How can the Money Advice Team help me?
We are a team of friendly, non-jugemental and experienced advisers who are dedicated to improving the financial position of students at King's. We provide advice, support and advocacy in the following areas of money advice:
Student finance rules and regulations relating to UK student funding bodies
- We confirm your eligibilty and estimate your entitlement for funding
- Help you to challenge decisions made by SFE and other funding bodies if the rules have not been applied correctly
- Advise and support you if you have previous or repeat student and have been refused student funding
Financial hardship
- We can advise you on hardship fundd and emergency assistance at King's
- Signpost you to external sources of support
- Help you to explain your circumstances if your situation is complex
- Appeal a decision if you feel that your situation has not been fully understood
- Explain how funding is affected when you take a break from study and help you to challenge decisions or ask for continued support
- Explain how does previous study count towards your entitlement for funding and provide advice and support on submitting Compelling Personal Reasons (CPRs), for repeat study.
Council Tax rules and regulations
- When are students exempt from council tax
- Challenging decisions
- Dealing with debt collectors
- Other sources of financial support if you are not exempt from this bill
Welfare benefits
- Advice on eligibility
- Assistance with applications
- Advocacy and support through appeals and tribunals
- Help with hardship funds if you experience delays or are not eligible
Budgeting and Money Management
- We have a range of online resources to help you consider your income and expenditure and draw up a budget plan to refer to throughout the year
- We can provide one to one advice and support if you are finding it difficult to manage your budget
- We can arrange peer support with budgeting via our Money Mentor initiative
Debts to the university
- We can advise you on your options should you find yourself in debt to the university
- We will advise if you are eligibile to apply for hardship funds and the limits of this funding
- Where appropriate we will advise on breaks from study or a switch in attendance mode if this will help limit the debt and reduce overall debt liability
- Where you are unable to do so and we can see that there is a sustainable plan for paying your fees we will negotiate with Credit Control on your behalf
- If you have multiple debts and/or consumer credit debts we will refer you to an external free debt advice agency for advice and support
Other sources of funding and income while you study
- We can help you to consider other sources of funding to help with your living and study costs, this includes but is not limted to finding work and applying for grants and bursaries from trusts and charities.
Financial Education and skills
- Financial education and skills development through our Money Mentor project (see below) and external online learning platform Blackbullion.com
When should I speak to the funding office and when should I speak to advice?
The Student Funding Office manage and administrate all the student grants, bursaries and hardship funds available at King’s. They are responsible for assessing eligibility and making payments to successful applicants. They are the main contact for external finance providers such as Student Finance England, Student Awards Agency Scotland, Student Finance Wales, Student Finance Northern Ireland and US Federal Loans.
Contact the Student Funding Office if you wish to check the progress of an application you have made; your eligibility for funding or if your student finance provider has advised that they need an update from the university about your registration.
Contact us if you need advice, support or advocacy with resolving a student finance issues, appealing a decision or identifying sources of financial support inside and outside the university, as detailed above.
With your permission we can work with the Student Funding Office (and other departments in the university) to help resolve your case.