Universities are required to pay a minimum bursary to all students receiving the maximum maintenance grant. Most institutions are offering more than the minimum. The typical bursary in 2008-09 is around £1,000 per year.
The great majority of those entitled to bursaries are either applying to their university for funding, or are the subject of an automatic notification of eligibility from the Student Loans Company to their university because they had given consent to the sharing of financial data.
To further improve take-up, Department officials have worked closely with the Student Loans Company and other stakeholders to improve the bursary consent arrangements on the 2008-09 student finance application form.
The introduction of an ‘opt out’ clause, giving both the student and their sponsor an opportunity to opt out of consenting to their personal information being shared with universities for bursary purposes, is expected to increase the numbers of students assessed for and receiving bursaries. Clear guidance states that a decision to opt out of sharing data with universities does not affect entitlement to other forms of support.
Promotional materials have been issued to raise awareness of the availability of bursaries and encourage students to seek further information from institutions. The Government-sponsored directgov website also provides students with a bursary map, permitting them to carry out an online search of institutional bursaries.
In addition, students in financial difficulty during their course can apply for additional help through the Government-funded Access to Learning Fund (ALF). ALF is a discretionary fund administered directly by individual higher education institutions which are best placed to assess their students' circumstances.
The latest figures show that acceptances to universities for England are at an all-time high, with the proportion of applicants from lower socio-economic groups also up. The current package of student support means that anyone who can benefit from higher education has the opportunity to do so. This Government have brought back non-repayable grants and greatly expanded the numbers who get them. This autumn, around two-thirds of full-time eligible students will qualify for non-repayable grants of up to £2,835 a year. Full-time students can also apply for loans to meet their tuition fees and to help with living costs.