STUDENT FINANCE GUIDE 2018/19 - University Centre Weston
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
STUDENT
FINANCE GUIDE
2018/19
2
Introduction to student finance What support is available? 3
Tuition fee loans For more information about the tuition fee and
3 What support is available? Tuition fees are more competitive at UCW than at most
maintenance loans, and to find out how much you may be
entitled to, please go to www.gov.uk/student-finance.
traditional universities and, regardless of where a student goes
4 How to apply to university, they do not need to be paid in advance. Students
can take out a loan to cover the cost of tuition fees, which is
Repaying the loans
5 Additional funding and support paid directly to their university on their behalf. Tuition fee loans Upon beginning a course and receiving funding, the tuition
are available to full-time and part-time students. fee and maintenance loans start to accrue interest at 3%
6 Scholarships and bursaries plus the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate of inflation. Once a
student graduates, the interest rate varies based on income
Maintenance loans and RPI until the borrowings are repaid in full. Repayments
Students will also need money for accommodation, food, take the form of 9% of income above annual earnings of
Getting a degree is a great investment - graduates can expect to earn around transport, additional course fees and other living expenses. £25,000. Even if a student does not complete their course,
Student Finance provides maintenance loans to help students they are still required to make repayments and the sum
£200,000 more over a lifetime than those who don’t pursue higher education*. pay for these expenses. For 2018/19, students not living with borrowed will accrue interest. If a student moves outside
Even though there are costs involved, there are also sources of funding available to their parents can borrow up to £8,700 for the academic year, of the UK and is earning above the equivalent of £25,000
and those living at home can borrow up to £7,324. Please note they will still be required to make payments. After 30 years
help those in higher education. that these figures are subject to final approval at the time of of entering the repayment process, the loans are written
publication. This funding is paid directly to students at the start off. For more information, please visit www.slc.co.uk.
Aside from tuition fees, students will need to budget for accommodation, bills and food if they are moving away of each term. Maintenance loans are currently only available for
from home. Transport is usually another significant cost for students, and many prefer to pay upfront for a students studying on a full-time basis.
termly bus pass rather than drive to university. Students usually also have to pay for photocopying and printing,
stationery and books. And some courses incur other costs such as materials fees, specialist equipment, field trips
How much will I recieve? Annual salary before tax Approx. monthly repayment
or enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks.
Tuition fee loans are non-means tested, whereas maintenance
< £25,000 0
Most students access student finance to support them through university. This booklet describes the main loans are partially means-tested. Student Finance calculates
the size of maintenance loans by looking into the household
sources of funding available and how to access them. Many students supplement this income with part-time £30,000 £37
income of a student’s parents (or a parent’s spouse/partner if
jobs, which UCW recommends be limited to a maximum of 15 hours per week during term-time. We also strongly
the student lives with them). If a student is married or aged over £35,000 £75
advise against credit cards and payday loans due to their often astronomical rates of interest.
25 and lives with their partner, then the income of the student’s
spouse/partner will be assessed. £40,000 £112
The savvy student knows that there are loads of ways to save money, such as student bank accounts and getting
discounts with NUS Extra cards. Full-time students who only live with other students are exempt from having to Students who are classed as having ‘independent status’ will be
pay council tax, and students who live with non-studying adults may be able to receive a council tax discount. assessed for a maintenance loan based on their own finances.
Other ways to save money as a student include cooking instead of getting takeaways and purchasing second- This applies to students who meet any of the following criteria:
hand course books instead of brand new ones. • Aged over 25 at the start of the academic year
• Financially supported themselves for at least three years
Universities also offer a host of scholarships and bursaries to eligible students, and short-term funding to those in
• Have no living parents
need.
• Are responsible for a child/children
So even if student finance seems daunting, it really is just a case of being informed and doing some upfront • Are estranged from their parents
planning to make sure the correct finances are in place.
