Salford Inspire Scheme
From September undergraduate and international students in years 1, 2 & 3 will be eligible to receive £150 online credit. Additionally, Integrated Master's students will also be eligible for the award in their final year of study. *Terms and conditions apply.
Here's a short but important YouTube video about the Salford Inspire Scheme:
Quick Links to the sections below
Frequently Asked Questions
Once you've completed registration after arriving on campus, check your University email, find the email from ku/oc/eripsni-droflas//ecivres/remotsuc and follow the instructions. This will enable you to log on to www.salford-inspire.co.uk so that you can start spending.
Yes. The award is available for all registration periods students register in.
No. The £150 is only available as a credit to your Inspire account.
No. The credit is not transferable to another individual.
Yes. A credit of £150 will be made for each year of the scheduled minimum duration of an eligible student's undergraduate degree course.
Not if it has been spent. In certain circumstances the accounts of students may be frozen closed and any unspent balances removed, e.g. when students leave the University or if there is any misconduct in relation to their accounts.
Eligibility
For full details of eligibility please see terms and conditions below.
Yes, as long as you are a new home or EU student as outlined in the terms and conditions.
No. The current requirement for eligibility is that the whole of the course must be delivered at a University of Salford campus.
No. To be entitled to the £150, you must be classed as a home/European or Channel Islands/Isle of Man student paying the maximum undergraduate fee (for 2022/23 academic year this is £9,250) and registering either for the first year of an undergraduate course (level 4) or for a foundation course to be delivered by the University at its main campus. International students are eligible for other scholarships and bursaries.
Changes in my circumstances
No. To be entitled to the £150, you must be a new first year home/EU student registering for a course for the first time at the start of the academic year.
You will receive the £150 in 2022/23 but would not receive it for sitting the first year again. However, provided the award scheme was still running you would receive the award when you registered for and started your second year.
In the event of a formal interruption to your studies which is agreed with the University, your account would be frozen which means you would not be able to buy anything with any unspent credit until such time as you re-registered and resumed your studies and your account was re-activated. You will not receive any additional credit where your interruption extends the length of your studies.
Your account would be frozen which means you would not be able to buy anything with any unspent credit until such time as your suspension was lifted and your account was re-activated. Re-activation of your account would, however, be dependent on the award scheme still running at the point your suspension was lifted.
You will not receive any additional credit where your suspension extends the length of your studies.
Spending the credit
The £150 will come in the form of credit which will be directly credited to your individual Inspire account and can be used to purchase items at the Inspire online shop www.salford-inspire.co.uk JS Group, the current supplier appointed by the University, runs this website.
Yes all the books on your reading lists should be available to be purchased through the Inspire website
No, but credit must be used before you leave the University at the end of your degree.
No, this is an award designed to support you in your studies.
No, your account will be closed so you should spend any unspent credit before you leave the University at the end of your degree.
You can use your credit towards the cost and top up the difference with your own credit/debit card.
It would be rolled over for you to spend in the next academic year provided you register for the next academic year, and the award scheme is still running.
Your course leader will be in touch to let you know what books and/or materials you might need.
Buying products from the Inspire website
JS Group is the supplier of the products and all problems should be referred to them. Your statutory rights as a consumer lie against JS Group. In the unlikely event that JS Group does not resolve your problems after having an opportunity to do so, then please report this to us.
For a full breakdown of delivery charges and to find out about delivery times, please visit: www.salford-inspire.co.uk
See the student privacy policy at: https://www.salford.ac.uk/privacy
JS Group is the supplier that the University has appointed to run this award scheme and questions should be directed to them. They have an email address for any queries please email: ku/oc/eripsni-droflas//ecivres/remotsuc
University of Salford Scheme Overview (Inspire Award) - for the academic year 2022/2023
From September 21 undergraduate and international students in years 1, 2 & 3 will be eligible to receive £150 online credit. Additionally, Integrated Master's students will also be eligible for the award in their final year of study.
