Dear all
It seems to me that the problem lies in the decision to amalgamate what
used to be two funds ie Access Bursaries and (separately) Hardship Funds
into one this year.
Previously Access Bursaries were not affected by Hardship Loan
requirements and Hardship Funds were. Then the funds were amalgamated
into one but with guidance to spend around 15% of the amalgamated fund
on bursaries and encouragement to set up new bursaries schemes including
"bursaries to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are not
eligible for an Opportunity Bursary". Naturally we were encouraged to do
this long before the HSL guidance came out - such is life.
We then divide into those of us who assumed the Guidance about HSL's
covered every payment from the new combined Hardship and Bursary Fund
and those of us who assumed it applied only to Hardship Fund grants and
not to Bursary payments.
Personally I don't think either the HSL guidance or the Hardship and
Bursary Fund guidance really says whether the rules on HSL apply to
Bursary payments as well as Hardship Fund grants. But even if the rules
on HSL do apply to Bursaries surely those of us who have given bursaries
without HSL are covered by those parts of the HSL guidance which state
that HSL are discretionary and only become a statutory entitlement if
the student meets "any other criteria set by the institution" (Section 2
para 2) and "institutions may decide to offer students help from the
Hardship Fund without requiring the student to take their full HSL
entitlement if they judge this to be appropriate in an individual case"
ie we have judged it inappropriate to require students to take out a HSL
if they have met out criteria for Bursary help.
What do you think?
Yours sincerely
Wendy Shaw
Neil Harrison wrote:
>
> Dear all
>
> It's also been heartening to receive off-list e-mails from
> colleagues who feel similarly on this issue.
>
> We were told clearly (at the NASMA conference, amongst
> other places) that HEIs would be expected to remain within
> budget on the HLs this year. In order to achieve this, we
> decided that a student had to have a shortfall of over
> £1,000 to qualify for an HL - this is our "defined policy".
> We only chose this figure to try and manage what we were
> led to believe would be finite pot of money, otherwise we
> would have given to any student with any shortfall. This
> was responsible management as we over-spent by 60% in 00/01.
>
> Now, on the ground, we have students in hardship who we
> have not given an HL. However, were these students
> studying in an institution which has set a more liberal
> definition of hardship (and/or ignored the initial DfES
> guidance), they would have gotten it. This is plainly
> ludicrous and divisive and runs counter to any concept of
> equality of opportunity. It has also caused more than a
> small degree of distress for students who had been given
> HLs for 2 years and now haven't and also stress for my team
> in trying to explain why this is.
>
> Now maybe the new guidance in SSU Jan 02 is coded DfES
> language for "we know this is silly too, but Margaret and
> Estelle seem committed to it, so do as you will and we
> won't stop you." If it is this, then I would like to know.
> If it is not, I would encourage NASMA and AMOSSHE to
> campaign vigorously for a straight and professional line
> that we can all adhere to without a mid-year change and
> certain HEIs declaring independence while others struggle
> to balance the books as originally requested.
>
> I am now struggling to consider whether we should review
> our "defined policy" and reassess all the students we have
> rejected up to now. Is anyone else going to do this?
>
> Neil...
>
> On Thu, 7 Feb 2002 10:09:38 +0000 Jayne Aldridge
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > I dont think the DFFEs have said HEi's can
> > 'give Hardship loans away as they please'
> > as Neil benieves. The pronblem lies in the fact that
> > there is a discretionary pot of money sat within the
> > student support regs , which menas that once a person
> > fulfills that particular HEi's criteria IN ADDITION to
> > the criteria laid out in the student support regs then
> > a HSL cannot be refused .
> > Jayne
> >
> > On Wed, 6 Feb 2002 17:44:49 +0000 Neil Harrison
> > <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > > Dear all
> > >
> > > Very interested to read all these comments about the
> > > administration of hardship funds in different
> > institutions. > What is clear is that many places have
> > either (a) not read > the DfES guidance (including HEFCE
> > 01/15), or (b) have > chosen to ignore it as it is
> > unworkable and contradictory. > We fall into the latter
> > category, especially when the rules > are changed mid year.
> > > > I was absolutely appalled to read the latest information
> > > from DfES about Hardship Loans (HLs). At the start of the
> > > year, we installed a means-testing process which occupied
> > a > large amount of staff time and caused some degree of
> > > internal pain. The reason for this was that we were
> > told > that we could not exceed our budget as we had in
> > previous > years (160% in 00/01). What then are we to
> > think when the > DfES decides, without consultation, in
> > January 2002, to say > that actually we can give them away
> > as we please. Where > now the joined-up government?
> > > > I will be feeding this formally back to DfES and I have
> > > taken heart from colleagues' liberal attitude to the >
> > guidance with which we are provided! >
> > > > Neil...
> > > > ----------------------------------------
> > > Neil Harrison > Head of Student Advice & Welfare Services
> > > University of the West of England > Frenchay Campus,
> > Coldharbour Lane > Bristol, BS16 1QY
> > > E-mail: [log in to unmask] > Tel : (0117) 344 2822
> > > Fax : (0117) 344 2895
> >
> > Jayne Aldridge
> > Team Leader, Student Advice
> > Student Services
> > Thames Valley University
> > North East Building
> > St Mary's road
> > Ealing, London W5 5RF
> > U.K.
> >
> > Tel: + 44 (0)20 8231 2508
> > Fax: + 44 (0)20 8231 2587
> > Email: [log in to unmask]
>
> ----------------------------------------
> Neil Harrison
> Head of Student Advice & Welfare Services
> University of the West of England
> Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane
> Bristol, BS16 1QY
> E-mail: [log in to unmask]
> Tel : (0117) 344 2822
> Fax : (0117) 344 2895
--
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Wendy Shaw - Administrative Assistant
Tel 01904 432158
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