTION 2
Explains what is considered in the assessment, additional information about the
scheme and guidance if you need to make changes after submitting your application.
Please note
If you are eligible* to apply to the fund, your application will only be considered if it is fully
completed and all relevant evidence has been attached.
Your application will be delayed if:
●
●
●
You have not completed all the relevant sections
You have not included all necessary documents (photocopies are acceptable)
You have not signed and dated the form
* SECTION 1 – WHO CAN APPLY
These guidance notes and the accompanying application form are for FULL-TIME and SANDWICH
students, including full-time students who are repeating with attendance on a full-time degree.
Further guidance and information is available on the Student Financial Support webpage
www.mmu.ac.uk/studentfinance.
SECTION 1.
1.
This section will cover the purpose of the Access to Learning Fund (ALF), who is
eligible to apply and the application process.
THE PURPOSE OF THE ALF
The Access to Learning Fund is a discretionary and cash limited fund provided by the Government to
support students who experience financial difficulty whilst at university. The aim of the fund is to
provide financial assistance to those students who are experiencing financial hardship and students
who through financial difficulty are at risk of leaving university. Awards from the Access to Learning
Fund do not need to be paid back.
Whilst the Access to Learning Fund can award discretionary grant payments, there is no guarantee
that an award can be made for every application. The fund has a limited amount of money to cover
the full academic year. It should not be viewed as a reliable source of income to support your
studies.
The following groups are priority:
 Lone Parents
 Care Leavers
 Disabled Students
 Final Year Students
 Students who have financial emergencies or who have serious financial difficulties
ACCESS TO LEARNING FUND 2014/15 – FULL TIME STUDENT
If you do not fall into one of the priority groups, you can still apply to the ALF if you are
experiencing financial hardship.
Please note
The Access to Learning Fund cannot be used to meet the cost of tuition fees for full-time
students. It is expected that students eligible for a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan have
applied for the maximum amount before applying to the fund.
Postgraduate students must have made adequate provision to cover the cost of tuition fees
before starting their course.
2.
WHO CAN APPLY
All full-time and sandwich students who meet the following criteria for eligibility:

You must be a ‘Home’ student paying the home rate of tuition fees.

You must be in receipt of the maximum amount of maintenance loan and tuition fee loan
that is available to you. If you are eligible for a maintenance grant, you must be in receipt of
this.

Students in receipt of the maintenance loan are expected to have received the first
instalment of maintenance loan before applying to the ALF.

NHS Students – You must be in receipt of a means-tested bursary. If you are an NHS salaried
student, you must have applied for your student loan before you can apply to the Access to
Learning Fund.

Intercalating Students – If you have suspended your studies due to health problems, for
caring reasons, or other unavoidable circumstances, you may be eligible to apply. Please
refer to the Student Financial Support Team for further information.

Franchise Students – You may be eligible to apply to the Access to Learning Fund.

EU Students – You must be in receipt of a maintenance loan and paying the home rate of
tuition fee loan.

Postgraduate Students – You must have made adequate provision to fund your tuition fees
and living costs before embarking on your course.
Please note
If you have an outstanding Emergency Hardship Loan (from any academic year), you must repay
the debt in full before you can apply to the ALF.
If you are in receipt of benefits, you are expected to have applied for all statutory support to
which you are entitled, particularly Tax Credits and Social Security Benefits before you apply.
ACCESS TO LEARNING FUND 2014/15 – FULL TIME STUDENT
3.
WHEN CAN I APPLY
Application forms will be available on the 22nd September 2014. You can apply up until the closing
dates below. No applications can be accepted after the closing date.
Final Year and Postgraduate Students: Friday 27th March 2015
Continuing Students: Friday 15th May 2015
4.
WHERE DO I SUBMIT THE FORM
Completed application forms, together with all supporting evidence, should be sent to the Student
Financial Support Team at the following address:
Student Financial Support
Room 2.01
Business School and Student Hub
Manchester Metropolitan University
All Saints Campus
Oxford Road
Manchester M15 6BH
If you want to submit your application in person, you can submit it at the Student HUB, Front Desk, New
Business School, All Saints Campus.
Please note
If you are posting your application form, please take it to the Post Office to make sure it is weighed
and the correct postage is paid. It is your responsibility to ensure that it arrives by the closing date.
Applications received after the closing date due to an insufficient postage payment will not be
accepted.
5.
CHECKING MY APPLICATION FORM
Use the Evidence Checkpoints on the application form to make sure you have included your
supporting evidence (see example below). Remember, applications without all necessary supporting
evidence cannot be processed.
Evidence Checkpoint
 Have you provided evidence of your benefit award letters (all pages) for this year?
You will need to check that you have signed and dated your form before submitting your
application.
ACCESS TO LEARNING FUND 2014/15 – FULL TIME STUDENT
6.
TIMETABLE FOR MAKING A DECISION
Provided your application form has been accurately completed and the appropriate documentary
evidence supplied, an assessment and decision should usually be made within four working weeks
of submission (excluding bank holidays and the Christmas closure). If your application is incomplete,
the assessment will be delayed.
The volume of applications received and complexity may vary at times. If we expect a delay in
assessing your application due to this, we will notify you via your MMU student email account.
7.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Application Submitted
Application is Assessed
Decision and Outcome
STAGE 1:
The application is submitted and checked by SFS staff. If your application is
incomplete, it will be delayed at Stage 1.
STAGE 2:
The application is confirmed as complete and moved to Stage 2 for assessment. This
stage will take approximately 4 weeks to complete.
STAGE 3:
A decision is made and you are notified of the outcome by email and your
documents will be returned to you.
STAGE 1
Applications received will be checked-in by Student Financial Support staff. The application is
checked to make sure that:




