In 1982 the Open University Students Association established the Open University Students Educational Trust (OUSET), as a separate grant giving Trust. The Trust’s purpose is to provide study related grants to support current OU Students in financial hardship, where other sources of funding are not available, to help them to continue their studies.
OUSET relies on donations to fund its grant giving. Grants awarded to students range from c.£200 to c.£3,500. OUSET does not place a cap on the number of grants it can award in a period but on average, over the last 3 years, the total of grants awarded has been c.£100,000 per annum.
The Students Association provides administration and management services to OUSET for which OUSET pays a monthly management fee. The services and fee are reviewed and agreed annually by each party. The Students Association also supports OUSET in its fundraising endeavours.
OUSET is governed by its own board of Trustees who steer the Trust, and ensure we are working towards our mission ‘’To provide a safety net for Open University students who might otherwise struggle to continue to fund their studies due to financial hardship.’’ The Board comprises up to eight Trustees including the Association’s Vice President Student Welfare, the Vice President Administration and the Association’s CEO.
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