Student Gateway

Telephone +44 (0)28 9097 2767
Fax :         +44 (0)28 9097 2856
Email : IncomeOffice@qub.ac.uk

Student Support Fund Applications

We are currently experiencing a high level of applications to the Fund.

To ensure your application is assessed prior to Easter, please submit before 5.00pm, Friday, 8th March 2013.

Applications must be submitted with all required documentation.  Incomplete applications cannot be processed.  It is in your own best interests to provide all supporting documentation as failure to do so will result in your application being delayed until after Easter.


 

Student Support Framework

For details of the Student Support Frame work please click here

What is the Support Fund?

The Support Fund is used to provide discretionary financial help for students who get into financial difficulty during their course.  

Who can apply?
All full-time and part-time (50% of equivalent full-time course) Northern Ireland and Great Britain undergraduates and postgraduate students can apply.  

Undergraduate students must have taken out their maximum Fee & Maintenance Loan entitlement. 

All students must demonstrate that they have organised sufficient funding for their course.  The Support Fund is a discretionary fund and should not be viewed as a means to fund a course.  For details of the University's current payments options please refer to http://www.qub.ac.uk/TuitionFees

Any eligible student who has a particular financial need can apply.  However, priority will be given to the following groups:

•    Mature students whose return to full-time study has resulted in financial hardship
•    Students with children (especially lone parents)
•    Students who are not eligible for childcare grants
•    Disabled students who are not in receipt of Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)
•    Undergraduate students receiving the final loan year rate and experiencing financial difficulties
•    Students from Care, from Foyers or who are homeless
•    Students from low-income families
•    Students incurring additional costs whilst caring for a disabled/ill relative
•    Students who wish to apply for funding towards the cost of a diagnostic assessment.  (Please contact Disability Services or Income & Finance Office for an application form).


Hardship Fund
Students who are not eligible for Support Fund can apply to the University’s Hardship Fund.  

Who can apply?
The Hardship Fund is available to students who are not eligible for the Support Fund.  There is a smaller amount of money in the Hardship Fund, so circumstances must be exceptional for an award to be made.


Prior to Submission of Application
If you require any assistance completing your application form please contact:

Connie Craig – Advice Centre Manager, Financial Adviser, 2nd Floor Students’ Union,
Email: connie.craig@qub.ac.uk


Application Process
You can pick up an application form from the Income & Finance Office at the Student Guidance Centre, or from the Students’ Union Advice Centre on the 2nd Floor of the Students Union. To download an application, please click here.

Completed application forms with all documentation should be forwarded to or handed in at:
Income & Student Finance Office, Student Guidance Centre, Queen’s University, Belfast, BT7 1NN
Tel no 02890 972854, email supportfund@qub.ac.uk

Every applicant will receive an email confirming receipt of their application.

Students will be advised by email of the decision within 4 weeks of submission of their application.  No decision will be discussed over the phone.  Awards made by the Support or Hardship Fund do not have to be repaid.

Students have the right to request a review of any decision in connection with their application.  Reviews should be requested in writing, clearly stating the grounds for appeal and where appropriate, supplying additional documentary evidence to support the review process.   Requests must be received within 14 days of the date of the original decision, addressed to the Chairperson of the Support Fund Committee, and returned to the Income & Student Finance Office, Student Guidance Centre.

After you receive the outcome of your review, if you still disagree with the decision, you may appeal to the Support Fund Appeals Panel, who are responsible for handling the final appeal.  You should clearly indicate how you believe an incorrect decision has been made.  The Panel will review your case and inform you of their decision in writing.

Additional Information
Students are encouraged to submit their applications as early as possible in the academic year.

You must provide evidence of your financial circumstances.  Failure to provide the evidence requested will delay your application.  Forms submitted without correct documentation or not completed fully will not be processed. You will be notified by email about missing or incomplete documentation. You will have 4 weeks from the date of the email to provide this documentation otherwise your application will be deemed to have lapsed.

Awards are assessed based on specific criteria, for full details of these please visit our website www.qub.ac.uk/StudentSupport

Please note that students whose bank statements indicate gambling are not eligible for a direct payment.  If awarded, depending on individual circumstances, a payment can be made to a 3rd party.  Students in receipt of benefits, to which they are not entitled, are not eligible to receive an award.

If you have an outstanding Emergency Loan or Institutional Bursary overpayment, any award from the Support Fund may be used towards repayment of this debt.

Random checks will be made on individual applications and any found to be fraudulent will result in disciplinary action.

There is no automatic entitlement to an award for any student.  Awards are subject to money being available in the Fund.

Emergency Loan
The Support Fund also provides help for the students who have not received their loan at the beginning of term - in the form of an emergency loan.

Emergency Loan Forms can be obtained from: Connie Craig, Student Financial Adviser, 2nd Floor, Students’ Union, tel no 02890 971049, email connie.craig@qub.ac.uk

The emergency loan is an advance receipt of a student’s maintenance loan.  Upon receipt of the maintenance loan every student is required to repay the emergency loan immediately.

Students who have applied for an Emergency Loan are encouraged to apply to the Support Fund.

What happens if the Emergency Loan is not repaid? 
If an Emergency Loan is not repaid the student will be suspended from the University.  Suspension will remain in place until loan is paid in full.  Suspensions will be applied by the end of November.

Students on occasion may be referred to other support services within the University.  These may include: