Cost of Living Portal

What is the Financial Support Bursary? 

The Financial Support Bursary (the “Bursary”) is available to students who are experiencing genuine and unforeseen financial hardship whilst at university, despite having applied for and received all other financial support. The Bursary can provide non-repayable grants towards essential living expenses and/or one-off unplanned costs and/or support for disability needs assessment. The Bursary can also help to provide essential IT equipment and short-term broadband connection for study.

The Bursary cannot be used to fund the following: 

• tuition fees - you must be in receipt of student finance or have a signed payment plan in place which covers your tuition fees.
• debts including gambling activities; or 
• medium to long-term financial instability and shortfall.

Not all Bursary awards may result in a cash payment. The University may distribute goods directly, for example a pre-approved laptop or a supermarket service voucher.

Who is eligible? 

Please note that all awards are subject to eligibility checks. Submission of an application does not guarantee funding.

To be eligible for this scheme, you must meet the following student requirements: 

• be UK domiciled (with settled status where applicable) [applies to Financial Support Fund, Milestones/Emergency Fund, Digital Fund, DSA200, Commuter Travel Bursary, Pregnancy, Adoption and Family Leave Bursary, Care Experienced and Estranged Student Bursary, the Childcare Fund and the Graduation Fund].

OR

• be a registered and enrolled student at our Berlin Campus and domiciled in Germany [Berlin Financial Bursary]

AND

• be facing financial hardship*
• have a household income of less than £35,000**
• be enrolled to any of Arden’s Undergraduate programmes.
• can demonstrate a shortfall in income versus expenditure which is contributing to financial hardship, such as an inability to meet living costs such as food, household bills, and/or travel*.
• be in receipt of the full Student Tuition Fee Loan to which you are entitled from the Student Loans Company or have entered into a registered payment plan with Arden University.
• be able to provide evidence of incomings and outgoings along with evidence of any dependents.
• where seeking funding for IT equipment, evidence of unaffordability. and confirmation that such equipment is not available via other grants and schemes such as the Disabled Students’ Allowance.
• be actively attending and engaged in your studies throughout the duration of the course. Attendance is defined as: presence at scheduled learning and teaching activities, including classes, workshops, and assessments. • Engagement is defined as: active participation in learning, including interaction with iLearn and other relevant virtual learning tools, timely submission of assessments, and responsiveness to university communication.

*Does not apply to the DSA200 or Care Experienced/Estranged Student Bursary

**Does not apply to the Childcare Fund which uses the Student Finance England criteria for household income of less than £20,107.23 if applying for one child and less than £28,914.47 household income if applying for more than one child in order to qualify for the Full time Childcare Grant.

Students who are not eligible for the bursary are still encouraged to seek advice and guidance on debt and money from agencies such as Citizens Advice (Debt and money - Citizens Advice).  You can also visit the Students’ Association Cost of Living Hub to find out about more external agencies or organisations that can provide you with tailored support.

What evidence is required? 

Once your application has been received, we will request that you submit supporting documentary evidence to the Hardship Support Administration Team. The evidence required is dependent on your individual circumstances; details of required evidence will be provided to you. In addition to the standard evidence listed above, you may in some cases be asked to provide additional information.

Bank Statements 

Please note that bank statements must be submitted as either a scan of the original document or in PDF format exported from your online banking or mobile banking app.  You should submit bank statements that covers the month before the date of your application. The University has absolute discretion to request bank statements for up to three months before the date of your application.

All bank statements should include any income and expenditure quoted in your application and should contain the following information: 

• Your name and address. 
• Your bank details, including sort code and account number. 
• All transactions going into or out of accounts over £100/€100 should be annotated to explain the following: 
  • Where the transaction is from/to; and 
  • What the transaction is for. 

The University will not accept screenshots of your accounts or summaries detailed via any other format. Evidence must be provided for all accounts you hold, including any joint, savings, or ISA accounts. The University may recover funding in cases where students have withdrawn cash which cannot be evidenced with receipts as to what has been purchased with the sum withdrawn.

Letters, tenancy agreements, and bills (e.g., Council Tax, utilities bills) 

Any documents submitted as evidence should be on company-headed paper, preferably displaying the organisation’s official stamp to show authenticity. Any evidence that contains a foreign language must be translated to English before submission to the University. 

In the case of tenancy documentation, you should inform the University of any debt/arrears regarding outstanding rent payments. 

Informal Rent/Board Family Arrangements

In cases where you are paying rent or board to family members and there is evidence of regular payments via bank transfer, but no formal tenancy agreement is in place, you must provide the following evidence:

A written statement or agreement confirming:

• The arrangement
• Payment amount
• Frequency of payments
• Three Bank statements evidencing the payments.

Student Finance England Documentation (full-time undergraduate students only) 

You should evidence that you have been means-tested by Student Finance England (SFE). When submitting SFE evidence this must include all income including but not limited to maintenance loans, income from employment, and government benefits.

