Access to Learning Funds

What is ALF?

ALF is a discretionary fund to provide financial assistance for students, in order to help them access and remain in higher education. Students who need extra financial help to meet costs that are not met from other sources of support, or students who have particular financial emergencies and as a result of these circumstances are at risk of leaving higher education, should consider applying. ALF exists to help any eligible student, who has a particular financial need, but we cannot guarantee that there will be sufficient funds to meet every application we receive, or all the costs a student might apply for. The Government issues guidelines that we are obliged to follow and certain groups of students are given priority.

You can apply for help at any time throughout the academic year until the advertised deadlines, however we would only expect to see one application per year. A second application would only be considered if there is a significant change in circumstances or if you need help over the summer vacation. Most help awarded from the fund is non-repayable.

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Who can apply to ALF?

ALF is available to home students only. Both undergraduate and postgraduate students are eligible to apply. Overseas and EU students are not eligible to apply to ALF - although there may be some help from the Additional Fee Support Scheme (AFSS) for part-time EU students who meet the residency criteria and whose statutory funding does not meet their full tuition fee cost.

Both full time students and part time students are eligible to apply. Part time students need to be studying at least 50% of a full time course. The only exceptions to this rule are disabled students whose disability prevents them from studying at least 50% of a full time course, who may apply if they are studying at least 25% of a full time course, and students studying a 'taster' module between 10% and 50% of a full time course may be eligible for some help for books/equipment and travel costs.

Students in receipt of an NHS bursary can apply for help from the fund. In addition, if you have temporarily suspended due to health or caring reasons, you may also apply to ALF.

Students who are in a suspension of studies or are exams only are advised to speak to one of our funding advisers first to discuss their funding situation before submitting an ALF application.

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Closing date for 2011/12 applications

The closing date for all students is four weeks before the end of the academic year, or the 1st of July whichever is earlier. (If you are uncertain which closing date applies to you, please contact the Student Funding Office).

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Summer Vacation ALF

The eligibilty criteria for the Summer Vacation ALF are specific and should be read carefully before requesting an application form.

Application forms for students who wish to apply for Support for Summer Vacation funding from the Undergraduate Access to Learning Fund will be available from June 2012.

The deadline for submitting an application form for the Summer Fund in 2011/12 is 16th July 2012.

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Documentation Required

Photocopies of the following documentation is required to process an application (assessments will be delayed if the requested information and documentation is not supplied). If you have a partner, all relevant documentation should also be included for them:

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Priority Groups

ALF exists to assist any eligible student who has a particular financial need, but we cannot guarantee that we can help every applicant or meet all the costs a student might apply for. The Government issues guidelines that we are obliged to follow, and there are certain groups of students that are given priority.

For full time undergraduate students the priority groups are:

For part time undergraduate and postgraduate students, the priority groups are:

If you wish to apply for assistance towards the cost of a dyslexia diagnostic test please contact Disability Services on Lower Ground Floor (LGF), Hampton House, Cotham Hill.

If you are not in a priority group, you can still apply, but you must provide as much evidence as possible to demonstrate why you have a particular financial need.

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Second degree students and the ALF

If you are undertaking a second degree you can apply for the ALF but may not be considered as a priority group for assistance.

Professional programmes

Students undertaking certain professional programmes as a second degree (i.e. Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science), will be assessed using the normal guidelines outlined below as they are still eligible for student support (maintenance loan for living costs).

These students will be considered as a priority group if they fall into one of the priority groups outlined above.

Non-professional programmes

Second degree students on non-professional programmes will be expected to have made realistic provision for their tuition fees and living costs prior to the start of their programme in line with government guidelines for self funding postgraduate students. An indication of the level of provision you will be expected to have put in place prior to the start of your studies can be found on our postgraduate ALF web page.

This follows the ALF guidance (4.81) for self-funding postgraduate students, which states:

"...administrators should confirm that the student has made realistic provision at the start of the course to fund both their tuition fees and living costs. Where students have clearly not done so, a payment from the Fund may not be appropriate. It is reasonable for the administrator to consider the notional postgraduate income (NPI) to be indicative that the student has made realistic provision."

Students who demonstrate that they have made realistic provision for their tuition fees and living costs but can show that they still have an additional need, may still be eligible for an award but will not be considered as a priority group for assistance under ALF guideline 4.14, which states:

"Institutions should give priority for ALF to students undertaking their first HE qualification; the needs of this group should be taken into account before institutions consider supporting ELQ students who have been charged a higher rate of fee and are ineligible for student support. Similarly students ineligible for student support due to previous study rules are not a priority for ALF funding."

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Short-term loans

You can apply for an emergency loan from ALF, if you have not yet received your student loan payment at the start of term. Short term loans will not be available during the Summer term and Summer vacation.

If you are requesting a short-term emergency loan only, please speak to a Student Funding Advisor in the first instance. Applications should be processed and paid within 24 hours.

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How your application for ALF will be assessed

Your application will be treated as either a 'standard' or 'non-standard' claim. 'Standard' applications will be assessed under an additional need method that looks at the difference between accepted reasonable expenditure and expected income. If you have unforeseen circumstances, or an emergency situation, your application can be considered under a 'non-standard' assessment.

The assessment process is designed to identify students who have exceptional costs and those who experience unforeseen financial difficulty. The overall aim of the process is to target the help at those students who are in a particular financial difficulty.

Standard awards can help with the general costs of being a full time undergraduate student such as rent (or mortgage) payments, food and utility bills. In addition, there is assistance with course related costs such as childcare, travel, books and field trips. Part time and postgraduate students can also apply for help with these costs.

For full time undergraduate students being assessed under the 'standard' award procedure, we will use an assumed income figure. This income may be in the form of parental contributions, savings, or bank overdrafts. For full year students this is set at £1,694 per year and £565 per year for final year students.

Expenditure levels, known as Composite Living Costs (CLC), will be set according to figures used by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), for general living costs such as food and utility bills. The amount is set depending on your circumstances – usually in the range of £69 per week (single student) to £215 per week (for a single parent with 2 children under 16).

CLC include the following:

Food; utilities; mobile phone*; TV licence; clothes; home contents insurance; entertainment; clubs and societies.
(*Mobile phone costs are considered separately for essential users, such as parents.)

Non standard awards can help to meet exceptional costs, due to emergency situations or costs that are not met by other statutory support, for example, costs for disabled students not fully met by the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA).

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Timetable for making a decision

As long as you have completed the form correctly and provided the appropriate documentary evidence, an assessment and decision should be made within 4 weeks of submission. You should also receive a payment in this time.

However, please bear in mind that at certain times of the year, the office is incredibly busy and your application may take longer than stated above. You can help by planning ahead, filling in your application form legibly and accurately and providing us with all the information we request.

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How to appeal

If you are not satisfied with the decision, you may appeal in writing, in the first instance, to:

Jon Lightfoot
Student Funding Officer
Student Funding Office
Senate House, Ground Floor
Tyndall Avenue
Clifton
BRISTOL BS8 1TH

Any appeal must be made within two weeks from the date of the original decision.

If you are still not satisfied with the decision you will be able to submit a second appeal. This would be considered by the Student Funding Manager and the Welfare Advisor in the Students Union.

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Help with Tuition Fees

ALF cannot help with the payment of tuition fees for full time undergraduate students. If you have not already done so, you should contact your relevant funding provider for assistance with your tuition fees.

Limited assistance towards tuition fees may be available from ALF for home UK part time undergraduate students under the Additional Fee Support Scheme (AFSS). Further guidance for part-time students can be found on our part-time undergraduate web page. There may also be some assistance for students undertaking taster modules.

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