WBS CoACh Programme: Collaborate|Act|Change
What is the CoACh Programme? Why should you be a part of it?
CoACh is a WBS enrichment Scholarship Programme supporting students who meet widening participation criteria (you see the sections below for more details on this). We are looking to welcome highly motivated individuals, who are keen to learn, alongside their degree, how to become effective collaborators, take action and imagine change.
As well as belonging to the CoACh community successful applicants will benefit from financial aid of £2,000- 4,285 per academic year to help with living costs. The panel will then allocate the different scholarships to applicants based on the strength of your written application, references and the number of criteria you fulfill from the eligibility list below.
As part of the CoACh community, you can expect to play an active role in developing social capital through:
- Attendance at a termly workshop led by artists and cultural leaders across designed to develop personal and leadership skills, including resilience, self-belief and authenticity.
- Participation in a bespoke mentoring initiative targeted at CoACh students and tailored to different stages of degree, explore career anxieties and aspirations;
- Co-created social events that promote engagement and a sense of belonging;
- In addition to support from your Personal Tutor, you will also benefit from regular, informal access to a dedicated Course Director and Programme Co-ordinators affiliated with CoACh.
Read a blog post from a CoACh scholar, Hanna, who reflects on how receiving a scholarship enhanced her university experience and opened doors to new opportunities.
Who can apply for the CoACh Programme?
In order to be eligible to apply for the WBS Immersion Scholarship Programme, you must:
- Have an offer to study on one of the following WBS undergraduate degrees, starting in September 2023:
- BSc Accounting and Finance
- BSc Accounting and Finance with Placement Year
- BSc International Management
- BSc Management
- BSc Management with Placement Year
Alternatively, be a current student on either BSc Accounting and Finance with Foundation Year or BSc Management with Foundation Year progressing in to 1st Year in September 2023. You also have to:
- Have a household income as assessed by the Student Funding Team of below £35,001. This will be assessed using a Student Loans Company Customer Reference Number.
- Be a resident in the UK and eligible to pay fees at the home rate
- Be applying to www.gov.uk/studentfinance for assessment for financial support and be in receipt of a Government Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan for the 2023-24 academic year. If there is a reason why you have chosen not to take a Government Tuition Fee Loan and/or Maintenance Loan, there is the opportunity to let the panel know the reason behind this. Please do not let this deter you from applying to the scholarship.
Applicants must also satisfy at least one of the following criteria to be considered:
- Living in a low participation neighbourhood (POLAR 3, quintile 1) or an area which has a high level of deprivation (Index of Multiple Deprivation, 0-20%) during your secondary education.*
- Attending a school where the average performance of students achieving 5 A*-C GCSE including English and Mathematics was below the national average and/or attending a school/college with below the national average performance at KS5.**
- Attending a school or college with above national average entitlement/eligibility to Free School Meals.**
- Being a first-generation entrant to higher education (i.e. neither parent has attended university).
- Having spent time in local-authority care.
- You are a student with disabilities - including seen and unseen disabilities, specific learning differences, mental health difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder or any other disabling condition
- You are an estranged student who is not supported by their parents
- You have caring responsibilities - this could include, physical, practical or emotional care
- You have refugee status or are an asylum seeker
* To find out if your home postcode is in a low participation neighbourhood you can use the following postcode tool
** To find out if your school meets this criteria please use the following website.
How to apply?
The application form is available HERELink opens in a new window. The deadline to apply is 12:00 noon on 20 October 2023.
We will contact your personal tutor for an academic reference. You will be asked to name them in the application for, so please speak with them to ensure they are happy to provide a reference for you.
- Make sure to check the application advice Link opens in a new windowwe prepared to help you put together the best possible application.
- Applications received after the closing date/time will not be considered. WBS will not be responsible for any applications that are not received for any reason, by the closing date, whether lost, delayed, corrupted or otherwise, and whether or not due to any technical difficulties or malfunctions.
- Students in receipt of the scholarship will be asked to sign an agreement and participate in the activities designed to develop their social capital, personal skills, and employability. Failure to attend compulsory activities may result in the scholarship being withdrawn.
- WBS reserves the right to change or withdraw the CoACh Scholarship Programme at any time.
Please note: For some scholarships you are required to interact and network with the donors that provide the scholarship - this is clearly stated in the descriptions below. In the application form, you are able to opt out of being considered for these scholarships if this is something you are not comfortable with participating in.
Further queries
If you have any questions or queries about the scholarship programme you can contact the UG Student Experience Team at WBS: ugmitcirs@wbs.ac.uk