Student Engagement

• Championing and involving the different and diverse student voices across the University through focus groups, our work with course, Faculty, and WP & inclusion reps, and social media.
• Working collaboratively with and providing active support to faculties, professional services, and the Students’ Union on success initiatives for students from Widening Participation backgrounds.
• Leading and facilitating both staff and student inclusion and diversity workstreams throughout the year.
• Removing financial barriers to students engaging with extracurricular activities at St Mary’s, through our work with the Student Engagement Fund.
• Providing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion training and support to our Student Leaders.
• Prioritising projects that facilitate and nurture a sense of community and belonging at St Mary’s; ensuring all students feel welcomed, supported, and at home at the University.
• Enhancing the visibility of support available to students.
• Celebrating our students through the annual Student Engagement Awards.

1. What is the Student Engagement Fund?

The Student Engagement Fund ('SEF') was established by the Widening Participation Team in collaboration with the Students’ Union and Sport St Mary’s. It is a fund designed to support St Mary’s students to engage with extracurricular activities, as well as to support some course-associated costs wherever students are faced with financial barriers. It has been set up to ensure cost is not a prohibitive factor when students wish to engage in additional and enriching opportunities and experiences provided by the University. In line with the University’s core values, the fund is in place to help ensure that St Mary’s is consistently and meaningfully inclusive for all our students.

The fund is in place to provide students with practical support to purchase or reimburse small items in order to increase their engagement with and enjoyment of University life. The fund typically supports bids up to £175, depending on eligibility and the application, and in exceptional circumstances may award slightly more. In recognition of the fact that we may not always know our students’ specific needs, all applications are reviewed individually on a case by case basis.

Some examples of what the fund might cover include:

• clubs and societies membership fees
• gym membership
• DBS checks associated with a course
• compulsory and supplementary course costs (e.g. course kit, various equipment, first aid training, etc.)
• costs associated with a course trip
• sporting equipment such as wearable technology, items needed to play sport (e.g. racket, rugby boots, etc.), digital tech watches, et cetera
• ticketed online university social events
• discretionary/occasional/one-off/exceptional travel costs where appropriate.

Please note: this list is neither exhaustive nor guaranteed and each application will be reviewed individually. The SEF is focused primarily on additional, rather than primary costs, and is separate from the Hardship Fund, which supports students in financial difficulty with their fundamental living expenses. To learn more about the Hardship Fund and/or require financial and budgeting guidance, please contact studentfundingservice@stmarys.ac.uk.

2. Who is the SEF for?

The fund is open to all currently registered St Mary’s University students and is specifically in place for students who, for financial reasons, do not engage with additional opportunities on offer to them.

To make sure the fund goes to the people who need it most, we've set the following conditions.

• Students will have to demonstrate an economic need such as low household or personal income (we may check declared household income on registry information).
• Students who are already in receipt of a financial award (scholarship or bursary) from the university, might not be eligible for this scheme, except in exceptional circumstances.

It is only in exceptional circumstances that the following students will be considered: 

• international students
• students on a leave of absence from University
• masters and PhD students.

Please note: All students must have accessed all statutory support from the government if eligible, before applying to this fund. 

3. How do I apply to the SEF?

To apply, students must complete an application form with a personal statement explaining their need for the fund. They will also need to sign to agree to terms and conditions. The link to the application form is below.

All questions and queries should be sent to studentengagement@stmarys.ac.uk. 

4. How do you choose who gets a grant from the SEF?

This decision will be predominantly based on your personal statement, where you will be asked to describe clearly what you are requesting, why you need the financial support, and how this will meaningfully improve your student experience

We unfortunately cannot approve all requests we receive, so when selecting candidates, we prioritise certain groups of students when deciding how to allocate the funding. These include:

• undergraduate students and students studying PGCE programmes
• students engaging with the BUCS Active 4 programme
• students who have not previously applied for the SEF
• students with children (especially lone parents)
• sisabled students
• care leavers, care experienced students or those otherwise estranged from their families
• students who have not previously been members of any sport club or society at the Students’ Union.

