Your Student Funding FAQs

1.  I've started my course but haven’t received my maintenance loan/grant yet. Why is this?

There can be various reasons for this:

• Have you received your financial notification letter from Student Finance England (SFE)? If not, they may still be assessing your application – they need to finalise this before you receive any funding. If you haven’t received your letter, we recommend you get in touch with SFE by calling +44 300 100 0607.
• Have you returned your online declaration form? Before SFE will release any funding to students, they must receive a signed online declaration form from you. They’ll send you details of this in your pack of letters stating how much money you’ll receive. Please read the terms on this declaration and send it back as soon as possible.
• If you’ve already received your financial notification letter and returned your online declaration form, then SFE will require confirmation of your attendance here at the University. We notify SFE of this as part of your enrolment process. However, if for some reason this part of the process has not worked successfully, you should receive a notification advising you to attend a scanning session. If this has worked during enrolment, you do not need to attend a scanning session. Please be aware that if this part of the process has not happened automatically, SFE will often tell you that ‘University of Plymouth has not confirmed your attendance’ and in this instance, please either attend one of the advertised scanning sessions, or contact the Student Funding Unit on +44 1752 587676.

Provided all of the above steps have been completed, funds will arrive in your account 3 to 5 working days after you receive this confirmation. Or, if it’s more than 3 to 5 days before your first instalment on your schedule letter, you should receive payment on the stated date. If you’re experiencing difficulty in receiving your funding, please contact the Student Funding Unit.

2.  I've heard the University offers short term loans for students. Is this true?

The University does offer short term loans but only strictly against the arrival of expected income when there is a lengthy and unavoidable delay.

This will apply to your Student Loan, Grant, or NHS Bursary. We will however only consider assistance if you can provide evidence that you have NO OTHER FUNDS available and cannot receive assistance from elsewhere.

We cannot award a short term loan simply because you have run out of money before your next loan, grant or bursary instalment.

3.  Does the University offer any bursaries?

The University has a range of schemes offering further financial support. Visit our funding pages for details. The Financial Support Fund is also available for the vast majority of students who are enrolled on their course in the next academic year, visit our funding pages to find out more.

4.  I need a letter to prove I'm a student for council tax purposes. Can you help?

You can obtain a letter proving that you’re registered in attendance here at University of Plymouth by contacting your Faculty Office.

5.  Can I book an appointment with the Student Funding Unit?

The Student Funding Unit doesn't have an automatic booking system for students. We can answer most queries by email, phone, or face to face. Where it’s appropriate, we’ll make an appointment for you to see one of our Student Funding Advisors when we have an available slot.

6.  Does the University offer financial help in emergency situations?

The University can take into consideration emergency situations during the academic year by way of its Financial Support Fund. You can approach us for help if you’re in a genuine and tangible emergency situation. Typically this will mean that something unexpected and unavoidable has happened which has resulted in additional costs that cannot be met, for example, if you need travel costs related to a bereavement, or to visit a sick relative. Running out of money is not considered an emergency, neither is payment of your rent, these are things that you should take responsibility for yourself, so please do not request emergency assistance for either of these reasons.

7. What funding options are available for my study?

Find out what funding options are available to support you during your studies on our funding and scholarship page.

Have you got a suggestion that can be included here as a FAQ from your own experience? Email us at studentservices@plymouth.ac.uk.