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Access to Learning Fund - Online Application Form
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The criteria for deciding which debts are priorities are for the most part objective the severity of the legal remedies available to creditors determines the degree of priority. If non-payment would give the creditor the right to deprive the debtor of his/her home, liberty, essential goods and services, then that debt will have priority.
Priority debts - examples
- Rent/Mortgage Arrears
- Gas and electricity arrears
- Council Tax arrears
- Unpaid Magistrate Court Fines
Unfortunately, non-priority debts, such as credit cards, cannot be used as part of your ALF application, but it would be helpful for us to know what these debts are so that we can get a better picture of your overall financial circumstances.
Non priority debts - examples
- Credit cards
- Store cards
- Unsecured loans
- Unpaid phone bill
- Water charge arrears
This could be a child or adult for which they receive a grant.
Please complete this section in full and provide three months consecutive, up to date bank statements for ALL accounts held in your name and your partner"s name, including joint accounts and savings and investments accounts. You MUST write on your statements where ALL credits have come from, i.e. salary, parental contribution etc. Please also state what ALL withdrawals of £50 or more have been spent on, i.e. rent, food, shopping, course costs etc. Please note one of your statements must show the deposit of your student loan instalment. Your application may be rejected if you do not provide all of the relevant information, including a copy of bank statements.
This is required for auditing purposes. Please provide a statement saying why you are applying to the fund and the reasons why you need additional financial support.
Please enter the type of grant and the full amount as listed on your Financial Notification. ALF will disregard the first £1,649 of the Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant.
Student Loans are available to most undergraduate full-time students under the age of 60. You must take out the maximum amount of loan you are entitled to, and have received the first instalment, before applying to ALF. Please enter the full amount.
All students will have a unique reference number on the Financial Notification starting with the letters SFDU12345678A. (This is not the ART. ID number).
A percentage of the Maintenance Loan (Student Loan) is guaranteed, the remaining amount, plus additional weeks, is based on your family income. If you do not recieve the full amount of student loan the difference should be entered as parental/partner contribution
For courses longer than 40 weeks the rate for additional weeks is £84 per week, or £55 per week for students receiving the parental home rate of student loan.
Please enter the full amount of the bursary you will receive, even if you have not yet received the first instalment. For ALF purposes we will disregard the first £329 of the bursary.
Students with dependant children can get up to £1,538 depending on their family income. Please enter the full amount you are entitled to.
Full-time students with children in registered childcare can receive a childcare grant of up to 85% of the total cost. This applies to term-time and vacation childcare arrangements. Please enter the full amount of childcare grant you receive for term time.
Eligible students may receive up to £2,695 per year. Please enter the total amount you are entitled to.
If you receive a grant, bursary, scholarship etc. that is not listed elsewhere on the form, please enter the total amount here. For example, NHS bursary, Social Work bursary, Teacher Training bursary etc.
If you are a postgraduate student in receipt of a research grant please include any funding under this heading. Please state what type funding you receive.
Please enter the full amount of loan you have taken out and ALF will make the adjustment for the payment of your fees. Please provide evidence of the loan.
Full-time students with health problems or dependant children will have their salary disregarded, but part-time students" salary will be included in full.
NHS secondees will also have their salary included in full.
Full-time Postgraduate students will have an "assumed" income included. This is known as the Notional Postgraduate Income (NPI). The rate for students with dependants or a disability will be £126 per week, but part-time Postgraduate students" salary will be included in full. ALF does not have discretion to change these DIUS Guidelines.
If you are in receipt of any of these benefits, please include the full amount you receive here, and provide evidence.
Please enter the full amount of tax credits you receive. Please ensure that you provide a copy of the whole of the assessment document.
Please enter the full amount you are entitled to receive.
If you are in receipt of any other income, e.g. a personal pension, or have savings or an ISA, please enter the full amount here and state where the income is from. Please provide evidence.
Please include your partner"s income in full and state if it is a salary, state benefit and/or personal pension etc. Please also declare any savings. If your partner does not have an income please state the reason why.
Certain funding and benefits such as Disability Benefits are not included in the income calculation. However, in order to ensure that you are in receipt of all of the income you are entitled to, please enter this information here.
If you are a new postgraduate student and have received a bursary from ALF of either £500 or £250, please enter the full amount here. If you haven"t yet applied, please note the deadline of 4.30pm on 4 February 2011.
Please note that the maximum capped amount of rent or mortgage payments that can be included for ALF purposes is £600 per month. Evidence must be provided please. Please include a copy of your rent agreement.
