U N I V E R S I T Y O F G L A M O R G A N
FINANCIAL CONTINGENCY FUND
APPLICATION FORM
2
0
0
8
/
2
0
0
9
2 0 0 9
A – PERSONAL DETAILS
Title: Forename(s) : Surname:
Date of birth: / / Age: Enrolment No.:
Term-time Address: Vacation Address (if different):
Tel: Tel:
Mobile: E-mail:
Do you live (please tick): With parents Alone With spouse/partner
In halls of residence/shared accommodation. If shared accommodation, how many share? Do you have a disability/dyslexia? Yes No
Have you been in the care of Social Services up to your 16th birthday or afterwards for at least 3 months, and are also under 21yrs of age? Yes No If yes, please supply proof.
Do you currently live in a Foyer/homeless shelter or did you live in a Foyer/homeless shelter immediately prior to commencing this academic yr? Yes No If yes, please supply proof.
Do you have anyone who depends on you financially, i.e. children/spouse? Yes (list below) No
Name Age Relationship to you Do they live with you? Do they attend school?
Which of the following is your mainreason for applying for assistance from the Fund? Please tick only ONE box.
Accommodation Assistance with disability costs Books & equipment Childcare General hardship Transport Utility costs Other (please explain):
B – COURSE DETAILS
Course title:Faculty: Business School CELL Combined Studies CCI FAT HASS HESAS (Tick one box) Is your course… Full time Part time Distance learning (Tick one box)
Is your course… Undergraduate Postgraduate Further Education Nursing/Midwifery (Tick one box) Date course stated (Month & Year): / Year of course? (1st, 2nd)
Duration of course? yrs Duration of course this academic yr? 6mths 9mths 12 mths Is this your final yr? Yes/No Is this a repeat yr? Yes/No No of credits this academic yr:
Do you study at a Partner College? Yes/No. If yes, which college:
Duplicate Yes No
ELS Yes No
Scholarship: Yes No £ yr
Reason Yes No
C – INCOME
If you have a spouse/partner, you must also include all their income below:
TYPE OF INCOME PROOF REQUIRED Per week Per month Per year All students must complete this section and provide photocopies of evidence requested:
Assistance from parents/family for living costs
Earnings Payslip/highlight on bank statement University of Glamorgan Scholarships
Partner College Scholarship Award letter
ALG/Maintenance grant/Bursary Financial Notification Special Support grant
Maintenance loan
Did you take all of the maintenance loan that you were entitled to? Yes No
Welsh National Bursary Scheme
Social Work Bursary Notification from Care Council FE Education Maintenance Allowance/ALG Award letter
NHS Bursary Award letter/payslip Part time course grant Financial Notification Postgraduate Study Loan Loan agreement
If you have not taken out a Postgraduate Study Loan please explain your reasons for this in Section F.
Other income, please list below: Relevant proof
Students with a partner and/or children must complete this section:
Adult Dependants Grant Financial Notification Parents Learning Allowance
Childcare Grant
Child Maintenance Highlight on bank statement Child Benefit Highlight on bank statement Child Tax Credit HMRC letter
Working Tax Credit
Spouse/Partner earnings Payslip/Highlight on bank statement Any other Spouse/Partner income, Relevant proof
please list below:
Benefits, please list below: Letter/highlight on bank statement
D – EXPENDITURE
If you have a spouse/partner, you must also include all their expenses below:
TYPE OF EXPENDITURE PROOF REQUIRED Per week Per month Per year All students must complete this section and provide photocopies of evidence requested:
Rent / Mortgage Highlight mortgage on bank statement Gas/Electricity/Water
Food Clothes Leisure Toiletries
Household/Laundry Telephone/Mobile TV licence
Council Tax Council Tax letter Course costs (not fees)
Travel to University
Travel to home address Please list cost of one return journey: £
Car costs – the cost of running a car will not be included unless it is considered to be essential. Please explain in Section F your reasons for needing to run a car.
