Laptop Fund

The Bath Spa University Laptop Fund provides limited discretionary financial support for Bath Spa students (not at Partner institutions) who are experiencing financial difficulty and are unable to meet the cost of a laptop from other sources of support.

Awards are discretionary and are paid in the form of a non-repayable grant. You may only apply to the fund once.

The size of the fund is limited and we may not be able to support all applications as the funding is limited, so please only apply if you're unable to meet the cost of a new laptop due to your financial circumstances. You should contact IT about the laptop loan scheme as applications to the fund must be complete and will take time to assess (see application form for full details). 

Eligibility is based on:

• Being fully registered and in attendance
• Studying at a Bath Campus (Newton Park, Sion Hill, Locksbrook, Corsham) or Bath Spa London (Hoxton)
• Students at Partner institutions cannot apply. 

You can apply by downloading and completing the application form. If you are applying because your current device is no longer suitable, this must be explained in your application form and supported by your tutor (please inform them you are applying and provide their email address).

When making your application, please ensure you answer all relevant questions on the application form.

Income

Please include all sources of income available to you for the current academic year. It's vital that you complete this section as accurately as possible.

You should enter the amount of overdraft that's available for you to use since the start of the academic year. You should total your overdraft amount available, received income and your expected income to give a total income for the academic year.

Expenditure

Please include your typical monthly expenditure for the academic year. We'll work out your annual expenditure based on your period of attendance.

Where you're living in any other form of shared accommodation, you should include only your personal contribution towards household bills.

We can only include priority debt repayments. This may NOT include loan or credit card repayments unless you have a special agreement (for example Step Change). We may include repeat prescriptions. 

Expenditure which is not considered essential, such as gym membership or excessive visits home, will be discounted.

Students using informal childcare may provide proof of the costs incurred but we cannot guarantee it can be considered.

Further information

This section is an opportunity for you to explain why you're experiencing financial difficulty.

You're advised to explain any unusual or exceptional costs appearing under your expenditure. If you're not undertaking any part-time work, you should also explain why.

Supporting documentation checklist

This section is intended to ensure that you've submitted all relevant supporting documentation with your application. Applications submitted without all the necessary supporting documentation will take longer to process.

Declaration

You need to sign and date your form to confirm that the information you've given is true and accurate. You should make a copy of your application for your own records.

Supporting documentation is required in all cases. The documentation required will vary depending on the circumstances of your case and must be supplied by email. Only use attachments; don't link to any documents.

Photos of supporting documentation are acceptable. In certain circumstances, you may be contacted separately and asked to supply relevant original documents.

All students must submit:

• Student Finance financial support notification for current academic year.
• This must show your student loan, tuition fee loan and any grants (if applicable).
• All bank, building society, savings or ISA account statements for the most recent month (at least). Statements must include all transactions, should include the balance at the start of term and be within five days of the date you sign your application form.
• Internet banking statements must show your accounts' details, name, all transactions and daily balances (please send these in PDF format not spreadsheets). Write on the statements an explanation for all transactions over £100 using the “comment” feature of PDFs. Include accounts which you may no longer be using.
• Proof of accommodation costs, such as tenancy or your mortgage agreement. This should show your name and date, plus the amount and frequency of payments.
• Proof of income. You may not have evidence but you'll need to provide details of expected income from earnings as explained in section two, both amount and frequency. You may annotate bank statements or provide a copy of your payslip if you have one indicative of your income.
• If you're in receipt of Universal Credit then please send us your most recent two entitlement letters in full.
• Please provide details of any other expected income from family, friends or any other sources.

Other evidence that you may send us for consideration

Childcare costs                 

• Send us advance invoices for the current academic period or receipts showing the amount and period covered. Eligible students will be expected to apply for the childcare grant. Self-funding students who aren't eligible for the childcare grant may be expected to have sufficient income to cover these expenses. 

Priority debts

•  Send us your creditor agreed repayment plan, for example, Step Change. We may only consider these priority debt repayments.

Car costs (parents/PGCE only)

• Car insurance amount (detailing extra cover if applicable)
• Car tax amount proof
• Proof of MOT date if during the academic year.

Medicine

• Proof of prescription costs (you should consider an NHS prepayment certificate which may save you money if you have repeat prescriptions).

Other costs you want us to consider

• Please explain your reasons and provide evidence, but we may not be able to include them.

Applications can be submitted to funding@bathspa.ac.uk.

If your application is not complete, or further information or documents are needed, you should be contacted by email and this will extend the time taken to make a decision on your application.

We'll send you the decision by email with the outcome of your application. If you're made an award, we'll provide full details on how you'll receive it. We do not give out decisions over the phone, so it is important that you check your Bath Spa email.

You're able to appeal an unsuccessful application. We'll provide details of how to make an appeal in your decision email.