5. How does the SEF work?

All applications are reviewed on a case by case basis and where requests are approved we work with students to support them as fully as we can. In some instances, the fund is used to purchase items on their behalf (such as membership fees, fitness items, etc.) but in others we will request receipts/proof of purchase and reimburse students directly for agreed expenses (in these instances, please get in touch at studentengagement@stmarys.ac.uk to ensure expenses are agreed prior to purchase). Retrospective payments are only considered in exceptional categories.

Apply to Student Engagement Fund

If you can't afford to buy the IT equipment or internet access you need for your studies, we might be able to help. We have introduced a long-term loan scheme for laptops, noise-cancelling headphones and WiFi dongles.

You can keep the equipment for a term, then apply to renew the loan if you still need it. Hopefully this might even give you time to save or find other ways to pay for the equipment you need.

To make sure the equipment gets to the people who need it most, we've set the following conditions.

• You will have to demonstrate an economic need such as low household or personal income (we may check declared household income on your registry information).
• Loans generally run for up to 5 months at a time, following the University's semester dates. You are expected to return the equipment at the end of each semester. You can apply to renew the loan if you need the equipment for longer.
• Loans will not extend over the summer vacation (equipment needs to be returned so that it can be updated over the vacation). However, if you have exam resits (or there is another exceptional circumstance) you can of course apply to extend your loan accordingly.
• Loans will not run from one academic year to the next. If you need to borrow equipment for the next academic year you will have to make another application. 
• Only UK undergraduate or PGCE students may borrow equipment. Other postgraduate and international students may not borrow equipment.  In exceptional circumstances loans to other students may be considered but only where sufficient equipment is available.
• You must collect the equipment from the Library at St Mary's within 14 days of being informed that it is ready for collection. You will be required to sign an agreement before you take possession of it.
• During the period of the loan, you are able to take the equipment off-site and use it as your own. However, the equipment must be returned or the loan renewed on or before the final date of the loan or penalties will apply.
• If you are also applying for Disabled Students Allowance, the loan will only be for a period until you receive your DSA, enabling you to purchase your own equipment.
• If you are in receipt of a financial award (scholarship or bursary) from the university, you might not be eligible for this scheme, unless in exceptional circumstances.

To apply, you will have to complete the Long Term IT loan scheme form with a personal statement explaining your need. You will also need to sign to agree to terms and conditions before you pick up the loan equipment. If you are eligible, but all equipment is out on loan, we will put you on a waiting list for when equipment becomes available and try to help you in other ways. 

Long Term IT loan scheme form.

Please ensure that you have read the terms and conditions of device loans before submitting your application.

If you have any queries regarding the loan please contact The Hub Online and nikki.anghileri@stmarys.ac.uk.

Worried about your financial situation?

If you are not eligible, or you're unsuccessful in your application for the loan scheme, but still have concerns about your financial situation, there may be other support available. Please contact our Student Funding Service at  studentfundingservice@stmarys.ac.uk with any concerns about your financial situation.

• View information about one of our biggest projects, Get Set for Success.
• Based on a number of highly successful mentoring programmes at St Mary’s, we have assembled some useful mentoring materials that you can find here (NB: link to come in autumn 2021).
• More information, as well as the full application form for the Student Engagement Fund can be found online.

The Student Engagement Fund ('SEF') was established by the Widening Participation Team in collaboration with the Students’ Union and Sport St Mary’s. It is a fund designed to support St Mary’s students to engage with extracurricular activities, as well as to support some course-associated costs (see examples below), wherever students are faced with financial barriers. It has been set up to ensure cost is not a prohibitive factor when students wish to engage in additional and enriching opportunities and experiences provided by the University. In line with the University’s core values, the fund is in place to help ensure that St Mary’s is consistently and meaningfully inclusive for all our students.

The fund is in place to provide students with practical support to purchase or reimburse small items (see examples below) in order to increase their engagement with and enjoyment of University life. The fund typically supports bids up to £175, depending on your eligibility and application. In recognition of the fact that we may not always know our students’ specific needs, all applications are reviewed individually on a case by case basis.

Elizabeth Parker: Student Engagement and Retention Project Officer

In my role, I work closely with students, the SMSU, academic staff, Careers, and Student Services on various and ongoing engagement and retention initiatives throughout the year. I am keen to hear and engage with different ideas and to collaborate on valuable projects for supporting our students. Please feel free to contact me at studentengagement@stmarys.ac.uk or Elizabeth.Parker@stmarys.ac.uk