If you are studying at Higher Education level, you can apply for financial support from the government through Student Finance England. The main sources of help available are grants and allowances which you don’t pay back and loans which you do.
Full time study
If you are eligible you can apply for:
- Tuition Fee Loan – to help with the cost of tuition fees
- Maintenance Loan – to help with accommodation and other living costs
- Maintenance Grant – to help with living costs, this will awarded based household income (continuing students only)
- Childcare Grant – to help with childcare costs for children under 15, or under 17 if they have special educational needs Parents
- Learning Allowance – to help students with children pay for books, study materials and travel
Please note that if a loan is taken out for an Access to Higher Education course then that loan is written off if the student progresses to a degree course and does not have to be repaid.
Part time study
If you are eligible you can apply for:
- Tuition Fee Loan – to help with the cost of tuition fees
- Disabled Students’ Allowance – to help students with a disability. The student support you get depends on individual needs and not on income.
How you qualify
To qualify you must be:
- Living in the UK on the first day of your course and have lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for three years immediately before this
- Enrolling on an eligible course at Higher Education level, including Degrees, HNDs, HNCs and Foundation Degrees
For more information about eligibility pleasevisit www.gov.uk/student-finance/who-qualifies.
19+ Advanced Learner Loan
The Advanced Learning Loan is a non-means tested student loan that you can take out with The Student Loans Company to cover the fees of a Level 3 - Level 6 course. The Student Loans Company will make payments directly to the College so you can focus on your learning.
To find out more, visit our 19+ Advanced Learner Loan page here.
Support
The amount that you can get is dependent on your individual circumstances.
If you are not sure if you can afford to study, you can use the finance calculator at the following website to find out what you may be entitled to www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator
All eligible students are entitled to a Tuition Fee Loan which is not income assessed.
You can apply for a loan as long as the course you are doing is at a higher level to that which you have already achieved. So for example, if you already have a HNC (Level 4) you can apply for funding for an HND (Level 5) but if you already have a HND you cannot apply for funding for a HNC.
If you have had a 19+ Advanced Learning loan you will also be able to apply for a Higher Education loan.
Apply
Applying is easy, you can apply for a Higher Education loan and/ or grant on-line at the following website
https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-student-finance
Repayments
You only need to pay back Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans, but not other student support such as grants and allowances. You still have to repay your student loan if you leave your course early.
To find out how much and when you will repay your loan, please see - https://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan
Transferring Course
It is possible for students to transfer to a new course at Buckinghamshire College Group. Students’ will need to have discussed their intention to transfer from one course to another with their current course leader. At Buckinghamshire College Group, the process to facilitate a transfer may involve a formal interview with the course leader and/or the Curriculum Manager.
Any such transfer will be subject to academic approval and availability of places. The course leader may also ask you to complete an initial assessment or written submission. You will normally only be permitted to transfer prior to the start of an academic year or within the first few weeks of the course commencing. This is to ensure you are given the right amount of study time to support you to achieve a successful outcome.
The College will take into account work students have already undertaken and where appropriate apply the Accreditation of Prior Experience and Learning (APEL) policy and procedures that are relevant to the new awarding body. Transfer to a new course may require additional work to be undertaken so you meet the requirements for your new programme of study. Upon transfer, you will be governed by the regulations of the new course. You will be liable for any additional fees this may incur. You must contact your funding body to check your financial support for the new programme. If the transfer increases the number of years it will take to complete your programme, you may be without fee support for one of your years of study.
Students transferring from Buckinghamshire College Group to another Higher Education (HE) provider will need to follow the transfer procedure for the new HE institution however, the College will support this by providing any necessary evidence of credits which may have been obtained.