*Terms and conditions apply.
Please note that eligible students must be progressing from one level of study on to the next, i.e. Level 4 to Level 5. The award is not paid to students undertaking a repeat year of study.
If you are eligible for the Inspire award, then you will have received an e-mail into your university e-mail account. This will have been sent to you 24 hours after you have enrolled at the University of Salford.
Eligible 1st year students will be awarded their funds no earlier than the 13th Sept 2022.
University of Salford Terms and Conditions - University Financial Support Scheme (Inspire Award) - for the academic year 2022/2023
1. Award details
The Inspire Award is given to help support the successful progression of all students. The fund can be used to buy a variety of learning resources from the Inspire website including books, IT equipment and membership of Students' Union clubs and societies.
The Award is available to all new, and progressing, full-time and part-time (pro rata) home and international fee paying students (defined below), who are registering on an undergraduate course for which they are paying the maximum fee or for a foundation course, both of which are to be delivered by the University at its main campus. An enhanced award is available to a limited number of UK home fee paying students from low income households who live in areas where participation in higher education is low.
2. Value
a. Basic award: Every home/international fee paying student has access to £150. [This is a one-time payment made to an individual student and is not repeated in future years of study.] Part time students will have access to the same amount as full time students, but their awards will be pro-rated over the scheduled minimum duration of their courses. Eligibility criteria apply (see below).
b. Uplift: Up to 500 UK home fee paying students will have access to an uplift of £350 to their basic award making a total award in 2021/22 of £500. Uplifts are made available to those students who meet certain eligibility criteria as verified by the University's Allocation Panel (see below).
c. How many: Whilst the basic award of £150 will be available to all home / international students (based on eligibility criteria below), uplifts are currently paid to a maximum of 500 UK home fee paying students.
d. Application process: There is no separate application process for either the basic award or uplift. Awards will be made available based on information gained through registration, through student application to the Student Loans Company, and from the Office for Students' POLAR and Gaps postcode look-up page. Eligibility for an uplift is verified by the Allocation Panel (see below).
3. Eligibility
To be eligible for the £150 award, you must meet all the criteria that apply. NB: the criteria below are for students registering in or during the 2021/22 academic year.
- Your course must be delivered by the University and the place of study must be solely the University's main campus
- You must have met the required admission or progression criteria for their course
- You must not be on a whole year placement for which no tuition fee charge is incurred.
- The award will only be made once for each level of study, so if a level of study is repeated the Inspire award will not be made.
- Whilst you may have previously studied at the University you are now eligible for the award (a new condition for 2021/22). However, you must not have previously been in receipt of the Vice Chancellor's Excellence Award or the Salford Student Bursary.
Fee level
- You must be registered and be starting a full-time or part-time undergraduate course at level 4 (first year) to be delivered by the University at it main campus having completed a foundation course, either at the University, a partner college or another institution AND must be paying an undergraduate fee of not less than £9,250. This includes those students on a Higher National Certificate (HNC) and those on Integrated Masters courses.
- You must be registered for or be starting a foundation course (level 3) to be delivered by the University at its main campus (fee £8,250 and above)
To be awarded the £350 uplift you must meet all the above criteria for the basic £150 plus the following additional criteria:
- You must consent to the sharing of data submitted to the Student Loans Company
- You must be from a household with income of £25,000 per annum or less (see eligibility definitions below)
- You must be from a low participation neighbourhood (see eligibility definitions below)
- You must be a British citizen (this is so data can be retrieved from the Student Loans Company regarding household income and residency in a low participation neighbourhood)
- Whilst you may have previously studied at the University, you are now eligible for the award (a new condition for 2021/22). However, you must not have previously been in receipt of the Vice Chancellor's Excellence Award or the Salford Student Bursary.
