UVic-UCC launches a new programme of grants for students with a good academic record and limited financial resources

The University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) has launched the new "Universitat a l’abast de tothom" ["University for All"] (UAT) programme of grants for the 2021-22 academic year, aimed at ensuring young people with a good school record who come from family backgrounds with limited financial resources can gain access to university. This programme is aimed at students in higher secondary education and advanced vocational training programmes at secondary schools and training centres in the university's catchment area who wish to pursue bachelor's degree studies.

More specifically, and during its initial pilot phase next year the programme will be rolled out to the regions of Osona, Bages and Berguedà. UVic-UCC will allocate 16,500 Euros to the grants in this first call.

The UAT Programme aims to contribute to enhancing social and cultural opportunities for young people from families coping with financial difficulties and/or at risk of social exclusion, while at the same time creating synergies with other institutions and social and educational agents in the region to make the University accessible to everyone, fostering and leading a social and educational network. The aim is to create a system of grants "with a markedly territorial vocation and as a sign of the University's firm commitment to contributing to the human, socio-economic and cultural development of the region, in accordance with the institution's social responsibility," explains Joan Soler, professor emeritus of UVic-UCC and the coordinator of the UAT Programme.

Candidates proposed by schools

One of the unusual features of this programme is that the young people who are candidates for the UAT grants will be proposed by the secondary education schools and centres where they have been studying. The general conditions for eligibility are having obtained a place on one of the bachelor's degree programmes chosen according to the requirements for admission to the University and the university entrance application process, registering on an official bachelor's degree course at UVic-UCC, and coming from a secondary school and being a resident in a municipality in the Bages, Osona or Moianès regions.

The academic requirements are having obtained an average grade of 7 or higher in upper secondary education or an advanced vocational training cycle, and having registered for 60 credits in each academic year. The financial requirements are that the family's income may not exceed the initial threshold established by the general grant of the Spanish Ministry of Education.

Another specific characteristic of the programme is that each student receiving a grant will be accompanied by an individual mentor, who will monitor their academic progress. This person will be crucial for "identifying any possible problems the student experiences in their time at university and helping to overcome them, to ensure their academic success," explains Soler. An assessment committee to monitor and examine the specific characteristics of each case has also been established.

Distribution of the grant and grants for each faculty

Students obtaining a grant from the UAT programme will only have to pay one third of the registration fee, in addition to the charges and insurance associated with the registration. The remaining two thirds will be paid as follows: one third by the Foundation issuing the university bachelor's degree for which the student has registered (the Balmes University Foundation, the Bages University Foundation or Foundation for Advanced Health Sciences Studies), and another third through the UAT programme's own fund.

Seven UAT grants will be awarded for the 2021-22 academic year, and distributed as follows: four grants for students registered on official bachelor's degrees of the Balmes University Foundation, at the UVic Campus (one grant per Faculty); two grants for students registered on official bachelor's degrees of the Bages University Foundation, at the UManresa (one grant per Faculty); and one grant for students registered on the bachelor's degree in Medicine of the Foundation for Advanced Health Sciences Studies. The grant may be renewed each year until the end of the studies if the requirements are met, and subject to approval by the assessment committee.

There will be two application periods for the 2021-2022 call: the first period is from 1 June to 9 July 2021, and the second period is from 12 July to 21 September 2021. The decision for the first period will be announced on 21 July, and the decision for the second period on 30 September. All the conditions governing the UAT Grant Programme can be consulted at this link.

Other existing grants

The UAT Programme grants are in addition to the financial aid that UVic-UCC has launched in recent years through its own system of scholarships, grants and awards, which are compatible with public grants. In fact, in the last academic year, three out of ten students at the University were receiving some form of study grant. These figures are in line with the institution's desire to "guarantee any young person's right to higher education so that they can develop their professional career," according to Josep Eladi Baños, rector of UVic-UCC.

The range of grant and aid programmes offered by UVic-UCC can be consulted at this link for the Vic campus and the Granollers facility, here for the Manresa campus, and here for the Faculty of Medicine.