NUS demand bursaries be paid in full

THE NATIONAL UNION of Students is concerned that universities are not distributing bursaries as they should. A report released on 24 January 2008 from the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) revealed that universities have spent £24m less on bursaries and outreach activities than they had planned.

The NUS Vice President for Education Wes Streeting presented Universities UK with an invoice for this money. He commented that the institutions “must begin urgent discussions with students” unions about the design and promotion of their bursary packages, and to implement OFFA’s recommendation to retrospectively award bursaries to those students who were entitled to them’.

At Durham, such bursaries are awarded through the Durham Grant Scheme. This entitles students who receive a Maintenance Grant from the Student Loans Company of either £1,135 or over for the year, to receive up to a further £3,070. However Durham University students, like students around the country, have not always received such bursaries. A spokesperson for the Student Financial Support Team said that advancement for the scheme is automatic from student loan applications. He claimed that the reason eligible students have not been receiving the grants is because, when filling out their forms, they do not consent to their financial information being shared with the university. The spokesperson guarantees that if the students meet eligibility criteria and consent to share their details then they will receive the money; in fact he stated that every student who did this last year received their bursary.

The University has been working to ensure that students are aware that they must consent for their details to be shared with the university in order to receive their money. If the student does not understand what they are committing to, the information is available. Posters for claiming bursary money have been dispersed around the colleges and the DSU and reminders have been sent in emails. The JCR Execs from the colleges are aware of the Grant Scheme and are encouraged to talk to students about it.

The colleges have confirmed that they do all they can to ensure students received their money. The Vice Principal and Senior Tutor of Collingwood College, Dr. Stephen Rayner, emphasised they cannot ensure everybody who might qualify gets the grant, as many do not agree to share their information. However, he commented that “what we can do is run awareness campaigns, which we are doing at present – I have a pile of posters sent to me by the student finance office which we will post around college and there are emails reminding people of the possibility of accessing the grant.” Certain colleges, such as Grey College, also have College funds donated by alumni members, but many rely solely on the Durham Grant Scheme. At Grey College both the College bursaries and the Durham Grants are advertised around College and in emails to students.

The NUS feels that there should be a national bursary scheme in place in order to eliminate the problems of students not receiving funds they are eligible for. Mr. Streeting claimed that this would “reduce bureaucracy and ensure that financial support is based on what students need not where they study.” The NUS intends to make this case when the 2009 review begins.
Durham University students are urged that if they have agreed that their information can be shared and have not yet received their first two instalments of the grant or a letter detailing their award, then they are to contact the Student Financial Support Team. Email: s.b.harvey@durham.ac.uk or Telephone: 0191 334 46145 or 0191 334 46116.