The £350 uplift will only be made available to you if:
- The University has received proof that you meet all of the applicable eligibility criteria (see requirements below) at the point at which you first register. Whilst household income will be reviewed each academic year, the postcode of the household from which you applied for university will be used to determine whether you are from a low Participation Neighbourhood. The only occasion where this will be waived is if you became estranged from your parents shortly after submission of the application and are now living in a Low Participation Neighbourhood.
- You will be verified by the Allocation Panel (defined below) as being eligible to receive an uplift. If, in any academic year, the number of students who meet all of the above eligibility criteria exceeds 500 then, at the University's discretion, further categories may be added to the eligibility criteria for such academic year. The University will notify you if any additional information is required from them to prove eligibility against categories which are added.
c. You will not be eligible for either the basic £150 award or the uplift if:
- Your fee status is unresolved
- You are deferring entry - subject to awards still being available, students holding offers for a deferred entry will be considered for an award the academic year they actually start their course
- You are studying on a degree apprenticeship course
- You are studying with partner organisations for a University of Salford award, including foundation year.
- Distance learners
d. Proof of eligibility for £350 uplift:
- Low income: To evidence 'Low income' (defined below), you must provide the relevant Award Authority with sufficient information to enable a full financial assessment to have been carried out prior to the allocation of awards, and consent from you and your sponsor(s) to share this data. The University will use the result of that assessment to confirm 'Low income' eligibility. It is your responsibility to ensure that the Award Authority has fully carried out the income assessment prior to awards being made available.
- Low Participation Neighbourhood (POLAR 4, Quintile 1): Residential postcode data will be collected from the University registration forms to prove eligibility. This information will then be cross referenced with the Postcode Checker issued by the Office for Students.
a. Awards are available to spend on a range of learning materials and associated products that are agreed from time to time (see www.salford-inspire.co.uk for more details).
b. Awards are not transferrable and cannot be exchanged for cash.
c. Purchases will be subject to applicable postage and packing costs.
5. Allocation of uplifts of £350
a. Your eligibility for an uplift based on low participation neighbourhood is verified when you register for the first year of their course and not in subsequent years.
b. Your eligibility o for an uplift based on household income is verified each academic year.
c. Awards cannot be paid for earlier academic years e.g. if you started a course at level 5 you would not be able to claim for the previous year of study
d. The maximum award you may receive is £150+£350 uplift + £1,000 care leaver award should you be eligible for all three.
e. The Allocation Panel will comprise:
- A member of the University's executive team
- Deputy Director of Finance
- Director, Student Administration
- Planning Manager (representing the Strategy team)
- Dean of Students
- CEO, Students' Union
- Additional representative from the USSU
- Head of Student Engagement
- Head of Student Recruitment and Outreach
In attendance at the Allocation Panel meeting will be the Student Experience and Engagement Manager.
f. Cut-off dates for allocation of the award:
- September intake uplift awards are presented to the Panel for approval during the 3rd week of November. This allows time for late applications to be processed by Student Finance.
- January intake uplift awards to be presented to the Panel for approval during 2nd week of March. The shorter timeframe is due to the cohort size being significantly lower than the September intake and thus fewer applications require processing by Student Finance.
g. Should you wish to challenge the decision made by the awards team contact ku/ca/droflas//SUksa. The askUS team will forward your email to the Head of Student Engagement and a response will be given within ten working days. Their decision will then be reported to the Allocation Panel. If you are still not satisfied you may discuss the matter with the Allocation Panel.
h. The decision of the Allocation Panel is final. The University will not accept any appeals regarding decisions made by the Allocation Panel
6. Payment
a. If eligible an Inspire account will be created for you and funds can be spent at www.salford-inspire.co.uk Basic awards will be credited as soon as reasonably practicable after the applicable late registration period has closed. Uplifts will be credited to accounts as soon as reasonably practicable after late registration periods for the January and September intakes in each academic year have closed. (This is when the Allocation Panel makes its selection - see section 5f above).
b. You will receive automatic notification that your Inspire account has been credited with the appropriate amount. No money will be paid into your personal bank accounts.
c. Any unused balances remaining at the end of any academic year will be rolled over to the next or any subsequent academic year. Balances will remain available until accounts are frozen or closed.
d. Top-ups may be made to your account, by arrangement directly at www.salford-inspire.co.uk Basic awards and uplifts must have been used before top-ups will be available to spend.
