The Student Hardship Fund

The Aberystwyth University Student Hardship Fund is a discretionary fund that provides support to students who may be at risk of leaving University due to financial difficulties.

The Fund is open to both home and international students successfully progressing at a minimum of 50% (60 credits) of a full-time degree course in Aberystwyth. If you are a Postgraduate student you are eligible to apply up to 12 months after your registration period. The Fund is not open to you if you are studying on a distance learning course or YES Placement.

What the fund can help with

  • Hardship arising from genuine, unforeseen or unexpected circumstances for which you have not been able to plan
  • Financial difficulties resulting from a genuine shortfall of your income and essential expenditure
  • Short term financial hardship. For example, delays with Student Finance.
  • Assistance with covering the cost of your study needs report

What the fund cannot help with

  • If you have insufficient arrangements to fund your studies at point of entry.
  • If you are temporary withdrawn or not currently registered
  • If you need financial assistance with your research and/or fieldwork. These are not considered unexpected.
  • Assistance with any debts you may have

Making an application

  • We welcome applications in Welsh and English. Applications received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and correspondence in English will be answered in English. Corresponding in Welsh will not involve delay. 
  • You can complete an online application form here
  • You may be asked to meet with a Student Adviser to discuss your application. This meeting will be informal and will provide you with an opportunity to discuss your individual circumstances in detail.
  • Make sure that your bank details are up to date on your student record otherwise we will not be able to pay you an award.
  • Ensure all relevant supporting evidence has been uploaded with your application. A Student Adviser will be in touch if anything is missing but this can delay the process.

What happens next

  • You will be notified of the outcome by email within 10 working days and any award will be paid within a further 5 working days.
  • If you have no money for food during this time please get in touch with one of the Advice and Money team to let them know as we can potentially offer emergency support.

What happens next

  • You can only apply to the fund once per term (Unless your previous application was rejected)
  • If you need to reapply to the fund you will need meet with an Adviser to discuss your financial circumstances.
  • Reapplications will only be considered if there has been a significant change in your circumstances.
  • Please be aware you may be referred to a food bank for further support.

Supporting Evidence

  • 3 months bank statements
    • Please Highlight any transactions over £100 and note what they were for.
    • The evidence needs to clearly show what overdraft facility you have.
    • You will need to upload evidence for all accounts, including savings accounts, international accounts and any currency vaults or pots within those.
    • When downloading your transactions from your online account you will need to select the dates 'From' and 'To' - then download as a PDF document.
  • Tenancy Agreement
    • The Tenancy agreement or 'Contract' needs to be for where you are currently living.
    • It will need to have your name clearly shown and the dates of your tenancy.
    • If the amount of rent is not on your contract then you will need to provide proof of this separately.
    • If you are in University residences then you do not need to upload any evidence of this.
  • Student Finance
    • If you are getting funding from Student Finance then you will need to upload your 'Letter of entitlement' confirming your funding.
    • It needs to be confirmation for the current academic year.
    • If you get your funding from anywhere else you will need to upload evidence of this.
    • If you have not received the full amount of funding you are entitled to please state this on your application.
  • Personal Statement
    • You will be asked to provide a personal statement in the application.
    • This will need to explain the reasons why you are in financial difficulty and the steps you have already taken to address them.
    • Please be as honest as possible in your personal statement.
  • Other Evidence
    • You may be asked for additional evidence depending on your situation.
    • This could be things such as (but not restricted to):
      • Evidence of your EPA
      • Evidence of debt repayments you have
      • Evidence of any benefits you receive

Assessments and Awards

  • We will calculate your income and essential expenditure to see if there is a shortfall
  • We will assume that students have made adequate provision to come to University
  • We will use a figure for calculating essential outgoings
  • If you have a shortfall we will award 50% of this shortfall
  • If there is no shortfall over the year then we will award a 'Short term' award
  • This award is for basic living for 4 weeks and will be £260
  • This basic living award is to help you with food whilst you find alternative income
  • You will be notified of any award to your University email
  • Payments will be made into your UK bank account which is outlined on your student record
  • If you're not happy with the award you can discuss this with a member of the team

Appeals

  • If you are unhappy with the award decision then an initial appointment should be made with a Student Adviser to discuss the outcome. You can request representation and advice from the Students Union if required.
  • In this meeting the Student Adviser will explain to you how the application was assessed and how the decision was determined.
  • Guidelines for assessing applications may be explained to you and if you have further evidence your application may be reviewed.
  • If you remain unhappy with the decision after this review then you are still able to make a formal appeal.
  • If you wish to appeal against the award decision after meeting with the Student Adviser, you may do so only on the following grounds:
    • Evidence, not available at the time of your application.
    • Evidence of procedural irregularities.
  • Appeals should be made in writing to Student Support and Careers Services. We will aim to give a decision in writing within 14 working days. If an appeal is submitted, all parties will be notified in writing of the date, time, location etc. of the appeal hearing.
  • The appeals panel will be independent from the original process and will be made up of the following panel members:
    • A Senior Manager from Student Support and Careers Services
    • Assistant Director of the Finance Department