Bursaries only for full-time students ‘discriminatory’

University bursary schemes should be available to all students regardless of how they plan to study, according to an inclusion expert whose own plans to take a master’s programme were derailed when she discovered she was ineligible.

Samantha Morgan, an inclusion consultant who has physical disabilities as well as autism, said she applied to the University of Essex to study a master’s programme where she believed she would be eligible for its Masters Excellence Scholarship, which awards students with a first-class undergraduate degree a 25 per cent discount on fees. 

However, Morgan, who is a single parent and was applying as a part-time student, said she was left “devastated” after discovering the policy was only available to students studying full-time.

She said: “I literally sat there for a long period of time with a calculator working out how much this course would actually cost me over the three years…But then when I realised that I wouldn’t get [the bursary], it was devastating. 

“This is what happens: students will sit with calculators and realise that they cannot study. That is a crushing blow when you apply to universities and you are capable of using your lived experience to actually create social good, but you’re not only priced out, you’re shut out of support that should be available to you. There was no logical reason that I could see at all that this bursary should have only been targeted at full-time students.”

She argued that “if you’re paying the same fees as anybody else, you should get the same bursaries as anybody else, regardless of how you study”. 

Morgan emailed the university raising her concerns, and while she received initial recognition of her email, did not receive a further reply despite chasing the university. In the meantime, Essex updated its bursary policy to include part-time students although the discount has been lowered from 25 to 15 per cent.

After another email in which Morgan said she was looking to escalate the matter, she finally received a reply the next day, which acknowledged her contribution to the policy change and apologised for their lack of response. The university offered to reinstate her application, but Morgan declined, noting that the delays in communication had meant she had missed out on a year of study. 

Such delays can have grave consequences for students with disabilities, especially those with progressive conditions, she said, adding that this time cannot simply be “made up”. 

The experience left her feeling “gaslit, invisible, and unheard”, arguing that policy alone is not enough, and universities need to show inclusion within their “practices and behaviour” too.

“This degree was never just a bit of paper. I am a first-generation autistic student, a working parent, trying to improve life outcomes, after struggling at school with undiagnosed autism many years ago. My degree was not just for myself, but for my family. It’s about trying to break generational cycles of the fact that no one in my family went to university, and I cannot be the only student met with barriers who can achieve good,” she said.

Morgan is now calling on universities to review their bursary policies to ensure that they are open to all students, regardless of their study status, and hopes that her experience can result in wider policy change to enable other students with disabilities to access higher education.

“These policies can have devastating consequences on real lives and the ability for people to improve their outcomes, which then impacts their family. It isn’t just about the student. There has to be change. People should not need to fight to access education and I will continue to raise this,” Morgan said.

The University of Essex said it was unable to comment.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com