Car tax
Car Insurance Copy of policy/highlight on bank statement Other travel costs (including partner’s travel), please list below:
Insurances, please list below: Copy of policies/highlight on bank statement
Loan repayments, please list below: Copy of loan agreement/highlight on bank statement
Repayments of credit card, store card or catalogue accounts are not included. The type of items purchased on these accounts should be listed under the relevant section above, e.g. clothes.
Other expenditure, please list below:
Students with children must complete this section:
Childcare – registered/accredited Letter from provider/ copy of payment receipt Childcare – informal
Christmas/birthdays for children School meals
School uniform Activities/Pocket money
E – BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS
Please list details of all accounts held by you/spouse/partner.Please note any award from the Fund will be paid into the first account listed and this must therefore be an account in your name or a joint account:
1 2 3 4
Name and Account holder(s) Bank/Building Society name Sort Code
Account Number
Roll No (building society only) Overdraft limit
Current balance
Continue in Section F if necessary.
You must provide 2 full months worth of statements for each account. The statements must berecent (dated within a month of submission of application).
F – FURTHER INFORMATION
Please explain why you are applying for assistance from the Fund. Please also elaborate on the following:
• If you are a postgraduate student and have not taken a Postgraduate study loan, please give the reason(s) for this, • If you/partner run a car, please explain why you consider it is essential that you run a car,
• If you are unable to work, please give the reason for this,
• If you have any outstanding debts which have been referred to debt collection agencies/legal action, please detail below and enclose appropriate evidence.
G - DECLARATION
I have read, understood and agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the accompanying guidance notes:
Signature: Date:
IF YOUR APPLICATION IS INCOMPLETE OR YOU DO NOT SUBMIT ALL OF THE REQUIRED EVIDENCE,
YOUR APPLICATION WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.
FINANCIAL CONTINGENCY FUND
GUIDANCE NOTES 2008/09
What is the Financial Contingency Fund?
The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) provides institutions with this Fund to offer discretionary financial help to support vulnerable students. The Fund can provide assistance towards cases of financial hardship, unexpected financial crises, students who need extra help to meet particular costs and to intervene if a student is considering leaving education as a result of financial problems.
The University of Glamorgan distributes the Financial Contingency Fund through a number of different schemes – widening participation bursaries for prospective students, emergency loans for students experiencing delays with their student support in the first term, and assistance to help students pay for diagnostic tests e.g. for dyslexia, as well as this hardship application.
The Student Money Service (SMS) administers the Fund and the Financial Contingency Fund Committee make decisions on who is entitled to an award from the Fund.
Important information
The University distributes the Fund in accordance with the guidelines set out by the Welsh Assembly Government. As such it is important to note the following information prior to submitting an application to the Fund.
Only‘home’students are eligible to apply for assistance from the Fund. International and European Union students are not normally eligible to apply to the Fund unless they are deemed to be a ‘home’ student for the purposes of student funding.
Part-time, undergraduate European Union students may be eligible to apply to the Additional Fee Support scheme (see
www.glamlife.glam.ac.uk/money or contact SMS for details).
It is expected that applicants will normally explore other avenues before turning to the Financial Contingency Fund. This includes student bank account overdrafts, statutory student support including loans, part time work and reviewing spending levels. The Committee will only take into account reasonable spending costs when assessing your entitlement to an award from the Fund.
The Fund cannot be used to meet the cost of tuition fees for any full-time or part time student (except part time undergraduate students who successfully apply to the Additional Fee Support scheme – see www.glamlife.glam.ac.uk or contact the Student Money Service for details). Consequently, the Fund cannot take account of payments made towards tuition fees in the assessment.
Full time undergraduate students(except Further Education & Nursing/Midwifery students) MUST have taken the maximum student loan available to them to be eligible to apply for support from the Fund.
In addition, the Fund cannot be used to compensate for a lack of financial support from your parents/partner as assessed by the Local Authority. It will be assumed when assessing your application that you receive this money.
Full time and part time postgraduate students will be expected to have secured appropriate funding prior to embarking on their course - postgraduate study loan or equivalent, sponsorship, etc.
The Fund will assess your income and expenditure over the entire academic year when deciding whether an award is appropriate.
