A critical incident response to the cost-of-living crisis has been declared at Queen's University Belfast QUBelfast
BBC News NIThe university is due to approve several measures to help staff and students deal with soaring costs.Queen's has been allocated £2.7m to be distributed as hardship funds this academic year as part of a wider support package.
QUB students told BBC News NI that they found the "unwieldy" hardship fund application process involved "far too much paperwork".Hannah Hutchinson and Kotryna Ramanauskaite say their peers are struggling to afford food She added: "I know a lot of people in my course who say their entire student loan and maintenance grant go on their rent.
The university had exceeded £2.2m in hardship fund pay-outs by April 30, according to a response to a written question to the Northern Ireland Assembly in June.A DfE spokesperson said the department recognised the affect the cost-of-living crisis was having on households across Northern Ireland, including students.