Finance Advice

When you start University you will be living on a fixed income, so it's a good idea to plan your finances. It might be boring and a bit frightening but keeping a record of your income and outgoings can really help you to budget properly.

By doing this, you will be able to determine how much you have available to spend on non-essential or less important items. Record everything you spend so that you are always aware how little or much you have left for the rest of the week/month. If you are unaccustomed to managing your own money or are trying to manage on less money, then it is easy to overspend quickly.

We advise working out your budget as soon as your student loan arrives, the simplest way to work out your budget is to use a budget planner or ask for advice with any budgeting queries you may have from the Advice and Representation Centre.

If you find yourself struggling don't panic, stay calm, try not to feel guilty or afraid and there's no need to feel embarrassed, help is available.

Ignoring the problem and not taking action will not make the problem go away, it will just get worse, seek help, the Advice and Representation Centre has advisers who will be able to help you take back control.

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Financing your way through university can be a tough assignment. However, you can take steps to help you finance your higher education with a Student Loan.

If you have previously gained an honours degree from a Higher Education Institution you will not be eliglble for any student support unless you are continuing your studies towards certain professional qualifications i.e. medical doctor, dentist, veterinary doctor or architect.

Everyone is entitled to the non-means tested element of the loan. The remaining means tested element you may receive will depend upon the income of your parents or you/your spouse if you are independent. If you are estranged from your parents then you will have to provide additional supporting evidence.

Student Finance England (SFE) will assess your eligibility for funding, students will need to meet the basic redsidency requirement.

Generally students under the age of 25 are assessed on the income of their parents, if you are estranged or live independently then you will have to provide proof.

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If you’ve received your notification letter and completed your enrolment, but have still not received any money, your funding should be released shortly so keep an eye on your bank account.

Make sure that you have completed all of the enrolment tasks as this may delay receipt of your funding.

Check your Student Finance Account on the www.gov.uk/studentfinance website to make sure you’ve supplied all the evidence required?

We advise you to print off the Student Account Summary page, should you need to show the University proof of application.

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For the purpose of welfare benefits, you are a Full-Time student if:

You count as a student from the first day until the last day of the course or if you do not complete it, until the day you are dismissed from or abandon the course. This means that you count as a student even during holidays and when taking time out from studying, unless certain circumstances apply (see Time out from study within this guide)

If you are a Full-Time student and you live with a partner who is not a student, they may be able to claim means-tested benefits for you both. Some of your student support may be taken into account.

Find out more about students and benefits in general HERE

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The majority of full-time students are not eligible to claim Welfare Benefits, which is now Universal Credit. The following groups are exceptions to the rule:

• Single Parents
• Students regarded as disabled by the government
• Students who are of a pensionable age
• Couples with a dependent child, where both parents are students
• Part time students – studying fewer than 16 hours per week. (Part-time students will be able to apply for welfare benefits but a partner’s income will be taken into account.)

Benefits are calculated by comparing your income to levels set by the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP). Income includes your Maintenance Loan (less a fixed amount for books and travel), which is divided by the number of weeks in the academic year.

There is a Special Support Element included in the maintenance loan if you are eligible this is not included as income, Childcare Grant and Parent’s Learning Allowance are also not counted as income for benefit purposes.

If you are eligible to claim Universal Credit, you will need to raise a helpdesk enquiry with ASK@WLV and request a bespoke letter confirming your last day of attendance for benefit purposes.

You may be able to get a loan if your part-time course has a ‘course intensity’ of 25% or more.

‘Course intensity’ measures how much of your course you complete each year compared to an equivalent full-time course.

You can work this out by comparing your module credits with the number of module credits a full-time student will study. You’ll be asked how many credits you’ll study when you apply for the loan.

Check with your university or college if you’re not sure.

What you can apply for depends on when your course starts.

If your course starts on or after 1 August 2018 - You can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan.  More information about this can be found HERE

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If you’re starting a master’s degree, you could get a Postgraduate Master’s Loan  if your course starts on or after 1st August 2020, to help with course fees and living costs.

Ignoring the debt and not taking any action will not make the problem go away, it can in fact make your situation a lot worse. There is a lot of advice and there are a lot of tools available to help you tackle debt head on and enable you to take control of your situation rather than let your debts control you. See below our brief guide to dealing with debt but do follow the links at the end of this page, to access further information.

There are many websites offering FREE advice and guidance on debt management, do not use services for which you must to pay.

Try the following links for further advice and guidance:

Citizens Advice

Money Saving Expert (MSE) debt help planning

Student Debt Help & Advice Free From StepChange

National Debtline

PayPlan

Money Advice Service.

uSwitch - Get out of debt guide

The Consumer Forums (Consumer Action Group)

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Funds are available to provide financial help to students if they are able to prove genuine financial hardship, that might impact on their ability to continue at the University. You need to have exhausted all other financial means i.e. overdraft, student loan etc, before applying to the Dennis Turner Fund.

The Dennis Turner Fund (DTF) is the Universities hardship fund, set up to help students who are in genuine financial difficulty.

Through the Fund the University is showing its commitment to supporting students who find themselves in genuine financial hardship that might impact on their ability to continue on a course at the University.  Such hardship may arise as a result of a delay in receipt of statutory funding or may be due to unforeseen circumstances which may cause the student to withdraw from their course if support is not available.

To apply please log on to  your e:Vision account and click on the "apply" link under Dennis Turner under the Finance and Bursaries tab.