You should also note that the award rates have been reduced from those available in the 2007/08 academic year when they were artificially inflated (for that year alone) due to a temporary increase in the allocation from the Welsh Assembly Government.
The amount of an award in one academic year should not be regarded as a reflection of award rates in subsequent years as the University allocation and WAG guidance is liable to change from year to year.
The Fund is a finite sum and as such we cannot guarantee that Funds will be available throughout the academic year.
You should provide photocopies of all requested documentation as documents must be retained for audit purposes and cannot be returned.
How to complete the application form
SECTION A – PERSONAL DETAILS
Complete all personal and contact details.Indicate where you live. If you live with dependant children list them later in the form.
If you have been in the care of Social Services up to your 16th birthday or afterwards for at least 3 months, and are under 21years of age you maybe entitled to a Care Leavers Bursary of £500. You must supply relevant evidence such as a confirmation letter from your social worker.
If you currently live in a homeless/Foyer residence or did so prior to commencing the academic year, you may be entitled to a Foyer bursary of £1,000. You must supply relevant evidence such as a confirmation letter from the homeless/Foyer residence.
List anyone who depends on you financially such as a partner or children. If the children do not live with you permanently, please indicate this in the box and elaborate in Section F on how often they reside with you.
SECTION B – COURSE DETAILS
Complete all course details as requested.Tick only one box on the form to indicate your Faculty:
• Business School • Centre for Lifelong Learning (CELL) • Combined Studies (Comb St) • Creative & Cultural Industries (CCI) • Advanced Technology (FAT) • Humanities & Social Sciences (HASS) • Health, Sport & Science (HESAS)
Tick only one box to indicate your course type (eg. full-time) and course level (eg. undergraduate)
Indicate the duration of your course during the 08/09 academic year i.e. 6 months if nursing course ends in March 2009, 9 months if study Sept 08 – June 09, 12 months if study Sept 08 – Sept 09.
Indicate if this if your final year or if this is a repeat year of study.
List the number of credits you are studying in 2008/09. Your Faculty office will be able to assist if you do not know. Full time undergraduate students would normally study 120 credits.
Part time students must be studying at least 60 creditsto be eligible to apply for assistance from FCF (30 credits if unable to undertake more as a result of a disability).
If you are a Partner College student, indicate which College you study at. Please note the Atrium/CCI is not a Partner College.
SECTION C - INCOME
Please list all income in the relevant row and provide evidence as requested. If you have a spouse/partner, you should also list their income. You may opt to list income weekly, monthly or yearly.
If you choose to denote income on your bank statement as evidence, you must highlight clearly on the photocopies submitted what the income is and the frequency of payment highlighted (weekly/fortnightly/monthly). You should also denote any payments into your account which are £100 or more to explain what they are.
Assistance from parents/family. List assistance given to you by your family to assist with living costs and course costs, such as books or equipment. Do not list any amount given for tuition fees.
Earnings – List amount of earnings over the current academic year (not summer vacation). If your work is irregular, you should list an estimated average and denote that your work is irregular in Section F. If you are unable to work, you must list the reason for this in Section F.
University of Glamorgan scholarships – If you are a Full time undergraduate or postgraduate student and you have been awarded a scholarship from the University, you should include the amount awarded and enclose a copy of the award letter. The amount awarded will be included even if it is still ‘provisional’ at time of application (because you need to supply further evidence). If you eventually, do not receive the scholarship, you can ask for your application to be reviewed.
Partner College Scholarship – If you are a Partner College student and you have successfully applied to the Partner College Scholarship package running at your particular college, you should provide a copy of your award letter.
Full time undergraduate studentsmust provide theirFinancial Notificationas evidence of their funding. This will be the breakdown letter which details how much fee support, grant and maintenance loan support you are entitled to and which also indicates if any parental contribution is expected. The notification will be from one of the following - Student Finance Wales, Student Finance Direct, Student Awards Agency for Scotland, or Northern Irish Education & Library Board.
NB The student loan payment schedule from the Student Loans Company isnot acceptable evidence.
