Student Support Fund

Resources

Application Form

Online Application Downloadable Application

What is it?

The University of West London provides discretionary financial assistance to help students to remain in higher education if they are facing financial difficulties. This is a fund put together by the University and is designed to help to alleviate unexpected financial hardship and intervene where students may consider leaving higher education due to financial problems. A student can only apply for it once every academic year.

Who can apply?

This scheme is open to UWL home status students. Please take into consideration the following criteria before applying:

You must have taken out the full tuition and maintenance funding available to you, e.g., Student Loans, Student Loans Company, NHS funding, etc.
You must be able to show genuine financial hardship
You must be a full-time student
You must be currently enrolled at UWL

Make sure you have accessed all additional funding you are eligible for, e.g., scholarships, grants, parental support, etc.

The Purpose of the SSF

The purpose of the Student Support Fund is to help to relieve unforeseen financial hardship that might impact a student’s participation in higher education and the completion of their course. The circumstances that may cause this are:

Providing payments for unexpected financial crises

Threat of losing accommodation
Struggling to meet course or living costs
Struggling to meet costs which are not being met by statutory sources of funding
Threat of having to leaving higher education because of financial issues

The fund cannot be used to clear debts or hardships that pre-date the start of your course.

How do I apply?

You can apply for the Student Support Fund in 2 ways, both online:

Download the application here, fill it in as a PDF and email it to ssf@uwl.ac.uk, with all supporting evidence.

Fill in the Microsoft form online and upload your evidence when prompted in the form.

We advise meeting with a member of the UWL Advice Team or the SU Advice Team before completing your application, to ensure you are fully informed, for your best chance of being approved and to be advised as to whether you may be eligible.

Where does UWLSU come in?

The Students’ Union Advice Team can help you with your application. They can take you through every step of the process, including answering any questions and helping to see if you may be eligible. We do not provide the fund but we can check over your application – we are only here to help you with the process.

FAQs

Who is not eligible?

You are NOT eligible to apply if you are:

Not enrolled at the University of West London (you must have an active enrolment status)
A student who is in debt to the University (including if a payment plan for tuition fees has not been honoured on the agreed dates)
A student who is not in receipt of all funds available to them from statutory sources (i.e., Student Finance, NHS Learning Support Fund, including training grant, parental support and specialist subject elements as appropriate).
A student who is not paying tuition fee for the academic year
An international/ overseas fee-paying student (e.g., a Tier 4 /Student Route visa holder)
If you are entitled only to tuition fee loan support from Student Loans Company.
A postgraduate student who has chosen not to take the full Postgraduate loan
A full-time student undertaking less than 120 credits across the academic year
An apprentice (higher / degree apprenticeships) or nursing associate courses via apprenticeships (e.g., FdSc Nursing Associate)
A part time student undertaking less than 60 credits across the academic year
A student showing as access only for the academic year (e.g., only undertaking resits)

Can I apply if I receive other financial support?

Yes, you can apply if you receive any additional financial support, from the university or externally. You must make sure you have accessed any financial aid you are eligible for in order to qualify for this support fund. If you want to know what other financial support you may be entitled to, please make an appointment with the UWL student advice team via email or via the student hub.

What supporting evidence can be used?

Below are some examples of evidence. Please be aware that this is not an exhaustive list. Type of evidence: Rent agreement Bank statements Council tax bills Internet/electric bills Travel expenses Eviction notice If you need more information, please contact the UWL Advice Team.

Terms & Conditions for the fund

You can only apply for this fund once in an academic year.
This fund may not be used to pay tuition fees or to help clear debts that pre-date the course start date.
Before applying to the fund, you must have applied for and requested the maximum amount of statutory funding available i.e., maintenance loan/grant to which you are entitled during the academic year. Students who choose not to apply for their full entitlement will not be eligible to apply to the fund.
We cannot award SSF funds to replace/substitute /supplement where there is evidence of money mismanagement. This includes spending on holiday & hotels, luxury or fashion items (non-essential clothing), gym memberships, entertainment subscriptions, gambling, etc.
We cannot cover payments for unexpected and non-essential repairs to home or household items, stolen goods, negligent fraud or car repairs.
We cannot cover any shortfall of defaulted payment of an assessed parental contribution of a student loan by a parent, spouse, civil parent or partner.
Awards are subject to attendance, engagement and submission of all assessments in a timely manner.

How do I make an appointment with the UWLSU Advice Team?

You can meet us in any way that suits you, whether that’s face-to-face or over the phone or via teams. We run a drop-in service throughout the week, just pop over to the SU desk at our St. Mary’s Road campus or call between our drop-in hours. We generally don’t book appointments, to give everyone the same, fair service. You can help to speed things up by filling in this form and bringing it along to your appointment.