Household income and Universal Credit 

If this is not shown on your recent bank statement, you may supply a P45 or P60 for the most recent tax year or a statement of earnings from HMRC. If your income was zero or you have an emergency tax code (e.g., ending in M1, W1, or T) you should submit a statement of earnings instead of a P60 (unless you are claiming one of the means-tested benefits listed below). For any additional income e.g., from external funding or government benefits please include a list of payments you have received and are yet to receive. If you receive Universal Credit, you will be asked to provide evidence such as your award letter; eligibility for Universal Credit is one of the factors we consider when assessing the validity of low-income status and requirement for financial support.

Childcare costs 

You may be asked to provide evidence of invoices, outstanding childcare bills, and any correspondence regarding missed payments/debt arrears. For full-time students, you should also evidence why you have been assessed as not eligible for the childcare grant from SFE. 

How to apply? 

To apply for the Bursary, you will need to do the following: 

1. ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria.
2. register for Blackbullion with your Arden email address at com
3. complete the relevant digital application form on Blackbullion which requires you to upload evidence within 20 business days. Note that if you do not complete it within 20 business days your application will be closed.

A closed Bursary application cannot be reopened, but a new application can be made if required. Once your evidence has been submitted, the University will contact you to advise on the outcome of your application. If the University confirms a Bursary award, you should:  

4. provide any further details requested to facilitate the Bursary award e.g., bank details. 

Only applications submitted via Blackbullion will be considered unless there is an exceptional circumstance that may prevent you from doing so. In this case, please email studentfundingadmin@arden.ac.uk

Award and Conditions 

Please see details below for elements of the bursary you may be eligible to receive in the event of an award.

Note: You may apply for one particular financial support fund element or a combination as part of your Bursary application, within the same academic year. However, in exceptional circumstances, and if you are experiencing unexpected and unforeseen financial difficulty, an additional claim in the same academic year may be considered.

All information provided in support of your application will be considered and we encourage you to provide as much information as possible to give us a full picture of your circumstances.

We will complete the assessment and provide an outcome of a complete application with evidence within 20 working days, if you are required to provide further evidence to support your application, the 20 working days will only start from the point we have received all necessary evidence.

Award arrangements 

Payment will be processed for successful applications within 7-10 working days and will be paid directly to your nominated UK bank account as stated on your application form. 

Where there is an urgent need for food or travel this may be expedited providing the student has specified this in their application form. Where possible awards will be sent digitally via email, however vouchers may also require postage.

Typically, you will not be eligible for multiple of the same awards within the same academic year. However, in exceptional circumstances and if you are experiencing unexpected and unforeseen financial difficulty, an additional claim may be considered. In this event, you will need to complete a brand-new application form and submit evidence to your support your new application. Please note that you can only apply for the Bursary in the same academic year if you have not been in receipt or awarded the Bursary within the last 3 calendar months. 

Please note that internet, travel, and food vouchers will only be issued as a short-term solution, and it will be your responsibility to ensure that long-term provision is in place.

Award suspension and termination. 

With the exception of the Pregnancy bursary, the award will be suspended during a period of approved leave of absence where this period covers a whole or part of an academic year. On your return to studies, you may apply/reapply for the Bursary if you meet the eligibility criteria.

If you withdraw from your studies or are required to withdraw, any scheduled Bursary award(s) will not be made. Your award will be terminated if you cease to be registered as a student or for good cause at the discretion of the Financial Support Team.

Arden University reserves the right to recover funds where a Bursary has been awarded under false pretence, or these terms and conditions have been breached.

Arden University may recover amounts awarded if not fully utilised within 90 days of allocation.

Appeals  

If you are dissatisfied with the decision of your outcome, you can appeal within 10 working days of your outcome via email: 

studentfundingadmin@arden.ac.uk 

Your appeal will be considered by Funding Support Team Leader with respect to the details raised in your appeal. Arden University has absolute discretion on the outcome of your application form and if your appeal is unsuccessful then the decision is final.

 Acceptance 

Acceptance of the Bursary constitutes acceptance of these terms and conditions. 

These terms and conditions apply for the Financial Support Fund awarded to students for the Academic year 2026/27. Arden University reserves the right to update these terms and conditions, as necessary. These terms are read in conjunction with Arden’s main terms, policies, and procedures (“Arden Policies”), in force from time to time, including but not limited to: 

• Arden University’s Terms and Conditions (“Main Terms”). 
• Arden University’s Privacy Policy 
• Arden University’s Programme Fee Payment Policy. 
• Arden University’s Refund
• Arden University’s Student Protection Plan; and 
• Arden University’s Student Regulations.

Copies of all Arden Policies are available on the Arden University Website. Your personal data will be managed in accordance with our privacy policy which can be found online at Privacy Policy | Arden University.