The eligibility criteria has been met
Application form has been completed correctly
All relevant evidence has been included
The application form has been signed and dated
We aim to email you within five working days of submitting your application form to confirm the
status of your application. If your application is incomplete, your application will be delayed at Stage
1 and we will contact you to advise you on what is needed to progress your application onto Stage 2
for assessment.
We will use your MMU student email account if we need to contact you regarding your application;
you should check this email account on a regular basis.
STAGE 2
Once your application has been confirmed as complete your application enters Stage 2. We will
notify you via your MMU student email account to confirm the date it has entered Stage 2. We aim
to notify you of the outcome of your application within four working weeks of this date. In order
that we can ensure that all forms are assessed within four working weeks, they are assessed in strict
date order.
ACCESS TO LEARNING FUND 2014/15 – FULL TIME STUDENT
During Stage 2, an assessor may need to contact you for further information to help them complete
the assessment. Please check your student emails regularly. When Stage 2 is completed, your
application will move to Stage 3.
STAGE 3
Decisions on the outcome of your application will be notified by email to your MMU student email
address. If your application is successful, information will also be included regarding the payment of
your award.
Please note
We cannot give assessment decisions over the telephone. Please allow four working weeks, from
the date your application entered Stage 2, before contacting the Student Financial Support Team
with any queries regarding progress. If any issues or queries arise concerning your application, a
member of the team will contact you using your MMU Email address.
Stage
1
Application Incomplete
2
Awaiting Assessment
3
Decision
Timescale
Correspondence
5 working days
If your application is at Stage 1 we will
request extra evidence using your
4 working weeks
If your application is at Stage 2 and we need
further evidence we will ask using your
MMU EMAIL ADDRESS
MMU EMAIL ADDRESS
Once your application has been assessed we
will let you know the decision using your
MMU EMAIL ADDRESS
We will return your supporting documents to
you by post.
At peak times it may not be possible for us to meet the timescales detailed above. If we are unable
to meet these timescales a member of the team will contact you using your MMU EMAIL ADDRESS.
8.
HOW AM I PAID
Awards of £500 or less are normally paid in one lump sum. Awards of more than £500 will be paid in
instalments each term. Subsequent instalments will be paid in the Spring Term on or around 30th
January 2015 and in the Summer Term on or around 8th May 2015. Subsequent instalments are paid
once we receive confirmation from your department that you are in continued attendance on your
course.
We will write to you in advance of every payment date. Payments are made directly into your bank
account and can only be paid into an account bearing your name. It is your responsibility to ensure
that we hold the correct bank details for you. (Please see Change of Bank Details in Section 2)
No consideration is given to requests for advance payment of instalments.
ACCESS TO LEARNING FUND 2014/15 – FULL TIME STUDENT
SECTION 2 – This section will cover what is included in the assessment, additional information about
the scheme and changes to the application.
9.
ASSESSMENT EXPLAINED
Your application is assessed by examining the difference between your income and your
expenditure. If your assessed expenditure is higher than your income, an award is likely to be made.
If your assessment shows that your expected expenditure is lower than your income, your
application will not be successful. In some cases, the fund will be able to consider students for an
award that does not depend on income and expenditure. If you have provided evidence of your
exceptional or unexpected circumstances detailed in Section C of the application form, you will be
automatically considered for an additional award. These types of awards usually consider
exceptional costs, such as:
 Repairs to or replacements for essential household equipment;
 Debts with repayment plans
 Costs caused by emergencies, including travel costs associated with family illness or
bereavement, and hardship caused by a burglary or fire;
 Costs for students with disabilities that are not met by the DSA.
Assumed Income
The fund must use ‘assumed income’ during your assessment. This is income the government
assumes you can access in addition to your student support. Assumed income may include parttime work, a bank overdraft or additional support from parents and partners. Regardless of what
your actual income is for these categories, only the assumed income figure can be used. Assumed
income is reduced for students who are unable to work due to caring responsibilities, disabilities or
health difficulties.
Composite Living Costs
Composite Living Costs are figures set by the government that establish a fixed living cost for all
students. It is intended to cover the basic costs for food, household bills (gas, electricity, water, TV
licence, etc.), clothes and entertainment. Additional costs are included if you have a partner and/or
