Student Assistance Fund

HEAR Student Support Fund

Students who enter UCD through the HEAR pathway are eligible to receive funding from funding through UCD Access and Lifelong Learning as they have already been means-tested and assessed as part of their CAO application.

THE HEAR STUDENT SUPPORT FUND IS OPEN FOR 2022/23

The Fund is a contributory payment which helps students meet some of the day-to-day costs associated with being in college. Students must be fully registered to a full-time undergraduate programme of study, progressing normally (i.e. not repeating a stage).

Students registered for one semester only should make an appointment with a member of staff in Access and Lifelong Learning to discuss their financial needs after they have completed their registration.

To receive this funding, you need to:

1. Complete an online application form through SISWeb (Programme > Welfare and Assistance > HEAR Student Support Fund)
2. Submit a HEAR SSF Budget Form detailing your estimated budget and stating what expenses you are requesting support for from the Fund. This form must be downloaded, filled out and signed and then emailed back to allstudentsaf@ucd.ie

Application Guidlines:

• The application form can be found on SISWeb, under the ‘Programme’ tab and the ‘Welfare and Assistance’ section. It is called HEAR Student Support Fund.
• In the section marked Statistical Information, HEAR students should select "Full Time Education" and "Upper Secondary" for the first two drop-down menus.
• You do not need to provide physical receipts for your costs. In the section marked ‘Receipts’, you need to indicate what you will use the €500 payment for. Please note the amount should add up to exactly €500.
• You must also complete a budget form (see above) based on your Trimester 1 costs and income. Your expenditure must exceed your income by at least €500.
• The budget is very important for you to plan your expenditure for the semester and to show us that you have a sense of your college costs, can manage money well, and that you are in need of this fund.
• Be aware that to comply with European Union requirements, data will be collected as part of the application process which may be used for the purposes of coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the operation of the Fund. This data may be shared with third parties for monitoring and reporting on European Social Fund co-financed activities.

Incorrectly completed forms will lead to delays with your application being processed, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need any guidance with your form.

Full-Time Students who are Parenting

Additional financial support is available through the Student Assistance Fund for low income students who are parenting. In order to successfully apply for this support students must first be approved for funding by the university Student Support Fund in the current academic year. Students can apply for the Student Support Fund via SISweb (Found under: Programme Services > Welfare and Assistance).

Full time students, who meet the low income household threshold (€50,840) and who are parenting (either alone or as part of a partnership) are eligible for a top-up payment of €500, in addition to the standard SSF payment.  

MAKING AN APPLICATION:

1. Complete the online Student Assistance Fund application through your SISWeb account (Under Programme > Welfare and Assistance).

• Note: One parent family applicants should identify as "Single Adult Household with Dependent Children" and select either: Lone Parent/Full-Time student in the drop-down menus on this form.
• You will only be able to upload one document to your online application so please merge all pages of all documents into one file and upload that. If you don't upload supporting documents, your application will not be processed.

2. Complete an Budget Form

3. Complete a Budget Form estimating your annual expenses

Both forms should be downloaded, filled out, signed and emailed to allstudentsaf@ucd.ie  

**Please indicate in the subject line of the email the fund you are applying for e.g. Full Time Parenting SAF**

PROVIDING PROOF OF PARENT STATUS:

Students who are parenting in partnership and have been assessed for SAF on a joint income must provide evidence of parenting role (e.g. one of their children’s birth certificates).

Parents who are parenting alone and have been assessed for SAF on a single income must provide proof of One Parent Family status.

Proof of One Parent Family status may be:

• Social Welfare statement indicating a One Parent Family Payment
• Social Welfare statement indicating a Job Seekers Transitional Payment
• Social Welfare statement + evidence of having been receipt of a Job Seekers Transitional Payment within the past four years
• Social Welfare statement + receipt from a Disability Payment indicating the full rate for one adult and any dependent children
• Statement of Tax Liability indicating either SP or LP tax credits.

SP - single parent tax credit 

LP - lone parent tax credit 

Please don’t hesitate to contact ALL staff if you have any questions or need any guidance with applying by emailing: all@ucd.ie

Part-Time Student Assistance Fund

The SAF is available to assist part-time students on a low income (€50,840) household threshold with the day to day costs of participating in higher education. Part-time students who are parenting (either alone or as part of a partnership) are eligible for a top-up payment of €250, in addition to the standard SSF payment of €250.

How to Apply

1. Complete an online application form on SISWeb (Found under Programme Services > Welfare and Assistance)

2. All applicants must submit an Income Declaration Form, a Statement of Liability, or a Social Welfare Statement confirming 2021 income and a  Part-Time Students Budget Form 2020-21.

• These forms must be downloaded, filled out, signed and then emailed back to allstudentsaf@ucd.ie  
• Please indicate in the subject line of the email the fund you are applying for e.g. Part Time Parenting SAF 

Students who are parenting in partnership and are applying on the basis of a joint income must provide evidence of parenting role (e.g. one of their children’s birth certificates).

Note: One Parent Family applicants must identify as "single adult household with dependent children" from the drop-down menu and select Lone parent/part-time student on the drop-down menu.

4. Parents who are parenting alone and are applying on the basis of a single income must provide proof of One Parent Family status. 

Proof of One Parent Family status may be:

Social Welfare statement indicating a One Parent Family Payment
Social Welfare statement indicating a Job Seekers Transitional Payment
Social Welfare statement + evidence of having been receipt of a Job Seekers Transitional Payment within the past four years
Social Welfare statement + receipt from a Disability Payment indicating the full rate for
one adult and any dependent children
Statement of Tax Liability indicating either SP or LP tax credits.
Please don’t hesitate to contact ALL staff if you have any questions or need any guidance with applying by emailing: all@ucd.ie