University’s £3m help for students

THE University of Exeter has invested over £3m to support students during the cost-of-living crisis.

The University, working with staff and representatives from the Students’ Guild and Students’ Union, wants to strengthen its support to students.

At the start of the academic year, the University allocated £1m to its Success for All Fund to help students in financial difficulty. The scheme provides hardship funds and a range of bursaries, including help with the cost of IT equipment.

Last month the University announced it is allocating a further £870,000 one-off Winter Support Bursary for eligible students. Additional provision is also being provided for selffunded PhD students.

Recently its efforts, alongside other universities, to seek a rise in the stipend for PhD students funded by the UKRI, resulted in a 13% rise for 2022/23. The University of Exeter committed a further £1.2m to match the same rate for those PhD students who are University funded. In addition, funds have been made available for any self-funded PhD students to access where they are experiencing hardship.

Lee Elliot Major OBE, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter said: “The cost-of-living crisis is now a frontline issue for universities, with more and more students suffering real hardship.”