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Supporting NASMA

There are over 2.5 million students in the UK. Many of these students will have questions of some sort about their finances during their studies. This will vary from those that aren't sure what to put on their funding application, those that enter university with existing financial commitments, individuals hoping to improve their budgeting skills, and students considering their finances beyond their studies. Support is available for these students in universities, colleges, and students' unions, and also from the National Association of Student Money Advisers (NASMA).

NASMA is a registered charity, with the following aims:

  • to advance education about student finance and disseminate good practice in respect of all areas of student money and student finance advice; and
  • to relieve the poverty of students through the promotion, provision, and support of professional money advice for higher education students in the FE and HE sectors, with particular emphasis on student finance, and student debt; and
  • to provide advice, information and training to student money advisers, and administrators of discretionary funds and bursaries.

NASMA rely on income from membership subscriptions and training attendance to fund development of resources and support for NASMA members, the wider advice sector and for students.

What NASMA have done recently:

  • In March 2011 we organised and co-ordinated the first ever National Student Money Week. During the week alone we reached over 300,000 individuals with information relating to student funding and advice; challenging myths, providing innovative ways to engage students, and raising the profile of available support.
  • During Summer 2011 we completely redesigned the NASMA website, concentrating in particular on the information and resources available for students. In August 2011 we saw a 1,136% increase in website hits compared to August 2010.
  • In Autumn 2011 NASMA will launch a smartphone application. This will include a budget calculator, details of key student dates, contact details for reaching advisers, and lots of information about student funding.
  • From June to September 2011 we delivered training to over 300 practitioners about forthcoming changes to student funding, helping to ensure that advice given by those working in universities is accurate and accessible.

If you would like to support the ongoing work of NASMA and development of further projects to support advisers and students you can make a donation here:


What we'd like to do in the future, amongst other things:

  • Continue to develop resources for NASMA members and students
  • Ensure that we are able to continue our current level of support for practitioners and their students
  • Maintain our current engagement with national policy discussions through our involvement in key stakeholder groups, building on this where possible and appropriate
  • Increase the reach of National Student Money Week and related initiatives
  • Develop an advice line for practitioners to raise complicated issues as raised by their students
  • Create an accreditation model for those working in student funding and advice, building on current NASMA training and development models
  • Engage with other organisations to research matters of relevance to students
  • Produce publications based on research conducted and experiences of NASMA members