Students who live at the parental home should include a maximum of £30 per week. You must include a signed copy of the "Rent Payment - Parental Home" form.
Full time students are not liable for Council Tax unless they live with one or more non-students. The annual bill is reduced by 25% if there is also a non-student living at the property. Please include the full amount of Council Tax payable and provide the appropriate evidence.
The capped amount is £6 per week to cover the cost of the contract and emergency calls.
Please enter the cost of the annual premium. Evidence must be provided please.
Please enter the cost of the annual premium. Evidence must be provided. If the premium includes contents insurance, include half of the annual premium only.
Single Student £67 Student with partner £105 Child (for whom child benefit is paid) £59 Family Premium £18 The CLC covers items such as food, clothing, utility bills, mobile phone and entertainment.
Students will be treated as single if under 25 unless they have got a child and are living with their partner.
If you are in receipt of a disability premium, please state the weekly amount. Evidence must be provided please.
Please complete the form contained in the application pack. You must speak to an adviser in the Student Advice Centre to discuss priority debts.
The reverse side of the form asks you to declare your outgoings on non-priority debts. This information will give us a clearer picture of your financial circumstances.
Evidence of actual costs, such as invoices or receipts should be provided. Informal childcare - a form is available from the Information Centre or on the website for the childminder to sign. The completed form should be attached to your application form. The informal childcare cost is capped at £50 per week for one child and £70 per week for two or more children regardless of the age of the child.
Please take advice from the Employability and Student Support service and provide evidence of the need for the additional support/equipment and the total cost. The application must be supported by Employability and Student Support.
Please provide evidence of your travel to and from the university and state whether this is by bus or rail. Please note the maximum capped amount is £70 per week. A maximum amount of £17.80 will be included for a weekly bus pass, unless evidence is provided showing a different amount. It is assumed that you will have a railcard if travelling by train.
Mileage from home to the university should be calculated at 28p per mile. Please state the number of miles and the number of trips per week. Please note the maximum capped amount for travel to the university is £70 per week.
Full time students who travel by car should include a maximum of £12 per week to cover all running costs. Part time students should include £6 per week.
Please note the maximum capped amount of £70 per week for both the student and the partner. Please give the employer"s name, address and postcode.
Please include a maximum of £16 per week for full-time students and £8.00 per week for part-time students. This is to cover travel costs for shopping, entertainment, medical appointments, taxis etc.
Please note that these rates take account of field trips and professional subscriptions. Please use the capped figures below Full-time - Arts, Media and Design studio based courses, all levels £34 Part-time - Arts, Media and Design studio based courses, all levels £17 Full-time - all other programmes £28 Part-time - all other programmes £14
If you have other essential expenditure, such as child maintenance payments, please include the full amount here and provide appropriate evidence. If evidence is not provided the expenditure will not be included.
Your Student ID can be found on your Student Card.
Please ensure that the Faculty/School Office has your most recent home address.
Please note - you can redirect emails from your university account to your personal email account
Money Doctors
Healthy Financial Advice for Students
The economic storm clouds may be continuing to gather, putting pressure on all our finances, but there is a silver lining: Money Doctors is on campus and our aim is to help you students to keep your finances healthy. We want to ensure that you know what you are entitled to financially as a student and how to manage this so you can avoid money problems and the stress that these can cause and are able to focus on enjoying your time at University and your studies.
You don't need to be in difficulty with your finances to contact us. We're here to help every student at Staffordshire University with any and every question they may have about money; from "What financial help can I get as a student?" and "Can I get a University Bursary?" to "Can you help me with budgeting and controlling spending?" and "Do I have to pay tax?"
Access to Learning Fund (ALF)
Purpose of the ALF fund
The Access to Learning Fund's remit is to provide discretionary financial assistance for home students who may need extra financial support to access and remain in higher education particularly those students who need financial help to meet extra costs that cannot be met from other sources of support. Unfortunately we cannot offer support to overseas students. The Fund, which is over half a million pounds, can help to alleviate unexpected financial hardship. Students who may be considering leaving higher education because of financial problems are encouraged to apply. You can apply to the fund at any point throughout the academic year, including the long vacation, but please note the deadline dates. Any help you receive from the Fund is usually non-repayable (except for short-term emergency loans). Unfortunately we are unable to provide funds to pay tuition fees for full time and postgraduate students.
What the fund offers
Short term Emergency Loans; Foyer Bursaries for students who are/or were recently homeless; Care Leavers Bursaries.