The University has today announced it will protect most bursary budgets, despite massive cuts to the National Scholarship Programme after a campaign from students asking the University to #PlugTheGap.
The University will be offering several undergraduate bursaries and scholarships, providing an additional £354,500 of financial support for those students in the 2014/15 intake.
The University has also promised to lift restrictions on the limit within the National Scholarship Programme. This will, however, depend on the amount of funding which can be provided as cash to re-profile entitlements as 100% accommodation bursaries.
Cash payments will also be offered to students not in university accommodation.
Speaking via a YUSU blog, YUSU President Kallum Taylor commented: “I’m really happy… Students here persuaded the University to go from spending absolute [sic] nothing to #PlugTheGap to spending £354,500… In what, the space of a few days, during the holidays?”
“The pressure was well and truly on, and we’ve done everything we could to deliver everything possible for students who won’t have much of an idea about what could have been when they come here.”
On the university’s decision to increase the funding hole by only 50 percent, Taylor told Vision: “Given the fact that through their action students have changed the University’s mind from not spending a penny to spending roughly £350,000 in the space of 2 or 3 days we are satisfied with the outcome.”
“The key thing to point out here is that the money now ‘in the pot’ for this (just over £700,000) will be directly felt by those students entitled to it.”
“It’s not perfect, but we really did get something from nothing here, and that at least should be known and celebrated. Thanks to everyone who chipped in their own thoughts and emails.”
The University has further promised to adjust the amounts of funding available to students in their first year, with a commitment to providing an enhanced bursary for those with the lowest household incomes.
A key campaigner, YUSU Disabilities Officer Thomas Ron, told Vision: “Given the ridiculous deadline the government slapped on the uni, which the student body had even less time to react to, I think most people would have thought there was no hope for any kind of action.”
“I would like to thank everyone who heard the call and campaigned for this, and I think this is a big victory. It is not perfect, obviously, but we really did something that no one expected and that should be celebrated.”
The National Scholarship Programme was introduced by the coalition government at the same time as £9000 tuition fees to support to students from middle to low income backgrounds.