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Higher education bursaries, scholarships and awards: Terms and Conditions

There are four financial support schemes available to support student success.

 

1. The B&FC Advantage Bursary

This is designed to help students with the costs of equipment associated with study.

It is a means tested bursary to the value of £500.

You may be eligible if you are a new full-time level 4 / year 0 UK home student or EU national and have been living permanently in the UK for the last 5 years (undergraduate students only). 

This will only be awarded in the first year of study and in 2 payments of £250 (normally November and February).

The award will not be available if you are repeating a study year or doing a placement year.  Eligibility with be assessed using data supplied by Student Finance on household income which is less than £25,000.

Payments may be withheld if attendance is consistently below 90%.

There are 250 Advantage Bursaries available, therefore, we may assess further based on further information requirements detailed in the Important Information section.  

Application deadline is the last day of the month in which your programme starts.

This Scholarship is not available if you are repeating a study year, undertaking a placement year and/or have a sponsor who is covering the cost of your undergraduate programme.

 

2. The B&FC Access Scholarship

This is guaranteed for all Care Leavers[1], Young Adult Carers[2] and Estranged Students[3] to the value of £1,000 per year of study, to a maximum of 3 years and in 3 payments of 2 x £350 and 1 x £300 per year.

You may be eligible if you are:

  • studying part-time, the amount will be paid pro rata. 
  • a UK home student or EU national who has been living permanently in the UK for the last 5 years. 

This Scholarship is not available if you are repeating a study year, undertaking a placement year and/or have a sponsor who is covering the cost of your undergraduate programme.

 

3. The B&FC Opportunity Scholarship

This scholarship is part of our Access and Participation Plan and supports up to five new undergraduate students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds to access higher education at B&FC.

It will cover the cost of tuition fees for up to 3 years of study on a higher education programme at B&FC.  You may be eligible if you are:

  • a new full-time level 4 / year 0 UK home student or EU national and have been living permanently in the UK for the last 5 years (undergraduate students only)
  • from one of the following BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) groups:

 

Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Group

White and Black Caribbean/White and Black African/White and Asian/Other Mixed/Multple Ethnic

Asian/Asian British

Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi/Chinese/Other Asian

Black African/Caribbean/British

African/Caribbean/Other Black/African/Caribbean

Other Ethnic Group

Arab

 

This Scholarship is not available if you are repeating a study year, undertaking a placement year and/or have a sponsor who is covering the cost of your undergraduate programme.

The number of scholarships is limited to five, therefore, we may assess further based on information requirements detailed in the Important Information section.

Application deadline is the last day of the month in which your programme starts.

 

4. The B&FC DSA Student Contribution Award

If you have paid (or need to pay) the £200 personal contribution towards equipment following a DSA (Disabled Students’ Allowances) assessment you can apply to B&FC for reimbursement.  This will be awarded as a one-off payment to help towards the cost of a laptop or other device to enable you to complete your study.

There are 70 DSA Student Contribution Awards available, therefore, we may assess further based on information requirements detailed in the Important Information section.

You may be eligible if you:

  • are a UK home student or EU national who has been living permanently in the UK for the last 5 years. (overseas and EU students are not eligible)
  • are a current full time or part-time registered higher education student at B&FC
  • have completed a Study Needs Assessment for the current academic year, had equipment recommended and have a DSA approval letter from your funding provider (this is usually Student Finance) to confirm you are required to pay the £200 DSA personal contribution.

 

As part of your application for this Award you will need to provide a copy of the DSA approval letter from your funding provider (usually Student Finance) outlining computing equipment recommendations. Please make sure to include the page showing you're liable to pay the £200 contribution.

 

Financial hardship funding

This funding is available for students on course who may find themselves in financial hardship.

Each case of hardship is assessed on an individual basis via the Careers team and support is given based on a full review of individual financial situation.

 

How to Apply

Complete the Bursaries, Scholarships and Awards application form.

For the Advantage Bursary, Access Scholarship and DSA Student Contribution Award you must apply for income-assessed financial help through Student Finance. You must ensure that they make a decision based upon your total household income.

Student Finance will ask you if you want to give ‘consent to share’ your application with B&FC. Without this consent we cannot process your application for the Advantage Bursary, Access Scholarship or DSA Student Contribution Award.

If you have already applied to Student Finance and didn’t tick the box, please phone the customer helpline on 0300 100 0607 to change the ‘consent to share’ box.

