Further Education
Is my course Further Education?
Your college course is Further Education if it is the kind of qualification you might have done at school, SVQ levels 1 to 3, or any other course below HNC level. This section tells you about funding for it.
Your college course is Higher Education if it is at HNC, HND, SVQ 4 level or above. You should look at the funding information for Higher Education students.
If you are not sure where your course fits, your college or learndirect scotland adviser can help you.
Can I get assistance with travel, housing, childcare etc..?
There is bursary support available for living costs, travel and study costs and additional support needs for learning costs. If you are under 18, your living cost allowance will come from Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) funds, not bursary.
There are also funds for childcare support and, if you get into difficulties, Discretionary Funds.
Living cost support is only available to full-time students, but part-time students can apply for all the other funds.
Will I be eligible?
Probably, but you should ask your college to be sure. This will depend on the type of course you are doing, what previous study you have done and the support you may have received for it, whether you will be getting other funds to support you, whether you have passed your school leaving age and whether you are residentially eligible.
How do I apply?
You need to apply to your college. They will normally send out an application form for student support as part of the process for joining a course. If they haven’t, get in touch with them. The sooner your funding application is received, the sooner a decision can be made.
What documents will I need to submit?
You will be asked to provide documents that will show you are eligible for support. You are likely to be asked for your birth certificate, college acceptance letter, proof of address, proof of income for yourself/your parents/your partner. You may also be asked for your passport, if you have one. Depending on what allowances you are applying for, you may also be asked for other information. Your college will tell you what is needed.
Do the documents have to be originals?
Yes, the documents should be the originals, not copies. If this is going to be a problem, speak to your college about it.
Why do you ask about my family’s income?
Your family have a responsibility to help support you. When your college makes their decision on how much funding to offer you, they will look at your family’s income and make an assumption about the level of support you might be given while you study. You will have to discuss with your family how they might give you this support.
Do I have to pay fees?
Most full-time students do not have to pay fees.
Part-time students may have to pay fees but if you (or your family) are on a low income or on some benefits you may be eligible to have your part-time fees waived.
Your college can give you more information on this.
Do I have to pay anything back?
No, funding for further education courses does not have to be paid back.
The only reasons you would be asked to pay anything back would be if you had been paid too much for any reason, or if you didn’t complete your course – when you would be asked to return any equipment which had been bought for you.
When will I get my money?
Your college will process your application as quickly as possible and try to make sure you have some funds when you start your course.
How am I paid?
Bursary funds are paid monthly into your bank account.
Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) are paid fortnightly into your bank account. EMAs are paid for each week you have attended your course so payments will only start after you have completed your first fortnight on your course.
Your college will be able to tell you the dates on which payments should be made.
Can my funding be paid into someone else's bank account?
We prefer to pay bursaries into your own account and recommend this, but – with your permission – your college can make arrangements to pay into another account if there are good reasons to do this.
Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) should only be paid into your own account. Your college should be able to advise you how to go about setting up an account if you don’t have one. Only in exceptional circumstances, such as where the students does not hold their own account due to additional support needs, can a payment be made to the account of an appropriate nominated individual, and where possible this should be with the student’s explicit permission.
How do you check attendance?
Bursaries can only be paid if you attend at least 80% of your course. For Education Maintenance Allowances, you must attend 100% of your course. Payments may be stopped or reduced if you don’t meet these levels of attendance.
Each college will have its own methods of checking attendance or taking registers. These should be made clear to you. Information on your attendance will be passed to the student support office so that they can authorise your payments.
Will I get paid if I am off sick?
When you are absent for a good reason, such as sickness, your college may count you as having attended and continue payments. The college may ask you for evidence to support them in this decision. Some other absences, such as particular appointments, may also be approved if the college is warned in advance. Your college can give you details of their policy on absences.
Will studying affect my benefits?
Most full-time students cannot receive benefits, but there are exceptions, often for lone parents and students with disabilities. If you remain entitled to living cost support from benefits, you will not be considered for living cost support from bursaries. Education Maintenance Allowances do not affect benefits.
Part-time students can usually continue to claim benefits.
