Care Leaver Bursary 2023/24

The Care Leaver Bursary is a cash award only available to all eligible students beginning a full-time Undergraduate course or a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at Brunel University London and the Brunel Pathway College (BPC) in September 2023.

Award details

Undergraduate: The bursary will only be paid once for each eligible level of study, for a maximum of four years; or five years if taking a foundation year or an integrated Master’s year, subject to meeting progression requirements (additional payments will not be made during a repeating year, regardless of the reason for repetition). 

The bursary is not payable in the Placement year. 

PGCE: The bursary will only be paid once for one year (additional payments will not be made during a repeating year, regardless of the reason for repetition).

Value: £2000 cash payment.  

How many: Awarded to all Care Leavers who meet the eligibility criteria.

Application process: There is no separate application, all students will be considered for the bursary automatically based on the information supplied in their course application and registration task. However, applicants will be required to submit evidence of Care Leaver status before their awards are confirmed. 

Awards will be made by the Scholarship Allocation Panel in early October.

Bursary holders may be requested to represent Brunel at various promotional activities throughout their time at the University. Participation is not mandatory and bursary holders may be contacted with invitations to participate in activities such as surveys, focus groups, and interviews in order to evaluate the University’s financial support package. Bursary holders will be contacted as and when participation is required.  If a student chooses not to participate, their bursary award will not be affected.

Data pertaining to bursary holders such as: progression rates, degree attainment, degree completion, and graduate outcomes may also be analysed in order to understand the effectiveness of bursaries and scholarships. This data may also be linked to other data already held by the University for the purpose of better understanding the impact of bursaries and scholarships on under-represented groups. To learn more about how the University uses data to support its commitment to delivering positive outcomes to students from under-represented groups please visit our webpage.

Eligibility

The bursary will be awarded to those applicants who meet all the following eligibility criteria:

• Must be a Care Leaver
• Must be under the age of 25
• Must hold an offer of a place on either:
  • a full time Undergraduate course (including placement routes and undergraduate integrated Masters programmes) OR
  • a full time Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course.

This includes offers made through UCAS Clearing and Adjustment.

• Offer must be for either the foundation year, FHEQ Level 4 (Year 1) or FHEQ Level 5 (Year 2) of the course, or PGCE starting in September.
• Offer must be ‘Unconditional Firm’ (UF) by the date the Scholarship Allocation Panel make their awards (i.e. applicant must have met all offer conditions and firmly accepted the place).
• Must commence the course in the upcoming academic year (applicants for deferred entry will be considered for a bursary in the year they start their course and not in the year of their course application). 
• Must be classed as Home for fees purposes based on the UK government regulations. Applicants who are unsure of their fee status should note Brunel uses the information they have provided in their application form to assess fee status against regulations set by the UK government. For information on these regulations please visit the independent organisation UKCISA’s website.

Bursaries will be awarded to those who meet the eligibility criteria at the time of allocation. 

a. Those not eligible for this Bursary

• Applicants classed as Overseas or Channel Islands/Isle of Man for fee purposes (based on the UK government regulations), or with an unresolved fee status. For 2023/24 entry, European fee payers who are not eligible for home fees under the UK government regulations will not be eligible. 
• Students undertaking any other kind of Postgraduate Taught or Postgraduate Research study, with the exception of a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).
• Applicants entering a course with the Brunel Language Centre  (BLC). 
• Applicants who will not commence their course in the upcoming academic year - applicants holding offers for deferred entry will be considered for a bursary in the year they start their course and not in the year of their course application.

c. Proof of Eligibility

• Proof of Care Leaver status in the form of written documentation from the student’s local authority (corporate parent) will be required before any payment can be made. Further details will be outlined in the bursary award email.

Allocation

3.1 Eligibility criteria are reviewed annually

3.2 Applicants are considered for bursaries using the information provided at the time of their application only and cannot be reconsidered should their circumstances change during the course of their studies.  Bursaries cannot be backdated.

