NEWS - 12,360 Students apply to the QUB Hardship & Support Funds
Queen’s University Belfast sees nearly 12,500 applicants for crisis support funds in the last 5 years
The number of students applying to the University Hardship Fund has risen by 14.1% since 2014/15 and yet the number approved by QUB has only risen by 0.4% in the same time period. Figures obtained by The Scoop reveal that from the period 2014 to 2019, over 12,360 students made applications for emergency funding to Queen’s University Belfast’s’ Student Hardship and Student Support funds.
According to QUB, “The Student Support Fund is used to provide discretionary financial help for students who are experiencing financial difficulties whilst studying and comprises two funds, the Department for the Economy (DfE) Student Support Fund and the University’s Hardship Fund.”
For many students, the hardship and support funds provide critical lifelines in times of crisis and financial difficulty. According to QUBSU, the average amount of funds given to successful applicants from the QUB Hardship fund is around £700. This is a non-repayable loan that students receive to provide support during some of their most difficult periods of time at University.
One of the biggest takeaways from the figures The Scoop obtained under a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request was there was an 11.5% rise in rejections of students applying for crisis support with on 9.1% of applications being rejected in 2014/15 compared to 20.6% of students being rejected in 2018/19. In 2018/19, 557 students were denied any kind of funding via the two support programs.
These staggering figures are a stark reminder of the hidden costs and challenges students and young people face during their time at University. According to the Co-Operative Party, over a third of students reported going without food in 2016 and in 2018 the National Union of Students (NUS) published a report into student poverty which found that Working-class students are most likely to be employed in a job that requires more than the recommended 15 hours per week while studying. Most of these students are employed on ‘zero-hours’ contracts that provide no security of employment and often have no employment rights associated. This often leads to students losing their jobs at short notice, with little to no financial support.
As we’ve seen, this insecure manner of living often results in students relying on food banks to survive and loans form part of the critical safety net for students but with QUB rejecting 557 students last year, the student body may need to question the level of commitment they’re offering to students in crisis.
Finally in the backdrop to all of this it must be remembered that QUB VC, Prof. Ian Greer is the 27th highest paid Vice-Chancellor in the UK, with a salary of over £300,000 in 2018/19. Questions have to be asked on what grounds were those who applied to the support and hardship funds denied and are the funds available fit for purpose when 20% of those applying, were refused support. Should QUB be doing more to help those students struggling and asking for help?
We reached out to QUB SU for comment on the rise in the number of students apply to access emergency and crisis funding. VP Welfare Officer, Ciaran O’Brien, stated: “It's not surprising that more and more students are applying for the hardship fund. Although the statistics are shocking. As the Welfare officer I sit on the Hardship Fund Committee, and at my first meeting during almost mid-way through the first semester of this academic year it was remarked that those processing the applications were receiving on average almost 30 a day!
More money is clearly needed for the fund. We have a strike on at the moment and the staff (and people on the hardship committee) are demanding that their lost wages that the university are requisitioning should be poured into the Support Fund for students.”
VP Education Officer Jason Bunting added: “this worrying rise in applications demonstrates the acute financial pressures student face, which have a major impact on poor mental health. The fact that so many students are making applications also demonstrates that our University is still inaccessible to working class young people. It is time that QUB took urgent action and ensure university is accessible for everyone.”
NUS-USI President Robert Murtagh issued a statement to The Scoop stating that: “increasing numbers of students applying to the student hardship fund is, unfortunately, not surprising. As rent, transport, food and the general cost of living have continued to rise, student maintenance loans and grants have remained static, meaning many students cannot afford to make ends meet.
With the restoration of the NI executive we sincerely hope MLAs will rule out any increase in tuition fees and support increases to loans and grants. There is a mental health crisis among students, and financial worries are one of the main contributing factors, if we are serious about tackling mental health problems we must tackle student poverty which, as evidenced, is only getting worse.
We also reached out to Queen’s University Belfast for comment but at the time of publication, we had received no response.