Student Finance Info Sheet

STUDENT'FINANCE'INFORMATION'SHEET'
!
DIME!ONLINE!degrees,!both!the!2!Year!FullFTime!and!4!Year!PartFTime!courses,!are!designated!for!Student!
Loans!through!our!partnership!with!Falmouth!University.!!!!
In!the!UK,!students!are!normally!eligible!to!receive!a!student!loan!to!fund!the!tuition!fees!of!their!degree.!!EU!
students!may!also!be!eligible!to!receive!a!student!loan!provided!they!are!resident!within!the!UK.!!
The!eligibility!criteria!vary!depending!on!whether!the!student!is!resident!in!England,!Wales,!Scotland!or!
Northern!Ireland.!!As!all!DIME!ONLINE!courses!are!classified!as!distant!learning!the!availability!of!
maintenance!loans!or!grants!to!help!with!living!expenses!whilst!studying!also!depends!on!where!you!reside.!!
As!a!guide!the!eligibility!criteria!is:!
England'&'Wales'
Your!eligibility!for!student!finance!depends!on:'
• Whether&you’ve&studied&before!
!
Generally,!you’ll!only!get!student!finance!if!you’re!doing!your!first!higher!education!
qualification.!This!is!true!even!if!your!previous!course!was!selfFfunded.!
!
However,!you!may!still!get!limited!funding!if,!for!example:!
!
!
You!change!course!
!
You!leave!your!course!but!decide!to!start!again!
!
You’re!‘topping!up’!a!higher!education!qualification,!e.g.!you’ve!finished!an!HNC,!HND!or!
Foundation!Degree!and!now!want!to!do!an!honors!degree!
!
• Your&nationality&or&residency&status&
!
You!can!apply!if:!
!
!
You’re!a!UK!national!or!have!‘settled!status’!(no!restrictions!on!how!long!you!can!stay)!
!
You!normally!live!in!England!/!Wales!!
!
You’ve!been!living!in!the!UK!for!3!years!before!starting!your!course!
!
NonFUK!nationals!must!have!settled!status!on!the!first!day!of!the!first!academic!year!of!
the!course.!!!
You!may!also!be!eligible!if!your!residency!status!is!one!of!the!following:!
!
!
EU!national,!or!family!member!of!an!EU!national!
!
Refugee!
!
Humanitarian!protection!
!
EEA!migrant!worker!
!
Child!of!a!Swiss!national!
!
Child!of!a!Turkish!worker!
!
!
Student!Finance!Info_DIME!Online!v1!(14/15)!!
!
!
• Repayment'
!
!
You!must!pay!back!tuition!fee!loans!and!you!also!pay!interest!on!them.!
!
Repayments!won’t!start!until!your!course!finishes!or!after!you!choose!to!leave,!if!before!then.!
!
Your!repayments!are!linked!to!your!income.!You!only!make!repayments!when!your!income!is!over!
£21,000!a!year.!Repayments!are!put!on!hold!if!your!income!drops!below!£21,000.!
!
PartFtime!students!sometimes!start!making!repayments!while!they’re!still!studying.!
!
!Each!year!you!pay!back!9%!of!any!income!over!£21,000.!
!
Maintenance!loans/grants!are!not!available!within!England!due!to!the!distance!learning!nature!of!the!
courses,!however,!depending!on!your!circumstances!it!may!be!possible!to!obtain!a!grant!if!you!reside!in!
Wales.!!
!
For!further!information!on!Student!Loans!and!how!to!apply!please!visit!the!following!websites:!!
!
Student!Finance!England:!! www.gov.uk/studentFfinance/overview!
!
! !
!
Telephone:!0300'100'0607'
Monday!to!Friday:!8am!to!8pm!
Saturday!and!Sunday:!9am!to!4pm !
Student!Finance!Wales:!!!!
!
! !
!
' '
'
! !
!
! !
!
www.studentfinancewales.co.uk!
Telephone:!0300'200'4050'
Monday!to!Friday:!8am!to!8pm!
Saturday:!9am!to!1pm!
Sunday:!Closed!
Scotland''
Currently!the!Student!Awards!Agency!for!Scotland!(SAAS)!does!not!provide!funding!or!tuition!fee!loans!for!
students!undertaking!distance!learning.!!If!resident!in!Scotland!then!tuition!fees!for!our!courses!must!be!
privately!funded!by!the!student.!!!
'
Northern'Ireland'
Students!undertaking!one!of!our!2!Year!FullFTime!courses!may!be!eligible!for!a!grant!towards!their!tuition!
fees!depending!on!your!personal!circumstances.!!For!the!academic!year!September!2014F!August!2015!the!
maximum!grant!that!could!be!awarded!was!£1,230!for!tuition!fees,!though!this!is!subject!to!change!each!
year.!!The!remainder!of!the!course!fees!would!need!to!be!privately!paid!by!the!student.!!!
No!grants!are!available!for!our!4!Year!PartFTime!courses.!
To!find!out!more!about!your!eligibility!please!contact!your!Education!and!Library!Board.!!You!can!find!the!
contact!details!of!your!nearest!office!by!going!to!the!Student!Finance!NI!website:!!
www.studentfinanceni.co.uk!
!
!
Student!Finance!Info_DIME!Online!v1!(14/15)!!
!
'
PCDL'(Professional'&'Career'Development'Loans)!
!
Students!who!already!hold!a!degree!but!wish!to!study!for!a!second!degree!may!be!able!to!apply!for!a!PCDL,!if!
they!choose!to!undertake!one!of!our!2!Year!FullFTime!courses.!
PCDLs!are!bank!loans!to!pay!for!courses!and!training!that!help!with!your!career!or!help!get!you!into!work.!!
Loans!are!usually!offered!at!a!reduced!interest!rate!and!the!government!pays!interest!while!you’re!studying.!
You!can!apply!to!borrow!between!£300!and!£10,000!to!cover!the!cost!of!tuition!fees,!course!and!general!
living!expenses.!
To!be!eligible!you!must:!
!
!
Be!18!or!over!
!
Have!been!living!in!the!UK!for!at!least!3!years!before!your!course!starts!
!
Plan!to!work!in!the!UK,!European!Union!(EU)!or!European!Economic!Area!(EEA)!after!the!
course!
Further!information!is!available!on!the!government's!website!here:!https://www.gov.uk/careerF
developmentFloans/overview.!
!
!
'
International'Students'
If!you!live!outside!the!UK,!try!contacting!your!government's!Ministry!of!Education!for!details!of!
scholarships!or!loans.!The!British!Council,!the!UK's!international!organisation!for!educational!and!
cultural!matters,!has!offices!in!110!countries!and!can!advise!on!sources!of!funding. Their!website!
is:!!
www.britishcouncil.org
!
!
Student!Finance!Info_DIME!Online!v1!(14/15)!!
!