*Department for Business, Innovation and Skills research, 2013.
www.ucw.ac.uk4
How to Register your details
at www.gov.uk/
Answer the security
questions, create a
Go step-by-step
through the application Additional funding and support 5
apply
apply-online-for- password and write process and remember
student-finance. down the Customer to save as you go. You
Reference Number can always log in and
somewhere safe as it change the information There are other sources of funding for parents, carers and care leavers. Students
will be needed every you have entered. with learning difficulties or disabilities are also eligible for additional support.
time you log in.
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)
Students with a disability, medical or mental health condition or
specific learning difficulty may be entitled to DSA. This support
Once you have The system can verify When asked about your Use the links to UCAS is calculated based upon needs, not income. DSA does not
completed the your identity using your university choices, use to drag information into have to be repaid and can be used for any required additional
application and checked passport number. If you the details of your first your Student Finance support, equipment or resources. DSA applications are
all the sections, you don’t have a passport choice. If you change application.
completed through Student Finance, but UCW students should
can submit it. Check you will need to post your mind, you will still
your application’s your birth certificate be able to change this at contact the Learning Support Team on support@ucw.ac.uk for
progress using your and a complete proof of a later date. more information and help with the DSA application process.
password and Customer identity form to Student
Reference Number. Finance.
Funding for students with dependents
(parents, partners or carers)
Students with children or other dependents may be entitled to
If you do not qualify for If you are married, your We recommend that you Complete the Student other funding, depending on their household income:
‘independent status’, you partner’s income will give ‘consent to share’ Finance PN1 form (which •P
arents’ Learning Allowance: up to £1,669 a year, depending
will need to provide your need to be assessed or, so that your university can be found on its on household income.
parents’ or guardians’ if you have ‘independent can assess you for website) if you prefer
financial details for the status’, you will be additional financial not to apply online. •C
hildcare Grant: up to £164.70 a week for one child in
previous tax year. This assessed based on your support. approved childcare and up to £282.36 a week for two children.
can be done either own income. •A
dult Dependents’ Grant: students with an adult who
online or via a paper financially depends on them (other than their adult children)
application. Proof of
may be entitled to a grant of up to £2,925.
income may be required.
Carer and care leaver support
UCW may be able to provide additional financial support to care
leavers, young carers and people who are estranged from their
parents. Please contact Abby on either HEART@ucw.ac.uk or
UCW
01934 441 323 for more information.
Spring 2018 Summer 2018 September 2018
Short-term loans
finance Apply for student
finance online at
www.gov.uk/
Receive the Student
Finance Entitlement letter
telling you how much
Register your student
finance with us during
enrolment. You will not
UCW also offers Short-term loans of up to £150 to help students
timeline
who require emergency financial assistance. Apply
apply-online-for- money you are going to receive any payments
for these by contacting UCW’s Student Finance Officer
student-finance. receive. Sign and return until you do so.
the Student Finance on finance@ucw.ac.uk or 01934 422 757.
Declaration form.
www.ucw.ac.uk6
Scholarships and bursaries 7
UCW and our partner universities also offer scholarships and bursaries, which Bath Spa University bursaries
either come directly from us or indirectly from student finance bodies. They do not Bath Spa University offers 350 bursaries worth up to £3,500
need to be paid back, but are subject to strict eligibility criteria and awarded at the each to eligible first-year students who are new to higher
education and have a declared household income below
discretion of the institutions. £25,000 per annum. Priority is given to students who are in
receipt of the special support element of the student loan, are
UCW scholarships and bursaries Excellence Scholarship – students who achieve A Levels at
care leavers or Foyer students, or who come from an area with
ABB or a BTEC Extended Diploma at DDM are are eligible
UCW Bursary – UCW offers 20 bursaries of £2,000 each to a low participation in higher education. Full-time students are
to receive £350 in three instalments. The funds are paid in
students with a declared household income below £25,000 automatically assessed for this award based on information
three instalments in the November and February of the first
per annum. Because of the limited number, priority will be from Student Finance.
