Funding your part-time study 2007/2008

Funding your part-time study 2007/2008 Where to go for help and how to get it‌

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Will I qualify for a Course grant & a Fee grant? (P6) Table 1 – Threshold levels based on income How much financial support will I get? (P8) Table 2 – Grant amounts based on the intensity of the course Examples of the calculation for part-time learners with different personal circumstances (P10) Tables 3 & 4 – Examples

How do I apply for the grants? (P12) About this booklet (P3) Am I eligible for financial support? (P4)

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Where can I find out more? (P13) Additional funds (P15)

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About this booklet…

• The information in this booklet has been written for part-time learners enrolling on a higher education course.

• It includes information about the course grant and fee grant eligibility criteria and how to apply for them.

The course grant covers books and travel and is payable directly to the learner.

The fee grant covers course fees and is payable directly to the college or university.

If you are a full-time learner on a higher education course, you can obtain up-to-date information on your financial entitlement from: • Student services at your college, university or training provider • By contacting your local authority student finance team • Visit: www.aimhigher.ac.uk/home/index.cfm or www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance • If you have a disability or specific learning difficulty, please refer to the information on page 15

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Am I eligible for financial support?

If you can answer YES to the following questions, you may be entitled to financial help. a. Have you lived in the UK for the last 3 years? Yes/No If No – you must have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK for 3 years immediately before the first day of the academic year.

See www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance for more details. b. Are you going to be studying in England? Yes/No Please note that different rules apply for various parts of the UK. For Wales see: www.learningwales.gov.uk For Scotland see: www.student-support-saas.gov.uk For Northern Ireland see: www.delni.gov.uk/studentfinance

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If you answer YES to the following, you will NOT qualify for a part-time student grant. a. Do you already have a degree? Yes/No b. Are you going to be studying a part-time initial teacher training course?

Yes/No If YES, look for specific information on www.canteach.gov.uk or contact the Teaching Information Line on Tel: 0845 6000 991.

c. Will your course lead to a higher education qualification such as HNC, HND, BSc, BA, Foundation Degree?

Yes/No The funding is not available for postgraduate courses at level 7/8 such as MSc, MA or MBA.

c. Are you going to be studying for more than one part-time course at a time? Yes/No d. Will you receive an NHS bursary for your course? Yes/No If Yes look for specific information from the NHS Student Grants Unit Tel: 0845 3 586 655. www.nhsstudentgrants.co.uk.

d. Are you going to be studying a course that lasts more than 1 year? Yes/No e. Does your course take no more than twice the time it would take to complete the equivalent full-time course?

Yes/No For example an Honours degree that would take 3 years full-time must not be expected to take more than 6 years part-time.

If you have answered YES to the above questions, you may qualify for a part-time student grant, but you will need to continue through the booklet to check for other factors that may affect your entitlement.

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Will I qualify for a COURSE grant and a FEE grant?

The LA (Local Authority) will take your income into consideration when calculating if you are entitled to financial support.

You will need to know your gross income and that of your partners (if applicable). Gross income is the amount that you earn before any deductions such as tax and national insurance.

See table 1 for the maximum household income you can earn in order to obtain any financial support.

Table 3 (page 10) and table 4 (page 11) are examples of the calculation of financial support available.

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For up-to-date amounts‌ Log onto www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance The information is usually available from April/May for the following academic year.

The full details (A guide to financial support for part-time students in higher education’ is available from mid June) www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance or Tel: 0800 731 9133.

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How much financial support will I get?

If you have established that you qualify for a part-time higher education grant based on your living circumstances and income, you can now look at the grant amounts given in table 2 opposite.

The amounts are awarded based on the intensity of the course.

The intensity means how long it takes to complete your course compared with the same (or similar) full-time course.

Please note that the fee grants listed are maximum amounts.

If you qualify for ÂŁ765 fee grant but your course fees are ÂŁ600, your college will only receive enough to cover the ÂŁ600 course fees.