Welsh National Bursary Scheme– If you are a full-time undergraduate student the University will assess your eligibility for this bursary of £310 year based on information you have supplied to your Local Authority. There is no need to provide evidence.
Social Work Bursary – If you are on the social work degree, you will need to provide evidence of acceptance/refusal for Care Council support.
Further Education- Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) or Assembly Learning Grant (ALG) - If you are on the FE course in Art & Design, you must provide evidence of acceptance/decline for the EMA (under 19’s) or ALG (over 19’s) or explain why you have not applied for this assistance in Section F.
NHS Bursary – Nursing/Midwifery students must provide evidence of the amount of bursary received. This could be a copy of the award letter or you could highlight the monthly payment on your bank statement. If you highlight your bursary payment, you must ensure that the amount is the standard monthly payment you would receive and does not include reimbursements for travel, etc.
Part time course grant – If you are on a part time undergraduate course, you must provide evidence of Local Authority acceptance/refusal for a course grant.
Postgraduate Study Loan – If you are a full time postgraduate student, you would normally be expected to have applied for alternative sources of funding prior to applying to the Fund. You should provide a copy of your loan agreement, decline letter or explain in Section F why you have not applied for this type of funding.
Adult Dependants Grant/Parents Learning Allowance/Local Authority Childcare Grant – Your entitlement to this funding would be detailed on your Financial Notification (see above)
NHS Childcare Grant - You should supply a copy of your letter from NHS Wales detailing your entitlement to support for registered childcare costs.
Child Maintenance– Highlight payments received on bank statement/provide alternative evidence.
Child Benefit – Highlight child benefit income on your bank statement or provide a copy of your award letter.
Child Tax Credit – Highlight child tax credit income on your bank statement, remember to indicate if this is a weekly or 4 weekly amount. Alternatively, provide a copy of your current year assessment notice from HM Revenue & Customs.
Working Tax Credit- Highlight working tax credit income on your bank statement, remember to indicate if this is a weekly or 4 weekly amount. Alternatively, provide a copy of your current year assessment notice from HM Revenue & Customs.
Spouse/Partner earnings– Provide a copy of payslip or highlight on bank statement, remember to denote if the payment is weekly or monthly.
Benefits – Provide a copy of the assessment letter or denote the payment on your bank statement, remember to denote what the payment is for (name of benefit) and the frequency of the payment.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FUNDING APPLY TO DIFFERENT COURSES AND TO DIFFERENT INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES REGARDING THE TYPES OF INCOME LISTED ABOVE PLEASE SEE STUDENT MONEY
SERVICE PAGES ON GLAMLIFE - http://glamlife.glam.ac.uk
SECTION D - EXPENDITURE
Please list all expenditure in the relevant row and provide evidence as requested. If you have a spouse/partner and/or children, you should also list their expenditure.
You may opt to list income weekly, monthly or yearly.
If you choose to denote expenditure on your bank statement as evidence, you must highlight clearly on the photocopies submitted what the expenditure is and the frequency of payment highlighted (weekly/fortnightly/monthly). You should also denote any payments out of your account which are £100 or more to explain what they are.
Rent/Mortgage – Highlight your mortgage payment on your bank statement.
Council Tax – Provide copy of letter or highlight on bank statement.
Course costs – List here the amount you will spend on costs such as books, equipment, photocopying, printing, field trips and so on. Do not include tuition fee payments.
Travel to University – List weekly costs of travel from current address to University.
Travel to home address – If you live away from home to attend University, list the cost of one return journey to your home address.
Car costswill not be included as an expense unless they are considered essential by the Committee. You should explain in Section F if and why you feel running a car is essential in your circumstances, for the Committee’s consideration.
Car tax – Detail yearly amount (if cost is for 6 months please denote this on the form).
Car insurance – Detail monthly or yearly amount and provide evidence i.e. highlighting the payment on your bank statement or provide a copy of your insurance letter.
Other travel costs – Detail here any travel costs other than to the University or home address. You must list what the costs relate to in the space provided in order for the cost to be considered e.g. your/partner’s travel to work, school run.
