Student Finance England
When studying at Higher Education level you may be entitled to financial support to help you whilst you studying. This includes:
- A government student loan from Student Finance England to cover the cost of your tuition fees.
- A Maintenance Loan to support you with living costs.
- Additional grants if you have to care for a child under the age of 18 or have an adult who depends on you financially.
- Additional grants if you have additional learning needs.
To find out more about the financial support available from Student Finance England and to apply, visit the Gov website. For further advice, students can contact the Student Finance England helpline by calling 0300 100 0607 or contact our Job Shop by calling 01226 216 732.
Student Opportunity Fund
At Barnsley College University Centre, we have a Student Opportunity Fund which offers financial support to students who find themselves in genuine, unavoidable financial difficulty and need support with exceptional costs.
Each case for financial hardship support is different depending on individual circumstances. In the past, the fund has supported students who have experienced sudden financial difficulty with situations such as, rent arrears, priority debts, sudden loss of income, amongst other financial situations.
If you feel you may require this support and would like further information, you can email hestudentsupport@barnsley.ac.uk or visit Student Services who are located in room AG03 on the ground floor of the Old Mill Lane campus.
How to apply
You will need to email hestudentsupport@barnsley.ac.uk for an application form, this can be completed online or via a paper option. Once a form is submitted to the Funding team, along with the required evidence (see below) to prove financial hardship, it is then assessed by a panel of staff to ensure a fair assessment and decision.
If an award is made from this fund, then students do not have to pay this back. Please be aware that the assessment process can take up to 10 working days.
For further information or an application form to the Student Opportunity Fund, please contact us via email: hestudentsupport@barnsley.ac.uk
Evidence of Financial Hardship
You must provide evidence of financial hardship via the provision of:
- Bank statements (from the last three months for all of the accounts you hold)
- Priority debt letters
- Any other information deemed relevant to the request may be asked for to enable a full assessment
Students who have received the fund in the past have provided the following feedback:
“Oh my word. Thank you so much! This is amazing and relieves a great deal of worry. Again, thanks very much and please pass this on to the decision making team.”
Feedback from a Higher Education student who received a contribution towards their rental arrears.
“Thank you so much for your email. I am forever grateful for your help. This will massively help me!!!”
Feedback from a Higher Education student who received a contribution towards priority debts and a supermarket voucher to purchase food and essentials.
“Many thanks. It’s made a huge difference for me having to support myself and my family.”
Feedback from a Higher Education student who received a one-off bursary from the fund.
Further information
For more information about any additional costs associated with studying Higher Education, visit the Additional Costs webpage. Alternatively, UCAS has lots of information and resources on their website that you may find beneficial. Visit the Student Finance – tuition fees, loans and funding page on the UCAS website for more details.
Last updated: 12th February 2024