Students who meet the criteria may apply for more than one Scholarship and Bursary.  

For the Access Scholarship only, continuing students will need to complete a Student Finance application for each year of their course, but they are not required to complete any subsequent Access Scholarship application forms.

 

Important Information

1) Bursaries and Scholarships will be given to students who meet the eligibility criteria at the time of allocation. There are a limited number available so even if you meet the criteria, this does not mean that you are guaranteed to be granted any funding.

2) If you defer your place at B&FC for a year, you will be considered for a bursary or scholarship in the year you start your course, not the year you applied. 

3) Students will receive their B&FC Advantage Bursary in 2 separate payments of £250 to a chosen bank account. First payment in November and the second in February.

4) Students will receive their B&FC Access Scholarship Bursary in 3 separate payments 2 x £350 and 1 x £300.  First payment in November, second in February and final payment in June.

5) Students will receive their B&FC DSA Student Contribution Award in a one-off payment within one month of a successful application.

6) Payments will stop if there was an interruption in your study and any remaining payments will be made when you return to B&FC , in line with the payment dates.

7) If you withdraw from the programme before receiving the full amount, you will no longer be entitled to any further payments.

8) Students in receipt of a Bursary or Scholarship must inform Student Administration via hebursary@blackpool.ac.uk if they change their programme of study.

9) If a student has been awarded a Bursary or Scholarship and change their programme in the same academic year) their Bursary award will be transferred to their new programme of study, providing the course is eligible and there has been no break in study. 

10) B&FC reserves the right to withdraw a Bursary or Scholarship from any student who has misled the College about any aspect of their application or eligibility for an award. B&FC will seek repayment of any monies paid in this instance.

11) B&FC reserves the right to withdraw a Bursary or Scholarship if a student’s attendance drops consistently below 90%. Extenuating circumstances for poor attendance will be assessed on a case by case basis.

12) B&FC is entitled to recover any material overpayment of Bursary or Scholarship made in error

13) B&FC reserves the right to withhold an awarded Bursary or Scholarship where a student has outstanding debt in relation to course fees with the College..
If we receive more applications for the Advantage Bursary, Opportunity Scholarship or DSA Student Contribution Award than the number of awards available, your application will be ranked according to:

  • Household income. For the Advantage Bursary and DSA Student Contribution Award this will be as provided by the applicant to Student Finance and for the Opportunity Scholarship this will be assessed with the individual student by the Careers Team. Ranking will be based on firstly, if the household income is between £0-£5,000, then between £5,000 and £10,000, then £10,001 to £15,000
  • If required, a further filter will be on Polar classification with preference to applicants whose home postcode is in an area of lowest participation in HE (QUINTILE 1).
  • Eligible applicants who do not receive a B&FC Advantage Bursary, Opportunity Scholarship and/or DSA Student Contribution Award due to insufficient numbers of awards will be placed on a waiting list to be considered if any allocated funds become available
  • B&FC reserves the right to extend the deadline for consideration of late applications, if any funding remains unallocated
  • B&FC is committed to a fair and clear policy in respect of the Bursary and Scholarship schemes and the way they are awarded and managed. B&FC will review the Bursaries and Scholarships each academic year and these may be subject to change.

 

Payment Schedule

Students will receive their B&FC Advantage Bursary in two equal instalments (November and February) paid directly into your bank or building society account by BACS.

Students will normally receive their B&FC Access Scholarship in two equal instalments dependent on date of application.  

Students will be notified of tuition fee payment for their programme after approval of application for the Opportunity Scholarship.

 

Appeals

If your application is unsuccessful, you can appeal the decision by writing to the Partnerships and Careers Manager  within 10 working days of the outcome of your application, clearly stating the grounds for appeal.

 

[1] Care Leaver: As defined by the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000. Students under the age of 25 who have been in the care of or has been given accommodation by the local authority such as foster care or a children’s home for a period of at least 13 weeks spanning the age of 16 years.
[2] Young Carer: Students under the age of 25 who provide unpaid care for a family member due to illness, disability, a mental health condition or an addiction (Carers Trust). Students will need to provide one of the following:

  • A supporting letter from a professional e.g. GP, Practice Manager or Carers Centre Manager
  • A supporting letter from School or College.
  • Evidence that you have, are in receipt of Carers Allowance.

[3] Estranged Students: Students under the age of 25 who are studying without the support of a family network.

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