Every student who goes to university will no doubt have their own unique obstacles and challenges. Here at York St John University, we aim to support students to achieve the very best. This includes dedicated support for Students with Caring Responsibilities.
Students with Caring Responsibilities are students who care, unpaid, for a family member or friend with an illness or disability, mental health condition or an addiction. For more information please use the following links:
We know that caring for someone, even at a distance, can put extra pressure on you during your studies.
We can help you access additional funding and liaise with academic staff if your caring role is impacting your course. We can also link you to other sources of support such as York Carers Centre and Hope Support Services.
We’ve included information about how to access support, disclose yourself as someone with caring responsibilities, and how we may support you as a student.
- Students are given the option of disclosing their caring responsibilities on enrolment, after which they are contacted and invited to discuss their circumstances.
- Our dedicated support contact will then work with students on a 1:1 basis to advise them how to mitigate the impact of their caring responsibilities on their academic work. They can liaise with your academic schools and write up a set of recommendations to help the school support you.
- The Exceptional Circumstances policy recognises student carers as a group for whom flexibility and ongoing adjustments may be needed, which means they can navigate the process easier if they need extensions or deferrals.
- Our Student Support Fund application recognises that student carers may not have the option of part-time work to supplement their income and adjusts the assessment of their application accordingly.
- Our support team also has links with York Carers Centre and can make referrals directly to them or other relevant organisations, as well as internal teams like Wellbeing.
- The Vice Chancellor’s Scholarships are open to students who have caring responsibilities.
Our dedicated contact for student carers can help you with a specific issue or simply be a friendly face. You can get in touch with Anna by emailing a.deacon@yorksj.ac.uk