Changes to Financial Support for Academic Year 2012/13

Full Time Students

Tuition Fees

From September 2012 the Government will be reducing funding to course providers and instead universities will be charging tuition fees of between £6000 and £9000. University of Worcester fees will be £8100 for most new full time undergraduates however, some students starting full time Foundation degrees or HND’s at partner institutions will be charged £6000.

If you are a 2012 entrant you can still defer payment of your fees by applying for a non- means tested Tuition Fee Loan from the Student Loans Company via Student Finance England. The fees are paid direct to the university on your behalf; this means that you need not find the money to pay for your course before you enrol or whilst you are studying. Tuition Fee Loans are available to eligible home and EU students.

Loans for Living Costs (Maintenance Loans)

Maintenance Loans will still be available to eligible home students to help with living costs such as accommodation, food, clothing, travel etc. For academic year 20011/12 the maximum Maintenance Loan is £5,500 per annum (or £4,375 per annum for those living at home with their parents). 65% of the loan is a basic entitlement and does not depend on household income but the remaining 35% is means-tested.

Maintenance Grant

New home students commencing their studies in 2012 may be eligible for a non-repayable means-tested Maintenance Grant from Student Finance England of up to £3250 pa. Students whose residual household income is £25,000 pa or less will receive the full £3250. Those whose residual household income is between £25,001 and £42,600 will receive part of the grant and those whose residual income is above £42,600 will not be eligible for the grant. Receipt of all or part of the Maintenance Grant will reduce the recipient’s entitlement to the Maintenance Loan by 50p for every £1 of Maintenance Grant received. This reduction will not apply to students with an underlying eligibility for means-tested benefits; they will be awarded the Special Support Grant mentioned below instead.

Special Support Grant

Students starting their course in 2012, who have an underlying eligibility for means tested benefits, will be eligible for a non-repayable Special Support Grant of up to £3250 pa. Payment is means-tested using the same income thresholds as the Maintenance Grant. This grant will be paid instead of the Maintenance Grant mentioned above and the Department of Work and Pensions has agreed to disregard it in calculations for income-related benefits. Receipt of this grant will not reduce entitlement to the amount of Maintenance Loan due.

Extra Financial Help

There is currently a range of help available for students who have a disability or who have dependants. It is assumed that this will continue in 2012 but confirmation of this and final figures have not yet been released by government. If you think you may be entitled to extra help you are advised to contact the university Welfare and Finance Advisers for the most current information.

National Scholarship Programme

A National Scholarship Programme will be introduced from 2012 to help people from lower income households. The University of Worcester will aim to provide 200 scholarships through this scheme. Details should be available from summer 2011.

Part Time Students

From September 2012 eligible part time students will also be able to defer payment of their tuition fees by applying for a non- means tested Tuition Fee Loan from the Student Loans Company via Student Finance England. This will replace the grant system that was available to part time students on low incomes.

The Tuition Fee Loans will not be means-tested and the amount of loan you are eligible for will depend on your intensity of study, this means the rate at which you are studying in comparison to a full time course. The lower limit is 25 per cent and the upper limit is 75 per cent. The tuition fees will be limited so that it can be covered completely by the loan.

NHS Student Support Available from September 2012 for Nursing Degree Students

From September 2012, all new eligible students will be eligible for a £1,000 grant. They will also be eligible for a means tested bursary and a Maintenance Loan, and tuition fees will be paid for eligible students by the NHS. The following table shows typical support available to students on a 45 week course.

If you will be studying and living:		Non-means tested grant	Means tested bursary (maximum)	Non-means tested maintenance loan
Elsewhere in England and living in student/rented accommodation/your own home	During TERM TIME	£1,000	£4,395	£2,324
Anywhere in England and living with your parents	During TERM TIME	£1,000	£3,351	£1,744

Taken from http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Managingyourorganisation/Workforce/WorkingintheNHS/DH_128397

Who is Affected by these Changes

Changes to tuition fees and student financial support will not affect 2011 entrants unless they defer entry until 2012. If they accept a place at university in 2011 but defer taking it up until 2012 they will still come under the new 2012 arrangements

Students transferring to a part time course in 2012/13 from a part time course which started before September 2012, or those starting part-time ‘top-up' courses on or after 1 September 2012, immediately after completing certain lower level part time courses, will not be subject to any of these changes – they will remain on their existing student finance arrangements.

If you have studied previously at Higher Education level this may affect your entitlement to further funding and you should contact the university Welfare and Finance Advisers to discuss your case in more detail.

Loan Repayments

For 2012 Full time entrants, Tuition Fee and Maintenance Loans are repaid after you leave university and start earning at least £21,000 pa.

Part time students will become liable to repay your loan from the April after the third anniversary of the start date of your course, even if you continue to study. But no repayments will be made unless you are earning more than £21,000.

If you are on a part time course that lasts less than three years, you will become liable to repay from the April after you leave higher education, and will begin to repay once earning more than £21,000.

The rates of interest will vary depending on your circumstances:

Interest on your loan will be applied at inflation (RPI – Retail Price Index) plus 3% while you are studying, and up until the April after you leave university or college.
When you're due to start repaying your loan the amount of interest you're charged depends on how much you earn.

You will be charged the following rates of interest:

if you earn less than £21,000 – interest at the rate of inflation
if you earn between £21,000-£41,000 – interest at the rate of inflation plus up to three per cent (on a gradual scale depending on income)
if you earn over £41,000 – interest at the rate of inflation plus three per cent

Interest is added to Tuition Fee Loans from when they are first paid to the university (February in most cases) and to Maintenance Loans from when they are first paid to the student (usually at the beginning of your course). Repayment is based on 9% of any income over £21,000. For example a graduate earning a salary of £26,000 would repay £8.65 a week. Student loan balances will be written off after 30 years (not including any arrears or penalties accrued). Loan repayments will be deducted from your salary, normally through the tax system.

If you are still confused or worried about the 2012 English student finance changes please visit Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert website http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes, which aims to change that with 20 key facts every potential student, parent, and grandparent should know.

Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert, has also produced a free booklet with information about Higher Education affordability which can be accessed by clicking on the following link http://www.studentfinance2012.com/files/StudentGuide.pdf

Important

At the time of print some of these terms and conditions remain subject to further Government consultation and/or Parliamentary approval and may change before implementation. Please visit www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance for further updates or contact the University Finance Advisers for advice.

Student Welfare & Financial Advice

Changes to Financial Support for Academic Year 2012/13