3.3 Students awarded the Care Leaver Bursary may also be eligible for other scholarship/bursary awards. This means that if they are eligible, a Care Leaver can be awarded more than one scholarship or bursary. 

3.4 Awards will be made by the Scholarship Allocation Panel in early October and successful applicants will be informed by email. Evidence of Care Leaver status will be required, see section 2(c) of these terms and conditions.

3.5 Bursaries are awarded for the current academic year only and cannot be deferred. Applicants who choose to defer their studies will forfeit any awards they have been made but will be considered anew in the year they will begin their studies.

3.6 The decision of the Scholarship Allocation Panel is final. The University will not accept any appeals in respect of the decisions made by the panel.

Payment

4.1 The bursary will be paid in three instalments in each year of a full time course and will not be paid during the placement year of a sandwich course.

4.2 Successfully awarded students will be asked to supply relevant UK bank account details to support receipt of the cash payments by no later than the first day of Term 1.

4.3 Payment dates

For cash bursary awards, payment will be made as follows:

Payment 1 - 08 December 2023

Payment 2 – 01 March 2024

Payment 3 - 14 June 2024

4.4 Conditions of Payment:

• Payments will only be made providing the student is enrolled at the University on an Undergraduate degree or PGCE programme and has provided the University with evidence of care leaver status by the deadline specified in their award email.
• Payment in subsequent years will only be made providing the student progresses to the next level of study [bursary payments will not be made during a repeating year until the student has satisfactorily progressed to the next level], excluding PGCE.

N.B.  Payments will be made directly to a UK bank account and therefore students are required to supply accurate bank account details via their eVision account within the requested time. Failure to provide current valid UK Bank account details will result in delayed payment.

4.5 Where a bursary award spans more than one year, students will be written to in September to confirm ongoing eligibility to receive their bursary award.

Withdrawal of a scholarship

5.1 Misleading information: The University reserves the right to withdraw a bursary from anyone who is found to have misled the University about any aspect of their eligibility and to seek repayment of any monies already paid by appropriate means.

5.2 Mode of Attendance Change: If a student changes to a different mode of study, their eligibility for a bursary will be reviewed. 

5.3 Changing course and starting again at FHEQ Level 4 (Year 1) – Undergraduate study only: Students who commence their studies and subsequently make an alteration that involves starting again at Level 4 will not be eligible for a new award against the new course. The existing bursary will be placed on hold and reinstated once the student commences Level 5 subject to meeting the annual bursary progression criteria outlined in Section 4. If a student changes course but remains at the same level of study, this will not have an impact on the award.

5.4 Changing course – PGCE: If a student transfers to a course of study outside of the PGCE in Education the bursary will be withdrawn.

5.5 Abeyance/Temporary Withdrawal: A student who takes a period of temporary withdrawal (abeyance) and who is in receipt of a bursary award would cease to receive bursary payments whilst temporarily withdrawn. Bursary payments made prior to temporarily withdrawing will not generally be requested to be repaid and remaining payments will generally be paid once the student returns to complete that level of study.

5.6 Suspension of Study: Should a student be suspended for any reason, bursary payments will be withdrawn and consideration of reinstatement will be dependent on the disciplinary outcome.

5.7 Repeat/Extended Study: Periods of temporary withdrawal that result in repeat or extended periods of study are not supported by additional bursary payments. Bursary entitlement is for the maximum duration of each award and entitlement is not extended if overall course duration alters.

5.8 Withdrawal from Study: A student who withdraws from their programme prior to completion and who is in receipt of a bursary award will not normally be requested to repay bursary payments made up to the point of withdrawal. However, entitlement to all future bursary payments cease immediately when a student withdraws from Brunel University London.

Any queries relating to these terms and conditions should be addressed to the Admissions Office by emailing: scholarships@brunel.ac.uk

Updated 23 March 2023