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Student 2019/20 - Financial support type

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Student 2019/20

Fields required from institutions in All fields

Financial support type


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valid entries
Typefield
Short nameFINTYPE
Description

Financial support type

Applicable toEngland
Coverage

All FinancialSupport records.

Valid entries and labels
CodeLabel
01Cash
02Near cash
03Accommodation discounts
04Other
Notes

Where it exists, support information should be returned for all students meeting the coverage of the entity and is not restricted to Office for Students countable students.

To reduce burden on providers, support given to students included in the coverage of the Financial Support entity which is £50 or less per item within each FinancialSupport.FINTYPE category must not be included. Amounts of more than £50 per item should be included.

Where it is explicit that the 'cash' or 'near cash' is to be used as accommodation discount, then this should be included as 03 'Accommodation discount'. Where the student has a choice as to how they spend it (but choose to do so on accommodation) then it is the original 'cash or 'near cash' type that should be recorded.

Any discounts for College fees at providers with a collegiate system should not be included as 03 'Accommodation discounts'. For example at the University of Oxford where all students are charged a college fee, but the fee is waived for all Home and EU students taking their first publicly funded course in higher education.

If the provider settles a bill on behalf of the student, there is no opportunity for those funds to be used elsewhere therefore the support should be reported as 04 'Other'.

Alternatively, if the student received a BACS transfer or a cheque, they could potentially use the money for something other than its intended purpose. Payments by these methods should be recorded as 01 'Cash'.

If a scholarship is awarded as cash that might or might not be spent as a waiver then this should be included within the Financial support entity as 01 'Cash'. If awarded as a waiver i.e. the student has no choice as to how the money is spent, then it should be excluded as a fee waiver.

Examples of support in each category include:

01 Cash
Any bursary/scholarship/award that is paid to the student, where there is no restriction on the use of the award. This will include BACS payments, cheques, cash awards and any means tested hardship funds that fall outside of the Office for Students Student Opportunity allocation.
02 Near cash
This constitutes any voucher schemes or prepaid cards awarded to students where there are defined outlets or services for which the voucher/card can be used. (E.g. Aspire cards.)
03 Accommodation discounts
Discounted accommodation in University Halls / Residences
04 Other

This includes all in-kind or cash support that is not included in the above categories. This will include, but is not limited to:

  • Travel costs
  • Laboratory costs
  • Printer credits
  • Equipment paid for e.g. laptops, course literature (other than loans of equipment)
  • Subsidised field trips
  • Subsidised meal costs
Quality rules
Quality rules relating to this entity are displayed here.
Reason required To capture additional financial or in-kind support (not covered by the fee or otherwise offered on an open basis to all students) received by any student within the coverage for Office for Students purposes, hereinafter referred to as 'support'.
Part of
Field length2
Minimum occurrences1
Maximum occurrences1
Schema components
Element: FINTYPE
OwnerOffice for Students
Version1.0

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