Student Support Fund
Additional funding via the Student Support Fund
The Liverpool John Moores University Student Support Fund helps students with additional financial assistance. Read on for more information about how the scheme works.
When can I apply?
You can apply at any point in the Academic Year. We do not have a deadline as such (other than the end of the year) and instead applications are processed as they are received on a rolling programme over the year.
Who can apply?
The fund is open to all students at LJMU regardless of your fee status (e.g. International, postgraduate etc.). However, due to visa restrictions, applications from international students will only be considered if you need help with short term unexpected situations.
What am I applying for?
You can apply for assistance if you think you will not have enough money to cover essential expenditure or experiencing financial difficulties due to the rising cost of living, such as not having enough money for food, energy costs or to pay your rent. Alternatively, it may be due to unexpected costs such as a broken heating system. Within the policy there are also specific pots of money to support students who have childcare responsibilities, those who maybe Young Adult Carers, those with disabilities and for students who may incur additional costs as a result of an unpaid work experience or placement opportunity. The details on these areas of funding are detailed within the policy and in the appendices.
We cannot help pay tuition fees regardless of the situation but we are happy to give you advice about these.
Energy Cost Assistance
This is a one-off award for students who can demonstrate that they are contributing to an energy bill at their term time address. The amount of the award is £100 for single students and £300 for students with children.
The criteria for an award is:
- Struggling to 'top up' prepayment meters over the winter months.
- Arrears have accumulated over the winter period.
- Students have 'bills included' in their tenancy agreement and have exceeded the fair usage cap.
If you have already had an award from the Student Support Fund for this academic year, email moneyadvice@ljmu.ac.uk with proof of your energy costs.
Opportunity Fund
LJMU is committed to widening participation, supporting excellence and ensuring that able students do not fail to reach their potential due to a lack of resources. We want our students to enjoy and benefit from their time at University and graduate with skills that prepare them for the work and stand out from the crowd by bringing together graduate skills and work related learning.
We recognise however that there is often a cost associated with this, which may be because students have to reduce the number of hours of paid employment or give up paid employment altogether in order to take up work related learning or that sometimes paid or unpaid placements have an impact on statutory funding.
The LJMU Opportunity Fund supports students engaged on placements, internships or other relevant opportunities that are not part of your actual course. The purpose of the fund is to ensure that students do not miss out on invaluable work experience and opportunities due to lack of funds.
How to apply?
You can apply on-line via the LJMU student website. If you go to MyLJMU and then My Services scroll down near to the bottom - LJMU Student Support Fund.
What is the application process?
We have simplified the form for the new Academic Year to make it easier to apply. Don’t panic about getting things wrong as staff will check the application and make any corrections where appropriate. It also asks you to let us know of anything specific to you, so why you need extra financial support. This is where you should let us know about anything you need help with (such a broken heating system). You will also need to attach a few documents to the application such as details of your student funding and your bank statements.
Once you submit the form, a Student Money Advisor will look at your documents and apply the University policy to your application. To minimise errors and ensure applications are assessed correctly, at least two members of staff will assess the form. We may get in touch with you when assessing your application to suggest other funding options. This is not because we do not want to help you but we may be able to suggest other options that may be more appropriate.
We will then email you to your LJMU email address to say if you have been successful or not and if you have been given award it will say how much you have been awarded and when you will receive it. Most awards are paid in instalments to help both you and us with budgeting.
How long does it take to process an application?
Applications can take up to four weeks but we do them as quickly as we can. If your financial need is more urgent then please contact us on the number below or pop in to one of our drop-ins at Student Life Building or James Parsons Building. Make sure you attach the documents required (PDF only) when you apply as this tends to be the main thing that holds up processing.
What are the likely outcomes?
If you are successful, we will pay money into your bank account in instalments. It is important that you make sure you enter these details carefully when you apply as we cannot be held responsible for any payments that aren’t made due to incorrect bank details being entered.
If you are not successful, this is because we have applied the policy to your application and you do not come out with an award. We encourage you to contact us as we may suggest other options for you and are always happy to talk to you about these.
Need help just ask?
Please do get in touch with us if you need any help or advice about this or any other aspect of your funding.
Email: Moneyadvice@ljmu.ac.uk
Telephone: 0151 231 3153