7. Withdrawal or freezing of the award
a. Changing a course and starting againat level 3 (foundation year) or 4 (first year undergraduate). If you start a course, subsequently change courses starting again at either level 3 or 4, you will not be eligible for the award against the new course. The initial credit made will remain in your account. Once you progresses on to the next level up you will be eligible for the appropriate credit to be made for that year of study. For example, were you to start on an undergraduate nursing programme in level 4 but then decide to change to an undergraduate midwifery programme, you will have already received the award for that level and will not receive an additional award on the new programme. Once you move to the next level the award payment will resume.
b. Temporary breaks in study. If you arrange with the University to interrupt or leave your course on a temporary basis you will have your account frozen until you resume your studies.
c. Suspension of study. If you are suspended by the University, your account will be frozen until the suspension has been lifted.
d. Repeat / extended study. A maximum award is made for each level of study and repeating part or all of a level would not entitle you to an additional award.
e. Leaving or being removed from the course. If you leave or are removed from your course you will not be expected to repay any of your award that has already been spent. However, your account will be closed and any remaining credit balance will not be available to you and entitlement to all future credits will stop on the date you leave or are removed. Unfulfilled orders (if any) that you have placed, and that have been or will be paid for using the awards, will be cancelled.
f. Misuse / misconduct. Your account will be closed and credit balances lost if you misuse or commit any misconduct in connection with your account or in other circumstances if the University deems such action to be necessary or reasonable.
g. Awards are subject to availability. The University reserves the right to suspend or withdraw future credits of awards at any time without notice. The University will not be responsible if the crediting of any awards and uplifts is delayed or prevented due to circumstances outside its control.
8. What happens in the unlikely event that anything goes wrong?
a. If you have any queries on your Inspire account or items ordered please use the 'contact us' link at www.salford-inspire.co.uk All queries made to University teams will be referred to that website.
b. No responsibility is accepted by the University for (i) any learning materials or products that are alleged to be lost, damaged, defective or stolen or are alleged either not to have been delivered or to have been delivered late; or (ii) credits of any refunds to student accounts to which students may from time to time be entitled.
9. Student accounts
You are responsible for all activity on your Inspire account and must keep your username and password confidential and secure.
10. Changes to terms and conditions
The University reserves the right to change these terms and conditions at any time. Material changes will be notified to students.
11. John Smith Group
The Inspire Award Scheme is a collaboration between the University and John Smith & Son Group Limited (JSG). JSG is responsible for the Inspire Award website: www.salford-inspire.co.uk and students who buy learning materials and other products via the website are buying from JSG.
12. Eligibility definitions
- Low income: Those with an annual household income of £25,000 or less. For full-time students, a full financial assessment must have been carried out by the relevant Award Authority (defined below) and agreement must have been given by the student and their sponsor(s) to share this data. This assessment must have been completed at the time of award allocation and it is the responsibility of the student to ensure that this has been completed by the Award Authority.
- Low participation neighbourhoods: Postcodes that are from time to time classified as 'POLAR 4, Quintile 1' by the Office for Students (OfS) - those wards with the lowest participation for entering Higher Education. For further information, see the following link to the OfS website: OfS postcode checker
- Ordinarily resident in the UK: students are ordinarily resident in the UK if they have habitually, normally and lawfully resided in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland or choice.
- Award Authority: Student Finance England / Wales / Norther Ireland or Student Awards Agency for Scotland.
Any queries relating to these terms and conditions should be made by emailing: askUS@salford.ac.uk