Insurances – Detail any other payments for insurance including the type of insurance in the space provided e.g. contents, building. You must supply proof of any insurance paid by highlighting the payment on your bank statement or providing copies of insurance letters.
Loan repayments – Detail monthly/weekly repayments for loans and explain what the loan was used for. You should include any items bought on hire purchase in this section. You must provide evidence by highlighting the payment on your bank statement or providing copies of loan agreements.
Credit cards, store cards and catalogue accounts– These payments will not be considered by the Committee as the type of items purchased on these accounts should be listed elsewhere on the form e.g. clothes, groceries. Therefore, there is no need to provide copies of statements relating to these types of account.
Other expenditure–Detail any other expenses in the space provided.
Childcare (registered/accredited) – Detail weekly/monthly payments and provide evidence by highlighting payment on bank statement, or providing a copy of an invoice/receipt/letter detailing charges from the childcare provider (remember to indicate whether the charge is weekly/monthly on the evidence provided).
Childcare (informal)– Detail costs.
Other expenditure– detail any other expenses related to your children in the space provided.
SECTION E – BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS
You must provide photocopies of 2 full months of recent bank statements for all accounts held by you and your partner (if applicable). Bank statements provided must:
• Include your name (and/or your partners name)
• Be dated within 1month of submission of your application i.e. if you hand in your form on 22nd Sept 2008 the bank statements provided must cover the 22nd August 2008 or later.
• Cover 2 full months e.g. 1st Sept 2008 – 1st November 2008.
• Have income/expenditure evidence highlighted with type of income/expenditure and frequency of payment e.g. monthly employment income.
• Have any payments of £100 or more paid into or paid out ofaccounts denoted with an explanation of what this relates to eg. weekly rent.
Internet print outs will be acceptable as evidence if they are printed directly from the banks website i.e. not copied & pasted into a Word document.
The first bank account listed will be the account that any award from the Fund will be paid into. If you have any queries about this, please explain in Section F or speak to the Student Money Service directly.
SECTION F – FURTHER INFORMATION
You should include in this section:• Why you are applying for assistance from the Fund.
• If you are a postgraduate student and have not taken a Postgraduate study loan, the reason(s) for this. • If you/your partner run a car, why you consider it is essential that you run a car.
• If you are unable to work, the reason for this.
• Details of any outstanding debts which have been referred to debt collection agencies and/or legal action. Explain what arrangements you have made (if any) with the creditors regarding repaying these debts. You must enclose evidence of these debts and their referral for debt collection/legal action.
G – DECLARATION
You must ensure that you have read and understood the terms & conditions and the Data Protection Statement. By signing the declaration on the application form, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions and accepting the data protection statement below:
Terms and conditions declaration
By signing the declaration at the back of the application form, you are declaring that: • I have read and understood the guidance notes
• I am an eligible ‘home’ student
• I have submitted only one application to the Financial Contingency Fund this academic year
• I have not made a decision to enter or continue at the University of Glamorgan based solely on the outcome of this application. I understand fully that awards or loans are not guaranteed.
• I have fully completed the form and enclosed the relevant documentation (as requested) and understand that if an item is missing or incorrect my application will be delayed or rejected
• The information given on this form is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief and I undertake full legal responsibility for it
• I will inform you immediately of any alterations to the particulars given
• I accept that the Committee reserves the right to request further information or clarification on the information supplied and I am agreeable to any investigation made to verify the accuracy of the information given within the terms of the data protection act 1998 • I undertake to repay any amount awarded in the form of a loan in accordance with any agreed terms
• I undertake to repay any amount awarded which is subsequently found to be based on inaccurate information
• I understand that the Department for Work and Pensions has the power to request information about my application and any award from the University of Glamorgan in order to assess my entitlement to benefits
• I understand that the committee will, if applicable, contact my partner college to request information regarding any scholarship/ bursaries I may be in receipt of.
