National Student Money Week 2026 - Members Discussion Forums - Session 2

NASMA has partnered with the Money and Pensions Service to make Money Guiders available as part of the NASMA membership offer for 2026/27.

This 1-hour session will introduce the service and help you get familiar with the online learning platform. You only need to attend one of these sessions. 

More detail of the partnership can be found in the members area here.

Across the sector, student support teams are being asked to do more with less – while student need continues to grow.

NASMA members told us where some of the pressures lie and what would make a difference. We listened, and have been developing Aspire in response.

In this webinar, we’ll share some of those developments, including our new Applications module and how it can help streamline the journey from application through to payment. We’ll hear directly from Natalie at the University of Essex, about their experience of Aspire Applications and the impact it is already having.

We’ll also be joined by Tom Allingham from Save the Student to introduce our work around financial education, as well as sharing some of the latest innovations in payments and the wider Aspire service.

Most importantly, we want to continue the conversation. What else could help you do more with less? What challenges should we be thinking about next?

Whether you already use Aspire or simply want to explore how technology and innovation could help tackle some of the pressures facing student support teams, join us to hear what’s new, what we're learning – and help shape what comes next.

Stephen Jones from SLC's Funding Information Services Team will be delivering a session focusing on care leavers and estranged students. This session will provide an overview of funding available for these students, including care leaver and estranged student definitions, evidence required and funding entitlement. By the end of this session, NASMA members will have sufficient knowledge to be able to accurately advise care leavers and estranged students on the funding available to them from student finance.

NASMA has partnered with the Money and Pensions Service to make Money Guiders available as part of the NASMA membership offer for 2026/27.

This 1-hour session will introduce the service and help you get familiar with the online learning platform. You only need to attend one of these sessions. 

More detail of the partnership can be found in the members area here.

NASMA has partnered with the Money and Pensions Service to make Money Guiders available as part of the NASMA membership offer for 2026/27.

This 1-hour session will introduce the service and help you get familiar with the online learning platform. You only need to attend one of these sessions. 

More detail of the partnership can be found in the members area here.

NASMA has partnered with the Money and Pensions Service to make Money Guiders available as part of the NASMA membership offer for 2026/27.

This 1-hour session will introduce the service and help you get familiar with the online learning platform. You only need to attend one of these sessions. 

More detail of the partnership can be found in the members area here.

We will explore this year’s theme, Advising, Achieving and Adapting, through the lens of today’s rapidly changing student support landscape. The session will examine how financial circumstances shape student participation, success and wellbeing, alongside the growing complexity of student funding systems and institutional pressures. Reflecting on key sector developments, including the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, the keynote will consider the challenges and opportunities facing student money advisers as they balance technical expertise with holistic support, advocacy and institutional influence in an increasingly demanding environment.

Aston University's Sanctuary Scholarship was established in 2022 and has helped 12 people so far to follow their dreams. Our team consists of an international adviser born outside the UK, a retired asylum solicitor, the Head of Advice Services and a Student Funding adviser. This offers a unique perspective, allowing us to treat our scholars as individuals when their only experience of the UK so far has been an asylum system designed to dehumanise. These students are a unique sub-group of international students whose student experience is paramount. The money to fund the scholarship is invaluable but, it's the smaller touches that have the most impact, from pre-entry to graduation along with recognition and transition support. At Aston, we have learned how important it is to tailor our scholarship to the person; sanctuary seekers, like the rest of society, have a myriad of experiences, personalities and needs.