You should discuss this with your college and with your local Jobcentre Plus adviser.
I am disabled. Is there any additional support available for me?
Where your disability means that coming to college will cause you additional costs, you can apply for the “additional support needs for learning allowance” that is part of the bursary. This allowance is not income-assessed. Your college will consider your needs for the course you have chosen and the support it can provide from its own resources in deciding what and how much should be offered using this bursary allowance. Other organisations will still be responsible for costs which do not relate to your education. Funding which you receive from other sources for any additional living costs caused by your disability will not affect your bursary.
What if I want to study outside Scotland?
The support described here is for students at Scotland’s colleges. If you want to study at another college:
- you might be able to get student support from the education department of your local council, but this is discretionary;
- you will be able to apply for an Education Maintenance Allowance if you are a young student from a low-income household, as this is a UK-wide scheme;
- you might also want to consider a Career Development Loan, if your course is appropriate.
Your chosen college may be able to offer further guidance.
[Orkney College, Shetland College of Further Education and Sabhal Mor Ostaig receive FE hardship and childcare funds but not bursary funds. FE students at these colleges will receive fee support as described elsewhere.]
Higher Education
What kind of funding can I get?
The support that you may get depends on when you entered Higher Education, where you are studying, the course you want to do and your personal circumstances. Depending on your circumstances you may qualify for help with your tuition fees; a student loan for living costs; a Bursary and Supplementary grants (Travel expenses; Dependants' Grant; Lone Parents' Grant; Childcare Grant for Lone Parents; Vacation Grant for Care leavers; and the Disabled Students' Allowance). Visit www.saas.gov.uk or contact SAAS on 0845 111 1711 to get more information.
How do I apply for support?
The quickest and easiest way to apply is online at www.saas.gov.uk. If you have any questions about the funding you may get or about applying for it then Phone 0845 111 1711 or email saas.geu@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.
Will I have to pay Tuition Fees?
The Students Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) will pay tuition fees for all eligible full-time Scottish and EU students studying in Scotland. This doesn’t happen automatically, you must apply to SAAS to get them paid.
Most students studying part-time and on distance learning courses will have to pay tutition fees. However your college or university may waive your fees if you are on low income or recieve certain benefits, and the course you are studying qualifies for a fee waiver. Contact your college or university for more information.
A part-time Higher Education (HE) fee grant of up to £500 from ILA Scotland is available to students who are aged 16 or over.
If you have an individual income (not household) of £18,000 or less and are studying 50% or more of the time needed to complete a full-time HE course then call ILA Scotland on 0808 100 1090 to find out more.
This fee grant will replace the existing £500 loan.
Will I have to pay Tuition Fees if I plan to study outside Scotland?
Yes. You will be liable to pay up to £3,145 each year. You can defer paying your fees if you apply to SAAS for a student loan to cover your fees. You will repay your loan only after you finish your course and start earning over £15,000 per year.
Can I get a Bursary?
If you are from a low income family you may be entitled to apply for a Bursary that you don’t have to pay back. It is paid instead of part of the student loan, so it reduces the amount of loan you have to take out. You don’t have to take the student loan to be eligible for the Bursary.
What is a Student Loan?
For most students, the main support for living costs will be mainly through a student loan which is partly income-assessed. Living cost support is for the cost of food and accommodation, books, clothes, some travelling costs, etc. The amount of loan you can get depends on the length of your course and where you live during term-time and on your own, your parent's or your husband’s, wife's or civil partner's income.
How do I get my money?
You will normally get your money in three instalments at the start of each term straight into your bank account.
How much do I have to pay back?
As long as you are still eligible to keep the money you get, you will only have to pay back the student loan when you complete your course. If you are studying in Scotland you may also have to pay the Graduate Endowment at the end of your studies.
When do I repay the student loan?
You will not normally have to make any repayments while you are studying – unless you want to. You start repaying your loan in the April after you complete or leave your course, get a job and earn over £15,000. The amount you will be expected to repay is 9% of your annual income over the £15,000 threshold level. This is roughly the same as an income (before deductions) of £1,250 a month or £288 a week. If your monthly income is more than £1,250 you will have to make repayments.The payment will rise and fall with your income.
