BGU Bursary
The BGU Bursary is an additional source of funding available to full-time students from the University. All students studying in 2024/25, who are eligible, will receive a BGU Bursary.
Eligibility
Students must satisfy the following criteria in order to qualify for the BGU Bursary.
Basic eligibility:
Students must be studying a full-time undergraduate course which began on or after 1st September 2021 with a minimum fee of £6,165
&
Have a household income (as assessed by an awarding authority such as Student Finance England) of £30,000 or less.
Students who satisfy the above as well as being in one of the following groups will be awarded a Bursary at the following rates according to the programme of study on which they are enrolled:
BA Hons Award Annual Amount |
FdA/Foundation Year Annual Amount |
||
Mature (over 21 on Entry) |
£800.00 |
£600.00 |
|
Polar Q1 (young entrant, low participation neighbourhood) |
£800.00 |
£600.00 |
|
Student Carer |
£1000.00 |
£750.00 |
|
Care Leavers |
£3600.00 |
£3600.00 |
|
Estranged Students (as assessed by funding body) |
£1000.00 |
£750.00 |
|
Student Parent |
£1000.00 |
£750.00 |
|
Students with Caring Responsibilities
This bursary is available to student carers. Please note, if you are a carer in receipt of Carers Allowance you will be unable to continue claiming this support when in full time studies at university. other benefits may also be affected by full time funding.
Care Leavers
This bursary is for students of care leaver status (see our care leavers section on Blackboard for more information) and is designed to remove the need for students from care to apply for the maintenance loan from the Student Loans Company (although they remain eligible to apply for the loan if they wish to do so).
Stand Alone Bursary
BGU’s Stand Alone Bursary is for students who are irreconcilably estranged from their parents. This funding is aimed at supporting estranged students with additional funds they might require to secure accommodation during their studies.
Student Parents
This bursary is for students who are financially responsible for a child.
PLEASE NOTE: You can only qualify for one bursary even if you identify with more than one of the above groups. The bursary you receive will be the one at the highest rate.
We require evidence from carers, care leavers, estranged students and student parents before we can process any additional funding.
Your funding provider (SFE, etc) will share your age and neighbourhood information with the bursary system, so we will not require any additional evidence.
Please speak to Student Advice & Wellbeing if you would like more information.
How to Apply
Make an application for your core funding via Student Finance England (or SFW, SFNI, SAAS for the rest of the UK)
Indicate that you wish to share your information with your University in order to be considered for bursaries (look out for this check box when filling in your application)
Ensure anyone supporting your application with household income information (e.g. your parent(s) or partner) also agrees for their information to be shared with the University.
Await confirmation of your Bursary award by email in October 2024.
BGU Learning Fund
The BGU Learning Fund is a source of means-tested and discretionary financial assistance available from the University. Any help you receive from the Fund is usually non-repayable. The Fund aims to support students who require financial assistance to meet extra costs that cannot be met through other sources of support.
Any information you disclose to Student Advice & Wellbeing will be handled confidentially, sensitively and professionally.
Priority Groups
The Fund is there to help any eligible student who has a particular financial need but we cannot make an award in respect of every application we receive and we cannot always meet all of the costs that you might apply for. The Government has recommended we give priority to the following groups of students when deciding how to allocate the funding, and these include:
- Care leavers
- Carers & Young Carers
- Students with children (especially lone parents)
- Mature students
- Students from low income families
- Disabled students
- Students receiving the final year loan rate, who are in financial difficulty
Applying to the BGU Learning Fund
Complete the online application form which can be accessed through the Student Advice & Wellbeing area of the portal and the Student Advice & Wellbeing area of Blackboard.
Complete all sections and provide appropriate documentary evidence to illustrate your circumstances – a list of basic documentary evidence is included at the back of the form.
If you are unsure how to complete any part of the form, or what details you should include, please contact Student Advice & Wellbeing – we will be happy to assist you in making sure your application is effective as possible.
Applications take up to 4 weeks to be processed.
Please note the BGU Learning Fund deadline dates as advertised in the Guidance Notes.
Eligibility
The BGU Learning Fund is available to university students who are ordinarily resident in the UK and who are registered as current undergraduate, postgraduate full-time or part-time students.
Usually, you will need to have applied for and received the first instalment of the maximum student loan available to you before you can receive any assistance from the BGU Learning Fund. Short-term loans are available to students whose student finance payments have been delayed.
Full eligibility details are available in the booklet “BGU Learning Fund: Explanatory Notes and Procedure for Making an Application”, available from Student Advice & Wellbeing.
Council Tax
Full-time students
Full-time students on undergraduate and postgraduate courses are usually exempt from the liability to pay Council Tax, but a student must obtain a Council Tax certificate to claim their exemption. Full-time students are exempt for the duration of their course — this includes any vacation time or time when you may be intercalating, but does not include periods when students progress from one course to another, e.g. from undergraduate to postgraduate study. A full-time student is Council Tax exempt as long as they have not abandoned, been dismissed from, or completed their course. Usually, where a full-time student shares a property with an adult non-student (to whom no exemption applies) a 25% discount can be applied for. The non-student is liable for payment of the bill. The student has no liability to pay any contribution to the bill. Where a full-time student is sharing with two or more non-students then there will be no discount and liability lies with the non-students.
Part-time students
Part-time students are not exempt from liability to pay Council Tax, but may qualify for Council Tax Reduction which could reduce the amount of Council Tax they need to pay.
Council Tax certificate
Full-time students need to apply for Council Tax exemption and notify their relevant Council Tax office of the dates when their course will start and end. If this is not done, a liability will arise until the exemption paperwork has been provided. The relevant Council Tax office will be the one relating to the student’s term-time address. To apply for your Council Tax Certificate you will need to go to the BGU Student Portal and click on the ‘Self Service’ tile. You will see the ‘Council Tax Certificate Request’ in this section.
If you have any issues requesting your certificate from the Portal please contact the Faculty Administration Office.
International Students
International and EU students should refer to the UKCISA Guidance Note “Council Tax” for further Information.