year of study and the November of the second year. All full-
given to those experiencing multiple factors of financial
time UCW students are eligible to apply for this scholarship. Please note that these figures apply to 2017/18. For the most
hardship, such as those from the lowest income households
up-to-date information, email bursaries@bathspa.ac.uk or visit
who are also from a disadvantaged background, such as: Progression Scholarship – students who completed a Level 3 www.bathspa.ac.uk. Please also note that to be eligible for
single parents; care leavers or young carers; being estranged course at Weston College within the five years preceding the this bursary, UCW students must be enrolled on an indirectly-
and living in an accredited Foyer; having a disability; or commencement of their UCW course are eligible to receive funded Bath Spa University course. To find out the status of
coming from an area with a low participation in higher £300. The funds are paid in three instalments in the November your course, please visit
education. This bursary is spread equally across the years and February of the first year of study and the November of www.ucw.ac.uk/about/wider-information-set.
of study, and can be paid in cash instalments in November the second year. All full-time UCW students who meet the
and February, used as a fee waiver, or be in-kind support for above criteria are eligible to apply for this scholarship.
accommodation, for example. UWE Bristol bursaries
Federation of Schools Scholarship – one UCW student UWE offer a limited number of bursaries to first-year students
Please note that to be eligible for this bursary, UCW
who has progressed from a local College or Sixth Form will living in England, subject to eligibility criteria based on household
students must be enrolled on a full-time course and be
be awarded £300. The funds are paid in three instalments income. Eighty first-year students who are care leavers, carers
paying full tuition fees directly to UCW via Student Finance.
in the November and February of the first year of study or estranged from family will receive an Enhanced Bursary of
To find out the status of your course, please visit
and the November of the second year. All full-time UCW £3,000, and 1,300 students with a household income below
www.ucw.ac.uk/about/wider-information-set. Applicants
students who meet the above criteria are eligible to apply £25,000 will receive a Low Income Bursary of £500. Part-time
must have their student finance application approved by the
for this scholarship. students are only eligible for the Low Income Bursary. Students
middle of October to be able to be assessed for a bursary,
who receive the Enhanced Bursary will be then be eligible for
and BA/BSc top-up bursaries will be paid on a pro-rata International Work Placement Scholarship – UCW students a Progression Bursary of £1,000 in subsequent years of study.
basis. on any course who undertake overseas work placements at Students who receive £500 in their first year will be eligible for
additional costs are eligible to apply for up to £500. Progression Bursaries of £500 in their subsequent years of study.
Principal’s Scholarship – this one-off scholarship of £500
is awarded every year to a first-year UCW student who has Part-time Scholarship – non-sponsored and part-time UCW Please note that these figures apply to 2017/18. For the most
achieved outstanding academic success and progressed to students are eligible for a scholarship of £1,500 spread up-to-date information, visit www.uwe.ac.uk. Please also note
the second year of their course. Students are nominated by across three years of study. The funds can either be paid in that to be eligible for this bursary, UCW students must be
teaching staff and receive the award at the Weston College instalments in the November and February of each year of enrolled on an indirectly-funded UWE Bristol course. To find
Group’s Celebration of Success event. All full-time UCW study, or used as a fee waiver. out the status of your course, please visit
students are eligible for this scholarship. www.ucw.ac.uk/about/wider-information-set.
www.ucw.ac.ukKnightstone Loxton South West
Campus Campus Skills Campus
Knightstone Road Loxton Road Locking Road
Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare
BS23 2AL BS23 4QU BS22 8NL
01934 411 411 01934 411 600 01934 411 594
@ finance@ucw.ac.uk
www.ucw.ac.uk GET IN TOUCH
@UCWeston WITH UCW’S STUDENT
FINANCE OFFICER TO
@UCWeston
FIND OUT MORE!
@UCWeston
finance@ucw.ac.uk
01934 422 757
Teaching
Excellence
Framework
The information in this booklet is subject to change and students are advised to visit www.gov.uk/student-finance for the
most up-to-date information.You can also read
