2020/21 Terms and Conditions

The Laptop Loan Scheme is in place to offer the long term loan of University laptops to students to enable them to study online, where they may be unable to access this equipment otherwise due to financial hardship (household income below £32,000), digital exclusion, or other extenuating circumstances.  

The following Terms and Conditions apply to the scheme:

1. Eligible students

1.1 The Postgraduate scheme is open to Home and EU postgraduate taught (Masters) students studying on a full or part-time basis in 2020/21 who do not already have access to appropriate IT equipment for their studies. Eligible students will also:

  • have taken the full Master’s Postgraduate Student Loan to fund their studies; and
  • be resident in the UK

1.2 Students who are eligible for the Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) should be referred to Additional Support and Disability Advice Centre (ASDAC) to discuss whether equipment can be funded through this allowance. 

1.3 If the student is unable to provide the relevant evidence of low household income, they will need to complete an application to the University Support Fund and demonstrate their extenuating circumstances and evidence of financial hardship. The Student Finance Team will consider the evidence and decide if the student is eligible for the Scheme.

1.4 There is a limited budget for the supply of laptops, so eligibility does not guarantee that students will receive a laptop although every effort will be made to support students in some capacity.

2. Scheme details

2.1 Eligible students will be provided with a Laptop voucher (which may be provided as a code via email) which will enable them to receive a University loan Laptop directly from our nominated suppliers.

2.2 The specification of the loan laptop provided will be a standard University specification and determined to be appropriate for the large majority of student needs. Remote desktop solutions will enable students to harness additional computing resources.

2.3 The student may keep the loaned equipment for the duration of their studies and will be expected to return this to the University on withdrawal or completion of their course, or where the loan is otherwise no longer required(whichever comes first).

2.4 The loaned equipment will remain the property of the University.

3. Application Process

3.1 Applicants will need to complete the online application in order to be considered, which will be available from our Borrowing equipment for online study page.

3.2 Eligibility will be assessed by the Student Finance team and additional evidence may be sought from the student to confirm their circumstances. 

3.3 Eligible applicants will be passed to the University Information Services (IS) team who will allocate an appropriate loan laptop.

3.4 Students will be required to complete a loan agreement at the point of issuing for the equipment which will include details of the warranty, insurance requirements and returns process.

3.5 On receipt of the completed agreement, IS will work with the supplier to deliver the equipment to the student’s home address (or term-time address if this is preferred).

3.6 Any training required will be provided by IS via the Student IT Training article for training resources.

3.7 Recipients who are unable to access adequate internet access can apply for additional support through the University Support Fund and will be referred to this application by the Student Finance team.

4.  Timescales

4.1 Eligibility will be assessed, and equipment will be provided once students have registered on their course for the 2020 Academic year. Online registration must be complete before laptop vouchers can be issued.

4.2 Applications will remain open until available laptops have been exhausted.

5. Operational Terms and Conditions

5.1 Loans will be made to successful eligible students on eligible courses, subject to the availability of limited awards.

5.2 Loans are subject to applicants registering on their course.

5.3 Students who defer their place after eligibility is confirmed will not be issued with a laptop until they return to their studies and register for their course. 

5.4 Successful applicants will be required to ‘fully register’ onto their course to remain eligible

for the loaned equipment. This entails completing the online registration form and providing original evidence of their personal identity within the first week of the start date of the course, and paying the residual balance of any fees. Failure to complete registration will result in the laptop being recalled.

5.5 Students who suspend their studies will be expected to return their loan laptop as per the returns process. The option to reapply will be provided when the student returns to their studies should they still require the equipment.    

5.6 Students who withdraw or are excluded from their studies will be expected to return their laptop immediately via the returns procedure. 

5.7 Recipients will only be eligible for the loan once during the duration of their course.

5.8 Recipients will be expected to adequately insure their loaned equipment against loss, damage and theft.

5.9 Recipients who lose or damage their laptops will become ineligible for the scheme and will not be able to receive a replacement.

5.10 The equipment is for academic purposes only. It is not to be loaned to any third party or family member.

5.11 The University’s decision on the allocation of the equipment in accordance with these terms and conditions is final. There is no appeals process. 

 

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