What is the University of Bedfordshire My Beds scheme?

**This scheme is no longer available to applicants who enrolled after 2018/19. You will now be eligible for the £1,500 Scholarship which has now replaced the My Beds Money Card.**

The University and John Smith's bookshop have set up a joint scheme to help you make the very best of your time at the University by improving access to the learning tools you need to support your studies.

This has been specifically created to help students pay towards the cost of their course textbooks and learning materials.

• For 2017/18 all newly-enrolled undergraduate students who meet the eligibility criteria will receive £300 My Beds credit as part of the Welcome Package.
• All eligible new students will receive an introductory sum loaded on to an account that you can use with John Smith's (see below for details), to purchase additional course materials, or use for a Go Global deposit and Aspire Gym membership.
• You can use your funds online at John Smith's website (after first registering) to help with the purchase of your textbooks and learning materials.

Am I eligible to receive the My Beds card?

• You are a full-time student studying a degree programme with a fee of £9,250
• You are an undergraduate student on your first year - both at the University and on your course
• You are a Home or EU (UK domiciled) student
• You are not studying via the British School of Osteopathy

EU domiciled students will receive the Welcome Package in the form of cash instead of My Beds Money and Print credit.

What can I spend the funds on?

My Beds funds can be used towards the purchase of books, stationery, computer accessories and other learning materials from the John Smith's bookshop website.

Textbooks and learning materials can also be purchased from the JS bookstall operations at the Bedford campus during enrolment.

In addition students can use the My Beds card at University services including Campus retail outlets, Go Global deposit, and Aspire Gym membership.

How much is it worth?

• Every eligible full-time first year undergraduate student will receive a £300 My Beds bursary on a unique, personalised My Beds card
• The £300 fund will then be loaded onto your account which can immediately be used for transactions

How and when will funds be awarded?

You do not need to apply for the My Beds scheme funds, but you do need to register your details on the John Smith's website and activate your personal My Beds account to gain access to them and receive your personalised University of Bedfordshire My Beds card.

Enrolment days

John Smith's will be present during University enrolment at the Luton and Bedford campuses to issue you with your My Beds card.

There will be a team of John Smith's staff present in each location to help you complete the process:

• As part of your registration process with the University of Bedfordshire, you will be asked to confirm your agreement to basic details being passed by the University to John Smith's so that they can identify you as an eligible student.
• Once you have completed the University enrolment process and collected your University of Bedfordshire Student ID card, you will then be directed to the John Smith's My Beds card issuing point at either Luton or Bedford.
• You will be asked for your University of Bedfordshire student ID card by a John Smith's staff member.
• Your details will be brought up onscreen and your identity and eligibility will be verified.
• You will then be issued with your personalised My Beds card and asked to create a secure 4-digit PIN.
• My Beds card account will then be activated immediately.

Registering online

If you are studying away from the Luton or Bedford campuses, then once you have registered as a student with the University and been issued with your personalised My Beds card by John Smith's, you will be able to activate Your My Beds card account online at www.johnsmith.co.uk/bedfordshire

How secure are the My Beds funds?

John Smith's has put in place a number of measures to ensure that each student's My Beds card funds are securely protected. Please also note that:

• No actual funds are held on the card so the loss or theft of a card does not mean that funds are accessible to a third party without the account access protection codes.
• Any physical usage of the account in store requires the use of an access authentication – ie. PIN – plus identification by means of the student ID card.
• For online transactions (if required) a password is created by the student and access to the funds is not possible without this password.
• John Smith's can put an immediate stop on an account as soon as we are notified that there is any suspicion of loss, theft or fraud.
• If a card is lost or stolen, then accounts can be frozen until the student is issued with a replacement card thus preventing any further activity on the account until the issue is resolved, either in person or online.
• John Smith's will charge £5 for any replacement card.

What is John Smith's Bookshop?

John Smith's bookshop is the UK's leading specialist academic bookseller, with extensive and unrivalled experience in campus book selling.

John Smith's can be contacted via www.johnsmith.co.uk/contact-us