10,000 students seek financial aid within hours of fund’s opening
Almost 10,000 students applied for financial aid within hours of the opening of this year’s financial assistance fund.
It is anticipated more students will apply for financial support this year due to the impact of Covid-19.
The Susi grants scheme for the 2020/21 academic year opened on Friday.
Last year, some 96,000 applications were received, with 76,000 deemed eligible for financial aid. Of those, 72,000 subsequently drew down support.
By close of business on its first day of operation, almost 10,000 applications had been received, according to Higher Education Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor.
It is expected the numbers accessing the scheme will increase this year due to the number of students who will seek to be reassessed under the change of circumstance provision in the SUSI scheme, said Ms Mitchell O’Connor.
She said the Susi grant scheme contains enough flexibility to address matters which may arise due to Covid-19. Prospective applicants who have experienced a fall in income can seek to have their application reviewed under the change of circumstances provision within the scheme, provided they can demonstrate any change in income is “likely to obtain for the duration of the approved course or for the foreseeable future”.
Student grant applications for the academic year will be assessed based on income from 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment will not affect student grants in the academic year, unless applications qualify under the change-of-circumstances provisions where income from 2020 will be assessed.
Ms Mitchell O’Connor said work is ongoing to support disadvantaged and vulnerable students amid college closures. “There needs to be a particular focus on learner needs with the emphasis on wellbeing and providing learners with the tools they need to succeed,” she said.
A working group on mitigating educational disadvantage is working on a number of matters, including ensuring crucial funding supports, such as Susi grants and the student assistance funds, as well as supporting learners without access to technology, and ensuring services offered by guidance counsellors and disability officers.
Ms Mitchell O’Connor also confirmed funding for the Programme for Access to Higher Education scheme, which aims to support access to teacher training for groups who may traditionally not have access to courses, including students with disabilities, Travellers, and mature students. Some 1,200 students will benefit from it over three years.
