Travel cost assistance for students experiencing financial hardship
02 Dec 2020
Students that might struggle with the cost of travelling home can apply for financial assistance
We have introduced a new method for students to get faster help with these costs, if they have severe and unanticipated hardship.
- Support of up to £250 will be available, solely for the purpose of travelling home at Christmas.
- The deadline for requests for support is Friday, 11 December. Any requests received after this date will not be accepted.
- Funds will initially be provided as an interest free loan, repayable by 31 January 2021.
- In order for the advance not to be considered a loan, students must submit a formal application to the Living Cost Support Fund (LCSF), which will be assessed in January. Any advance previously given towards travel costs will be deducted from any formal award made from the LCSF. However, if a student’s application to the LCSF does not result in an award being made, then students will be expected to repay the advance on the basis of it being an interest free loan by 31 January 2021.
- Students must provide a copy/screenshot of their bank account, which clearly shows their name, account details and balance. Any evidence that does not appear to be from a bank statement, or bank website, will not be accepted. We also require evidence of the cost of travel home, e.g. screenshot of ticket costs from travel company website, or confirmation of the cost of a private COVID-19 test. The evidence provided must be from a verifiable source.
- There are two student payment runs scheduled to take place between now and the Christmas break, on Tuesday, 8 and Tuesday 15, December. Therefore, any requests for support with travel costs must be submitted, together with the correct supporting evidence, to the Funding team at funding@manchester.ac.uk by 4pm on Friday, 11 December. Failure to provide the correct supporting evidence by 11 December will result in the request being rejected.
- Those students who meet the requirements and are deemed eligible for support must ensure they submit their UK bank details online, using the instructions that can be found on our student support webpages, by 4pm on Friday, 11 December.