Durham Uni Announces £11m Support Fund
12 July 2011, 09:48 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50
An £11 million pounds support fund's been launched by Durham Uni to help students when tuition fees hit 9 grand a year.
The Uni announced earlier this year that it is going to charge the maximum 9 grand a year tuition fees.
It's now offering the cash to help students with living costs ahead of the increase.
£8million will be made available to help students from lower income backgrounds meet upfront costs such as accommodation and living expenses. In addition to funding bursaries and scholarships, the University is also putting £3m into student recruitment outreach activities.
Under the financial support package, students whose household family income is below £25,000 will automatically receive a support package worth £3,000-a-year.
Students whose family household income is between £25,000 and £42,600 will receive a support package of £1,000-a-year.
In both cases students will receive funding towards College living expenses or in cash if living in private accommodation.
Tuition fees will still be paid in the form of a Government loan, which students who begin courses in 2012 won’t repay until they have left University and are earning more than £21,000. These loans will be repaid at a modest rate because they are repayable over a very long period.
Compared to some other leading universities, Durham is spending a higher proportion (80 per cent) of its total additional fee income on bursaries and scholarships.
Dr Michael Gilmore, Durham University’s Academic Registrar said:
'Durham Students’ Union has said clearly that national student loan arrangements make fee waivers a less attractive offer to prospective students.
'While students will continue to pay nothing upfront in terms of tuition fees, they will have to pay for accommodation and living costs.
'Financial support to meet more immediate costs is much more attractive.
'Durham is a collegiate university and participating in a College community is an integral part of the student experience.
'Therefore, much of the financial support will be targeted at helping students enjoy the full benefit of this experience.'
