Case Study 1 Kerrie’s Story
Kerrie approached the Advice Centre in a panic, upset and wondering if she should give up her studies. Kerrie was due to pay her rent in a couple of days and had no money to pay it. Kerrie hadn’t received the student finance she had applied for due to delays receiving paperwork. She was about to run out of money to travel to university and on top of all this Kerrie was a single mother with two children and was struggling to buy food to feed them. The Students’ Union Advice Centre staff sat her down, listened to her issues and set about resolving them; firstly they printed off the relevant paperwork and ensured it was posted to Student Finance by recorded delivery. An adviser spoke to her landlord and explained the situation regarding her student loan and the Landlord agreed to cancel the direct debit and accept payment when Kerrie’s loan arrived. The advisers also gave Kerrie an emergency loan of £20 for travel costs and a shopping voucher to enable her to buy some food. Next an adviser sat with her and helped her fill out an Access to Learning Fund form which would, if successful, provide her with a grant to help her continue her studies.
Finally the Advice Centre sent her to the Finance desk at the University to apply for a small bridging loan to tide her over while she waited for her Student Finance to arrive. Whilst at the University Finance desk, Kerrie explained that her campus card had been damaged and although she had a little money she couldn’t afford to have it replaced at a cost of £10. The finance desk arranged for her to get a replacement free of charge. In the space of a few hours the Advice Centre and the University Finance desk had sorted out Kerrie’s student finance application, supplied her with a food voucher, given her a small amount of money to help her travel to work and live on, helped her apply for a grant to continue her studies and lastly managed to get her a new campus card. The Students’ Union Advice Centre is open 10am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday. We have a team of experienced and knowledgeable advisers to help you with any problems you are having with finance, your accommodation, your studies and if you just need a bit of general advice. We even have a phone you can use to contact Student Finance rather than run up expensive bills on your mobile phone. Come in and see us or contact us on 01484 473446 or via email at advice-centre@hud.ac.uk
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