children. These figures are included as expenditure in all assessments regardless of what you
actually spend on these items to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly.
Postgraduate Students
Postgraduate students are expected to show that they can meet the cost of their tuition fees and
demonstrate that they have made reasonable provision to support their living costs for the duration
of the course. This could be through a Professional and Career Development Loan or other sources
of funding such as savings or scholarship.
Disabled Students
The Access to Learning Fund is not intended to provide the additional study support that is available
from the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) unless the DSA is unable to cover the whole cost, or
the cost cannot be met from DSA.
Travel Costs
Daily travel costs to and from university and once-per-term travel costs to see family during holidays
are included using the cheapest means of public transport available, we use the GMPTE website
(http://www.gmpte.gov.uk) for details of travel costs and saver tickets.
ACCESS TO LEARNING FUND 2014/15 – FULL TIME STUDENT
For students with disabilities, or students with children or caring commitments, a capped
contribution towards the cost of running a car may be included, but the full cost will not be met.
Debts
We are only able to consider debts with agreed repayment plans and Notices Seeking Possession.
You will need to provide evidence of these with your application. If you have not entered into an
official agreed repayment plan with your creditors, we cannot consider this debt during the
assessment.
If you are experiencing debt, you should seek advice from the Student Union Advice Centre who
may be able to assist you managing your debt. Their contact details are s.u.advice@mmu.ac.uk or
0161 247 6533.
10.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Repeat Applications
You can apply to the fund even if you have applied to the fund previously. If you apply to the fund
again in the same academic year, you will need to demonstrate in your new application that your
financial situation has changed significantly since your first application. Applications are assessed for
the whole of the year when considering financial need; this will be taken into account if you submit a
further application within the same academic year.
Each application is assessed on the information provided for the current academic year. Funding
allocations change each year as well as operating guidelines. Do not rely on the Access to Learning
Fund as a source of income as there is no guarantee that you will receive an award. Decisions are
made on a year by year basis and are dependent on the volume of applications received and funds
available.
Emergency Summer Fund
We aim to reserve funds for students who may run into unexpected financial difficulties over the
summer vacation. The amount of funds available over the summer will rely on the demands of the
fund during term time. The Emergency Summer Fund will be open for a limited period only; it is
your responsibility to check these dates on our webpages www.mmu.ac.uk/studentfinance
Change of Bank Details
It is your responsibility to ensure that we hold the correct bank details for you. You must notify the
Student Financial Support Team immediately if you wish to change your bank details. Please email
proof of your new bank details (copies of a statement or account opening letter) along with a
written request for the change to take place to the address studentfinance@mmu.ac.uk
Change of bank details requests need to be received by us SEVEN WORKING DAYS before the
Payment Run date specified on your payment letter. As payment runs are organised several days in
advance, we cannot make changes after the deadline specified above. It is also not possible for us to
reissue payments to another account. If you are experiencing difficulty with your account, you
should ask us to place any potential payments on hold until these difficulties are resolved.
ACCESS TO LEARNING FUND 2014/15 – FULL TIME STUDENT
Appeals
We hope that by reading these Guidance Notes you will understand why and how a decision was
made regarding your application. However, if you are still dissatisfied you may appeal the outcome.
Appeals must be made within four weeks of the date of the original decision as indicated on the
letter. Email studentfinance@mmu.ac.uk to request an Appeals Pack. An Appeals Pack will be
issued to you, which will provide you with information regarding the appeals process, the timescales
involved and detail the action you are required to take. Staff independent of the Student Financial
Support team handle appeals and as such, we cannot update or advise you regarding the progress of
your appeal.
Other Assistance
The University does not offer any other discretionary funds. Information on budgeting tips and
useful contacts can be found on our website at www.mmu.ac.uk/studentfinance
The Students’ Union Advice Centre offers a free advice service on all the issues that affect students
at MMU, including advice on how to budget and manage your finances. They will be able to check to
see if you are receiving all of the loans, grants and benefits available to you. They may be able to
offer you further help and advice in completing your application form. Please see their webpages at
www.mmunion.co.uk or contact them on 0161 247 6533 or s.u.advice@mmu.ac.uk