Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants to the fund must be current registered students of the University of Cambridge. The Crane Fund classifies current registered students as students who have not met their course requirements, or for PhD students who have not submitted their soft-bound thesis
• Students currently on intermission are eligible to apply to the fund
• Students in their last term are usually ineligible
• Treatments being applied for must be unobtainable under NHS care due to significant waiting times. A significant waiting time is defined to be where a student is unable to complete a period of assessment without accessing private treatment in a timely manner
• Where the treatment can be quickly and easily accessed via the NHS, the application will be rejected, and the applicant advised to access NHS treatment
• Treatments being applied for must be from UK-based providers with the necessary qualifications and meet NICE guidelines (NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence)

Please read the below criteria to determine your eligibility for the fund.

Financial assistance will not usually be provided for the following medical treatments or circumstances:

• Medical treatments which do not meet NICE guidelines
• Medical treatments which are not conducted in the UK

• Students with private medical insurance

• ADHD assessments or medication

• Autism assessments- Enquiries may be made to the Fund where students require adjustments in addition to the standard exam access arrangements and therefore require an autism assessment. However, a clear explanation will need to be made as to why these additional adjustments are necessary.*

• Private medication costs (on the basis that the student may not be under GP care whilst on medication and may find it difficult to continue with medication on the NHS)

• Dental treatment is not usually eligible for the fund except in exceptional circumstances. An example of this is if a student is requiring unexpected dental surgery due to an accident such as falling off of their bike. Root canals, wisdom tooth removal and fillings are all examples of ordinary dental treatments and will not meet the requirements of this fund.
• Gender: - Support will not be provided towards privatised medications. Support will not be provided towards subscriptions that provide titration for private medications. Support will not be provided towards gender reassignment surgeries. Specific mental health support may be provided for gender dysphoria.

• Treatments which have occurred prior to the date of the award

• Debt arising from medical expenses
• Treatment-associated costs (such as travel costs)

Financial assistance will not usually be provided in the following circumstances:

• Students applying for support in the last term of their course- exceptions may be made for students progressing to another course at the University of Cambridge
• Students who have already received the maximum award of £1800 from the fund per academic year
• Students who have not taken out a loan who are otherwise eligible to receive loans from either SFE or a US/Canadian loan
• Students with high living costs, which cannot be reasonably justified
• Students in receipt of full funding may sometimes be referred back to their funder for financial support (if their funding source is internal)
• Students with access to savings or alternative funding which could meet their shortfall

Please note that applications which do not meet the above eligibility criteria will be rejected.

* In exceptional cases, Autism Assessments may be funded by the Crane’s Fund if it is determined that they will need adjustments in addition to the standard exam access arrangements or an AMA. The student would have to enquire with the Student Funding and Fee Policy team regarding their eligibility and provide:

1. A GP letter dated in the last 3 months
2. A letter from the ADRC in the last 3 months stating what additional arrangements are needed and why an autism assessment is needed beyond the usual educational diagnosis
3. The usual College Tutor form and Application form if invited to apply.

All queries would have to be assessed by the student funding team and the Apothecary before the student is invited to apply to the fund. The team will also check with the ADRC if this case meets their criteria for additional assessment arrangements.