UAL have agreed to look at options for a Guarantor Scheme for students unable to get their own guarantors for their accomodation. As guarantors need to be UK residents, the majority of international students struggle to find someone suitable. Home students also often struggle - for example, where a guarantor needs to be earning in a certain income bracket.
The Sabbatical Officer team had previously raised this as a suggestion in meetings with UAL, before supporting a student submitted Idea for a Guarantor Scheme at UAL. This Idea was passed at the 2022 Annual Members meeting by students, becoming part of Arts SU policy.
The Guarantor Scheme campaign has been supported by Sophia Nasif (LCC Officer 22-24) and Daniela Commey (Union Affairs Officer 23-24) and Students' Union staff (Shane Simpkin - Campaigns & Student Voice Coordinator, and Martin Dodd - Deputy Chief Executive Membership). Both Officers met with Mark Crawley (Dean of Students), Heather Francis (Chief Operating Officer) and Jane Donachy (Associate Director of Catering Retail and Accommodation) at the start of term to discuss the potential options for an internal or external approved scheme.
The Officers petitioned for the Guarantor Scheme to be led by UAL internally, but have agreed for UAL to consider partnering with a third-party company as an option to secure a scheme for the benefit of all UAL students. We are also lobbying if established for any external scheme to enable students to apply for Hardship Funding to cover any fees of signing up to the Guarantor Scheme during the third-party should they need to.
We continue to have ongoing discussions with UAL about the establishment of a scheme and hope to share a further update on progress before the start of the 2024-45 academic year.