You can find out the fees for your course from your college, university or training provider.

Example. If a one year full-time course takes two years to complete part-time, then the part-time course has an intensity of 50%.

The college, university or training provider will be able to tell you the intensity of the course if you are unsure. Sometimes it is referred to as FTE (full time equivalent).

For up-to-date amounts, go to: www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance

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Table 2 – Grant amounts per year based on the intensity of the course Maximum fee grant available

Maximum course grant available

50-59% of an equivalent full-time course

£765

£250

60-74% of an equivalent full-time course

£920

£250

75% of an equivalent full-time course

£1,150

£250

Intensity of study

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Examples of the calculation for part-time learners with different personal circumstances

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How do I apply for the grants?

To apply for the course grant and fee grant you will need to complete a PTG1 form. You obtain this from your Local Authority or www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance Tel: 0800 7 319 133.

The college, university or training provider is required to complete a section of the PTG1 form. You will need to take the form with you when you enrol on the course.

If you are a new student, the college, university or training provider will sign the form after you have attended the first 2 weeks.

It will then be returned to you, for you to make the application (the form and guidance notes will tell you where to post it).

You will then be assessed and the course grant will be paid into your bank account.

Students already on a course will have their forms signed by the college, university or training provider when they enrol.

Your Local Authority (LA) will calculate your exact entitlement once you have applied for the grant.

It is worth doing a basic calculation first so that you can estimate if you will be getting enough to pay for your course.

If the fee grant is less than the cost of the course, you will need to pay the difference.

Remember, you could ask your employer if they are willing to make a contribution. The fee grant is paid directly to the university/ college, and not to the individual.

Part-time learners from 2006 onward are no longer entitled to apply for a student loan (a low interest loan available to full-time undergraduate learners).

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Where can I find out more?

There are numerous websites that give advice about financing higher education. These include: www.aimhigher.ac.uk www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance www.studentsupportdirect.co.uk You could also look at the website of the college or university you will be attending.

If you do not have access to the Internet, you can contact the college, university or training provider.

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Additional funds

The college or university that you apply to may also have additional support for part-time learners such as the part-time student childcare grant. It’s important that you contact them directly to discuss your circumstances.

Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) This grant is an allowance for learners with a disability or specific learning difficulties. It is there to help with additional study costs incurred as a result of your disability/learning difficulty (including dyslexia). Help could be for items of specialist equipment, to pay for a non-medical helper or other related costs.

For additional information go to: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/disabledpeople/index.htm http://www.aimhigher.ac.uk/student_finance/sources_of_help/parent_s_learning_allowance.cfm Access to Learning Fund This is available to students who find themselves in financial difficulty. In some cases, it could provide help with childcare costs. To apply, you will need to contact the college, university or training provider that you are applying to.

For further information go to: http://www.aimhigher.ac.uk/ student_finance/sources_of_help.cfm

Benefits Student grants will not be taken into account if you are receiving any meanstested benefits such as Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance. If you are claiming Jobseekers Allowance, you may need to discuss your hours with Jobcentre Plus, as you must be available for work.

Full-time higher education funding For information about student finance for full-time higher education go to: www.aimhigher.ac.uk or www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance

Acknowledgements Aimhigher West Midlands wishes to thank ‘Tyne & Wear Work based learning providers network’ and Aimhigher Tyne and Wear for use of some of the contents for this booklet.

Please note that the information contained in this booklet is correct at time of print. However, funding support may change, so it is advisable to seek confirmation from your college, university or training provider.

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www.aimhigherwm.org Black Country Tel: 01902 323592

Coventry & Warwickshire Tel: 02476 887945

Herefordshire & Worcestershire Tel: 01905 855028

Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Tel: 01902 323814

Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent Tel: 01782 294116

Aimhigher West Midlands

REF:VOC03-10.07/

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Regional Office Wolverhampton Science Park Wolverhampton WV10 9RU Tel: 01902 824437 E-mail: aimhigherwm@wlv.ac.uk

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