A third national lockdown in nine months means that many Exeter students are experiencing unexpected financial challenges.
The situation is affecting their ability to study. Many are dealing with feelings of anxiety and loneliness.
The University, in partnership with its alumni community, has created the Success for All Fund https://www.exeter.ac.uk/financialhelp to help these students.
Although the majority of students are studying away from the University, over 1,000 are with us currently on our campuses in Devon and Cornwall. All our students face a wide range of unique circumstances and financial liabilities.
The University has been providing financial support to students since March and is continuing to do so now, in the form of rent rebates, payments for IT equipment, travel bursaries and assistance for other unexpected bills. Since we launched the Success For All emergency hardship fund last year, the University has disbursed around £1 million within the student community.
The impact has been immediate and received gratefully. In words of one student:
“I cannot quite express how much of a difference this is going to make. All I can say again is thank you so much. It is so wonderful that the University has put these measures in place - I was quite scared about how I was going to manage financially over these next few months, but this grant will allow me to survive whilst I figure out my next steps.”
The positive impact of receiving help was considerable, with recipients telling us….
• Nearly 500 students believed they would have withdrawn from their studies because of inability to pay their rent
• 94% agreed they avoided serious financial hardship
• 90% said they could concentrate on their studies
• 90% felt it helped maintain their mental and physical health
In January 2021 the University announced further financial support towards students, including waiving rent charges on University accommodation that would be payable during this lockdown period.
BUT… we need more help urgently…
We have supported over 1,000 students already, but many more have had their financial safety net snatched away at short notice.
Opportunities for casual, part-time jobs in hospitality and retail, that so many rely upon to finance their studies, have disappeared. Doctoral students have been forced to extend their period of study due to disruption to their research. And students with families have been impacted by their partner’s furlough or redundancy.
There is also the significant impact on student mental health and wellbeing both for those that are at home, and those that face loneliness on campus.
We are receiving applications at the rate of more than 200 per month. Undergraduate students make up around two thirds of all applicants and mature, BAME and disabled students are being impacted by the crisis disproportionately.
Please Donate today to the Success for All appeal, and join fellow Exeter alumni helping to support our student community when they need us most.
Please share this page with family and friends to help us reach as many people as possible.
How can you help?
A gift today could help secure the future of the students who are struggling. Your support will directly help those in most need. The fund aims to provide financial help to meet particular costs which are not already being met from statutory (or other) sources of funding such as:
• £60 could pay for a week’s groceries and utilities for a student who is unable to work part-time
• £120 could purchase equipment for remote learning, providing access to essential IT to enable students to meet the requirements of their course
• £250 could provide emergency payments for unexpected one-off costs e.g. flight home, repairs and essential maintenance
• £300 could provide grief counselling for students suffering bereavement or estrangement
• £400 could help a student buy a laptop to enable them to study from home
• £650 could help a student with no family support to stay in rented accommodation
