Update from George: we need to close the student funding gap
Friday 28-06-2019 - 11:58
It’ll be no news to you that it is expensive to study at Durham. I hear so often from students that the cost of accommodation is too high, and the SU continues to highlight this through our #RippedOff campaign. We have also calculated the overall cost of being a student at Durham, including all the added extras such as gowns, formals and books, in a recent report here.
We know that Durham can be an amazing place to study, with opportunities that you won’t see at any other university, and we think that everyone should be able to access such an education. Cost should not be a barrier to being able to study at Durham.
Unfortunately, it currently is. There is a significant financial gap preventing many students from being able to attend Durham and hindering the University’s Widening Participation work. Sadly, many students across the country say their student finance does not stretch far enough and this is having an impact on their social lives and mental health. We calculated the gap between the financial support students with different household incomes receive and what it actually costs to study at Durham, and there is a large portion of students who are unable to afford the full cost of attending Durham.
This is why I believe we need enhanced financial support in Durham, to reach students from a wider range of incomes and make sure that everyone at Durham is able to make the most of their time here. I’ll be presenting our report on the student funding gap to the University’s Financial Awards Committee very soon and continuing to lobby the University for enhanced financial support.
If you’d like to read the full report, you can find it here. You can also find out more about the financial support available to you at Durham here. And as ever, if you’d like to get in touch with me regarding this topic, please email su.president@durham.ac.uk.
