A Home at University:
Widening Access & Participation Pilot Announcement:
Having somewhere to call home matters. For the past 10 years the Unite Foundation has provided a unique scholarship scheme for estranged and care experienced young people that covers their student rent for up to 3 years.
Earlier this year we invited applications from universities outside London to take part in our new ‘Home at University: Widening Access & Participation Pilot’. This new accommodation scholarship is an innovative match funded scheme between Astra Foundation and The Dulverton Trust, the successful university partner and the Unite Foundation.
The scholarships will be open to students who are care leavers or estranged from their family, and who are applying for their first year of undergraduate study starting in the academic year 2023/24. The scholarship covers accommodation and bills for 365 days a year for up to three years of study.
Following a selection process four universities were chosen to take part in the programme, congratulations to:
Unite Foundation Director Fiona Ellison said ‘We’re delighted to be welcoming four new partner universities into The Unite Foundation family. The ‘Home at University: Widening Access & Participation Pilot’ will enable us to offer up to 17 new scholarships across four additional higher education providers. This means 17 care leavers or estranged students will have more choice when applying for a Unite Foundation scholarship and be able to take advantage of everything university has to offer.
The Unite Foundation strategy (2021-26) announced our ambition to significantly expand the number of accommodation scholarships for students who are estranged or from care.
Independent research from Jisc provides strong evidence that the Unite Foundation scholarship model improves educational outcomes, specifically in year-to-year progression, completion and degree classification. Our scholarship student outcomes over that decade were close to, or on a par with, non-care leaver students across these key access and participation metrics.
We are committed to building the evidence base that the costs of university accommodation provision are outweighed by the transformative, academic, and financial value of these students staying on course and completing their studies. In doing so, we’ll be testing the business case for universities to offer a home at university as standard.
For more information please email us on info@unitefoundation.org.uk