Green light for generous bursaries for students from 2006

The University of Teesside’s generous package of bursaries and scholarships - worth as much as £6,900 to eligible students starting a three-year degree course in September 2006 – has been approved by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA).

The money will be on top of the student grants, loans and deferred fees being introduced by the Government in 2006 and means that some full-time students will have as much as £11,000 per year to support them while studying at Teesside.

The Teesside ‘top-up’ package will be front-loaded so that every full-time student gets at least £500 in their first year.

The details:

* Students where family income is below £15,000 will get the maximum bursary of £1,300 per year. This will go to around 600 students.

* Students with a family income of between £15,000 and £25,000 will receive a Teesside bursary of £500 per year. This will go to around 700 students.

* And first year undergraduates whose family incomes are over £25,000 per year will receive a Teesside ‘welcome grant’ of £500, to be paid in three instalments over their first year at university.

* The University will also be offering at least 250 scholarships of £1,000 a year to high-achieving students.

Teesside, like almost all other English universities, will be charging £3,000 for most of its full-time undergraduate degree courses from September 2006. Students will not have to pay it back until after they are earning over £15,000 as graduates.

The Teesside Access Agreement goes a long way beyond the minimum stipulated by Office for Fair Access (OFFA), which requires universities to provide a means-tested bursary of at least £300 to poorer students.

Professor Graham Henderson, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Teesside, said: “We are delighted our Access Agreement has been given the green light by OFFA and that we will be able to provide our students with as much financial support as possible when we start charging deferred fees of £3,000 from 2006.”

Beth Beck, President of the University of Teesside Students’ Union, welcomed the bursary package, saying “We believe the University’s bursary package is fair and generous, well targeted and will support many students.”

Sir Martin Harris, OFFA’s Director, says the new financial arrangements being introduced in September 2006 could treble the amount of ‘free money’ in a student’s pocket whilst they are studying, compared to what a student from a low income background receives now.

Speaking on behalf of the University of Teesside, Professor Henderson said: “I believe that as a result of the measures we are proposing the new system will be fairer than the existing arrangements because it targets financial support at those who need it most. It also gets rid of the requirement for students to pay up-front tuition fees, which I think has been a barrier to many in the past.

“It allows us to ensure that some financial support is provided to all our full-time students in their crucial first-year at university.

“And equally important, it will enable us to make scholarships available to high-achieving students in those areas where the University has, or is developing, a national, or international, reputation for in its work.

“The additional income will help the University to build on its rising reputation for excellence in teaching by providing additional resources to further develop the campus and enhance the learning and teaching environment for our students.”

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