Data protection act
All personal details will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The information provided in this application and any documents submitted may be used by University of Glamorgan staff in the Student Money Service, Disability and Dyslexia Service, the Finance division, the head of Student Services (or nominee), Academic Registry and Faculty staff, internal auditors, the Financial
Contingency Fund committee, an independent appeals adjudicator, and externally by representatives from the Welsh Assembly Government (including any auditors ). All of the above may have access to your application for making decisions, presenting cases and auditing
purposes. A nominated member of staff at a Partner College may have access to your application for processing applications.
Representatives from the Department for Work and Pensions may have access to information from your application for processing benefit claims. Explicit consent will be sought if the information is requested from any other source or for any other purpose.
SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION
Once you are certain that you have completed the form and gathered photocopies of all requested evidence, you should submit your application and evidence to the Financial Contingency Fund, Student Money Service, C Block, University of Glamorgan, Treforest, Pontypridd, CF37 1DL.
You should complete your address on the receipt slip (opposite), tear this off and submit this along with your application. The Student Money Service will then send you confirmation of receipt of your application form.
There is no need to meet with a member of staff prior to submitting the application form to have it checked.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Your application will normally be assessed within 20 working days of submission. Following this, a letter will be sent to your address detailing whether your application has been successful, unsuccessful or has been automatically rejected.
If your application has been automatically rejected it will not have been fully assessed as there is outstanding evidence or information. The Student Money Service will send a letter which will detail what you now need to provide in order to be considered.
What if I’m unhappy with the
decision? What if my circumstances
change?
Following the original decision on your case, you have two further options – a review or an appeal.
Review:
An applicant can ask for a review if the information given on the original form was incomplete or if their circumstances have now changed significantlymeaning the information originally given needs to be updated. Applicants can obtain a review sheet from the Student Money Service or their Partner College on which to detail any relevant changes.
Appeal:
If all the information provided on the application was accurate and up to date but the student believes that the Committee has made a mistake with their decision then a student may wish to appeal. To appeal the student needs to set out in writing why they feel the Committee was wrong to decline their application or why they should be given a higher award. The letter should include all pertinent information and any supporting evidence.
In both options, it is recommended that a student book an appointment with an adviser who can assist them with their review or appeal.
FINANCIAL CONTINGENCY FUND - APPLICA
TION RECEIPT
What other assistance is available?
The Student Money Service can assist with queries regarding your entitlement to student support as well as other general finance issues such as budgeting and advice on debt.
If you require further information or advice about the Financial Contingency Fund, please contact theStudent Money Serviceon tel: 01443 483778(9.00am-12.00pm) or e-mail: stufin@glam.ac.uk
CHECKLIST
For your assistance, a checklist has been provided below. This should be used with reference to the more detailed information contained earlier in the Guidance notes:
❑
Two months worth of recent statements for each bank/ building society account you and your partner (if applicable) hold. Your name/partners name must be visible on the statements provided and they should be dated within 1 month of submission of application.❑
Denote payments into/out of all accounts which are £100 + to explain what they are.❑
Proof of your earnings.❑
Your financial notification from the Local Authority showing entitlement to any grants & student loans (Full time) or fee & course grant (Part time).❑
Notification from Care Council if on Social Work course.❑
Further Education - Education Maintenance Allowance/ Assembly Learning Grant letter.❑
Your NHS bursary entitlement/payslip❑
Proof of your acceptance/decline for a postgraduate study loan.❑
Proof of your spouse/partners earnings or any other income.❑
Proof of child benefit entitlement/payments❑
Proof of Child Tax credit entitlement/payments❑
Proof of Working Tax credit entitlement/payments❑
Proof of benefit entitlement/payments❑
Proof of mortgage payment❑
Proof of council tax charge/payment❑
Proof of amount paid for insurances (contents, car, buildings, etc)❑
Proof of amount paid for bank loans and/or hire purchase❑
Proof of amount paid for registered child care costs❑
Proof of any debts that have been referred to debt collection and/or for legal action and that you have included in Section F.❑
Proof of stay in care of Social Services❑
Evidence of recent stay in Foyer/homeless shelter❑
Sign declaration❑
Complete receipt slipIf you are unable to provide any of the above documentation, please seek advice from the Student Money Service.
Photocopies are requested as the Committee must retain all evidence submitted with an application for auditing purposes.
