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Adult Carers

Who is a Student Parent or Carer? 

A Student Parent is someone who has responsibility for a child. 

A Student Carer is someone who provides care, assistance or support to another family member on an unpaid basis, unsupported. This may include caring for a relative who is disabled, has some chronic illness, mental health problem or other condition (including substance misuse) and who ordinarily would not be able to cope without support or supervision. 

What support can I get from the University of Cumbria? 

As a student who cares for a child, family member or friend, we know you are working hard to juggle your studies alongside these commitments. Our teams are on hand to advise you of any additional support that might be available to you. 

We can provide:

  • An opportunity to discuss your course application and personal statement
  • Help and advice with applying for student funding
  • Information about discretionary financial support you may be able to access once on course
  • Meeting you at University events such as interview and applicant days. To arrange an initial chat, please get in touch outreach@cumbria.ac.uk
  • Head Start to University, a short online course designed to develop or refresh your academic skills and to be better prepared for HE study. The course covers the topics of transition to university, learning at university, academic writing, referencing and accessing academic sources.
  • Support with managing academic issues such as seeking extenuating circumstances when your caring responsibilities may hinder your ability to meet an assessment deadline
  • Liaison with your academic department should this be required
  • Information about accessing other university support services such as careers guidance, disability/SpLD support, counselling services, etc... 

Once you have started your course, there is a wide range of support and services available to you from our teams here https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/Student-Life/Support/  

Useful external contacts at each campus are as follows:

 

 

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