The cost of living crisis is affecting many students’ ability to pay for the dramatic increases in rent, food and energy costs.
The University has doubled its contribution to the Student Hardship Fund and you can play your part by donating to our Christmas Appeal.
Applications for emergency grants have increased by a third and demand for help is expected to increase even further over the coming months.
The Christmas Appeal aims to raise £18,000, enough to pay for 10 emergency grants to students facing financial hardship.
The average grant has increased by £300 to £1,800 and represents a lifeline to students, particularly those from priority groups such as lone parents, those with health problems or disabilities, refugees or asylum seekers, and final-year students.
For example, one lone parent master’s student was forced to skip lectures and group working because she was unable to afford the increased nursery costs.
“I used the grant to fund the additional childcare I needed badly. It improved my ability to complete my coursework, attend lectures, join group work projects and prepare for the unit that I failed in the first semester. It also helped me get rest and attend my hospital appointments. These flexibilities reflected on my result – I have 68% overall now! An abstract based on one of my assignments has been accepted to present at a conference in the US and I have been offered a fellowship to attend.”
Another beneficiary was a final-year PhD student in Social and Policy Sciences whose rent was almost doubled by their landlord.
“I will use the grant to pay the increase in rent. As the grant is equivalent to a year’s worth of rent increase, there is no need for me to worry about accommodation any more. It means I can concentrate on my PhD research, which I expect to finish in a year.”