How do I repay it?
Most students will repay their loans through HM Revenue and Customs either by employers taking amounts from pay through the PAYE system or through the tax self-assessment process. How quickly you repay your loan will generally depend on how much you earn. You can also make voluntary payments, at any time, direct to the Student Loans Company.
Do I pay interest on my student loan?
Yes but student loans are not like commercial loans. The government subsidises the actual cost of interest on the loans, so they do not attract the same rates of interest as a loan from a bank or building society. Interest on the amount you owe will be linked to inflation – in line with the retail price index (RPI) – so the value of the amount you pay back will be about the same in real terms as the value of the amount you borrowed.
What if I need to speak to someone about my loan?
Contact SAAS for advice.
When should I expect a parents’ contribution?
Parents have a general obligation to support their children, depending on the particular circumstances. The obligation also applies to children over 18 and up to 25 who are in Further or Higher Education.
How does my family’s income affect my funding?
All support (not including tuition fees, the Disabled students’ Allowance and a part of the student loan) depends on your and your family’s income. SAAS will assess what contribution you and your parents or husband, wife or civil partner should make to your support. The contribution is treated as part of each student’s support and the funding you can get is reduced by the amount of contribution assessed.
What support is available to students with disabilities?
If you have a disability and need a major item of specialist equipment, non-medical personal help, or certain other course-related costs to be able to attend your course, you may be able to claim this extra help.
What is a Dependants’ Grant?
You may claim this for your husband, wife or civil partner if they have little or no income.
What support is available to Lone Parents?
If you are widowed, divorced, separated or a single student bringing up children on your own you may get a Lone Parents' Grant.
Lone Parents' Childcare Grant
If a student receives a Lone Parents' Grant, they can get extra help for formal childcare costs. Formal childcare includes childminders, after school clubs and providers of day care and education.
What support is available to students leaving care?
A grant is available to help students who were previously in care with accommodation costs in the long vacation.
Can I claim travel expenses?
Students, who have travel costs in connection with their course, may be able to claim up to £3 a day for travel expenses from their term-time address to the college or university. Students living away from home may also claim three return journeys home each session.
What is the Higher Education (HE) Childcare Fund?
These are discretionary funds which eligible students can access to assist with the cost of formal childcare expenses. Your college or university is responsible for administering these funds.
Who is eligible for help from the HE Childcare Fund?
Full-time students who meet the eligibility criteria for tuition fees (first-time undergraduate) can apply for support to the HE Childcare Fund. Your college or university is responsible for administering these funds.
I am studying part-time. What assistance is available to me?
Students studying part-time are not eligible for living-cost assistance.
A part-time Higher Education (HE) fee grant of up to £500 from ILA Scotland is available to students who are aged 16 or over.
If you have an individual income (not household) of £18,000 or less and are studying 50% or more of the time needed to complete a full-time HE course then call ILA Scotland on 0808 100 1090 to find out more.
In addition, part-time students are eligible to apply for the Disabled Students’ Allowance. The student must be studying at least 50% of a full-time course of Higher Education. Contact SAAS for further information.
What is the Graduate Endowment?
The Graduate Endowment is a fixed sum that some graduates will be liable to pay after they have completed their degree. Around 50% of graduates are likely to be exempt because of their personal circumstances during their course while others will be exempt because of the level or length of their course. For example, mature students, disabled students, lone parents, students who do not meet the requirements to be awarded a degree, students studying for a degree outside Scotland and students who study part-time. Visit www.saas.gov.uk to find out more.
The funds raised from the Graduate Endowment will be used to provide support, including bursaries, for future generations of students.
The Scottish Parliament decided on 28 February 2008 to no longer charge the Graduate Endowment. This means the endowment will not apply to students who complete their course on or after 1 April 2007. Some students who complete their course before this date will still have to pay the endowment.
Will I still be entitled to benefit?
Full-time students are generally not eligible to claim benefits. But full-time students with dependants and students with disabilities may be eligible in certain circumstances. You should discuss this with your student advisor as well as your local Jobcentre Plus office.