Students from low-income families are failing to claim bursaries and scholarships from their universities, according to an official report.
The Office for Fair Access (Offa) has announced that one in 10 students across the country are missing out on money they are entitled to following claims that university finance applications are difficult and deterring students from claiming their entitlements.
The report follows the research by Offa investigating the support offered to poorer students as a result of the rise in tuition fees since 2006. A total of £192m was offered in bursaries and scholarships by universities last year.
It has also been noted by the Common Public Accounts Committee that the information on financial assistance was available from a range in sources, though it was not easily accessible or understood.
MP’s are calling for a “single source of information available to students to easily identify the bursaries and grants for which they may be eligible.”
UCLan offer the main scholarship “Ones to Watch” available to those students with maximum tuition fees and a household income of less than £60,000. Recently the scholarship has been altered from £1,000 for second and third year students to £310.
The academic year of 2007-08 saw universities pay £219m in bursaries and scholarships to attract students. The results were encouraging according to Offa director Sir Martin Harris; students are not being deterred from going to university, despite the increasing costs.
Over 70% of the money went to the lowest income group, those earning less than £17,910 a year, helping over 130,000 students.
Sir Martin added that additional research has been commissioned to raise awareness into bursaries and guidance information will be published in May 2009.
The bursaries and scholarships talks have lead to comments from the National Union of Students calling for a national system to replace the individual schemes in universities as some institutions offer more than others.
As part of the agreement to increase in tuition fees to £3,000, universities must offer students Offa-approved bursary schemes to help with costs.
However, some students are arguing that financial support should be offered based on how much students need it and not what course they are studying.
In addition to UCLan’s “Ones to Watch” scholarship there are many other opportunities for students including: Excellence, Excellence in sports and Gilbertson Excellence scholarships and the Harris bursaries.
“Ones to Watch” can be accessed through the “see your data” link on the UCLan homepage; the click of an icon and the screen is before your eyes. Simple.
Additional UCLan financial information is accessible on the website: www.uclan.ac.uk/information/prospective_students/fees_and_finance/scholarships.
