Information
Funding higher education for disabled students
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Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities
Chief Executive: Benet Middleton
Unit 3, Floor 3, Radisson Court,
219 Long Lane, London SE1 4PR
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Tel: 020 7450 0620 Fax: 020 7450 0650
Information service:
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Tel: 0800 328 5050 or Textphone: 1 08001 0800 328 5050
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Funding higher education for disabled students 2010/11
Contents Page
1 Introduction 3
2 Where do I apply for funding? 3
3 How is my income assessed? 4
4 Do I qualify for funding? 5
5 Funding for full-time students 7
6 Funding for part-time students 12
7 Other study 13
8 Other financial support 13
9 Disability and welfare benefits 15
10 Disability-related funding 18
11 Funding for personal care 20
12 Professional courses 21
13 Further information 24
14 Useful contacts 27
1 Introduction
This guide is for UK students whose courses started from September 2006 onwards. If you started your course before this, contact your awarding authority to find out about support arrangements. See the Useful Contacts section for details. If you are an international student, read our booklet Information for International Disabled Students.
If you are going to study a higher education course at college or university you may need funding to cover your fees, living costs and disability-related costs. This booklet tells you about the student support that is available in higher education and where to apply for it. It covers undergraduate higher education courses, including:
· a first or Bachelor’s degree
· an undergraduate Master’s degree
· a Higher National Diploma (HND) or Higher National Certificate (HNC)
· a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ 4 or 5) linked with a degree, a Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) or other job-related courses such as a Diploma in Social Work (DipSW)
· most foundation degrees
· some vocational courses.
2 Where do I apply for funding?
You should apply to one of the following agencies for higher education government funding:
· If you currently live in England and are applying for a new higher education course contact Student Finance England. If you started before September 2008, contact your Local Authority (LA). You can find their details in local directories.
· If you currently live in Wales contact your Local Authority (LA). You can find their details in local directories or by contacting Student Finance Wales.
· If you currently live in Scotland contact the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).
· If you currently live in Northern Ireland contact your local Education and Library Board (ELB). You can find their contact details in local directories.
When we say ‘awarding authority’ it means the funding agency that applies to you.
All awarding authorities use standard application forms which you can get from them directly. In most cases you can also apply online. It is important to apply for funding as soon as you can so that funding is available at the start of your course. If you live in England, you can apply online to Student Finance England at the same time as making your UCAS application.
3 How is my income assessed?
Your household income - parents
If you are considered dependent on your parents, their residual income (the amount left after specific allowances have been deducted from their income) will be assessed. The awarding authority will then decide the amount of loans and grants you can get.
Independent student
If you are an independent student, your parents’ income will not be taken into account.
You are an independent student if you meet one of the following conditions.
· You have care of a child or children on the first day of the academic year for which you are applying for support, or
· You are 25 or over before the start of the academic year for which you are applying, or
· You have been married or entered into a civil partnership before the start of the academic year for which you are applying for support, or
· You have no living parents, or
· You have supported yourself for at least three years before the start of the academic year of your course.
Contact your awarding authority if you need more details.
4 Do I qualify for funding?
Personal eligibility
You must be ordinarily resident, or normally living, in the United Kingdom (UK) three years before the academic year in which your course starts. You should contact your awarding authority for exceptions to the three-year residence rules. You should also have settled status, which means you should be ordinarily resident in the UK without being subject under the Immigration Act of 1971 to any restrictions on the amount of time you can remain in the UK.
Course eligibility
Most full-time or sandwich higher education courses in publicly-funded UK institutions are automatically eligible. This includes most initial teacher training (ITT) courses and those offered by the School-Centred Initial Teacher Training scheme. Other courses at the same level may be designated part-time courses, and attract a different package of support. Contact your awarding authority to find out if the course you want to do is eligible for support.
Previous study
Support will be available for the length of your course, plus one extra year if needed, less any years of previously supported higher education study.
With the exception of supplementary grants, further support is not usually available to students who have used up their entitlement to funding. However, maintenance loans will continue to be available to students who do not already have an honours degree from a UK institution, and to students who are on a course leading to a professional qualification in a number of areas, including medicine, dentistry, veterinary science and architecture.
You will still be eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) whether you have studied at undergraduate level before or not.
Tuition fees for second degrees
The government has withdrawn funding for equivalent or lower qualifications (ELQs). This funding is money that universities and colleges get towards their costs.
Universities and colleges will now charge students the full cost of tuition fees if they want to take a second undergraduate degree. The fees will be similar to the amount that international students have to pay, usually £7,000 per year or more.
However, if you get Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) you will qualify for an exemption, and the maximum you will pay for fees on a second degree course will be £3,290 per year.
Repeat study, transferring courses and taking time out
Awarding authorities can use their discretion to fund students who have to repeat a year of their course because of their disability.
It may be possible to transfer your funding to another course, or even to a different institution. You should consult your awarding authority before changing your course or institution because your entitlement to support may change.
You may also suspend your award with the agreement of your awarding authority if you have to take time out, perhaps because of an illness or disability, but plan to restart your course in the future. It may be a good idea to suspend rather than terminate your award in some situations, because if you terminate a student award your entitlement to any future support might be restricted by the ‘previous study’ rules.
5 Funding for full-time students
Fees
The level of tuition fees and financial support available will vary depending on what part of the UK you are studying in and also where you are from.
Studying in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland currently charge fees of up to £3,290 per year for an undergraduate course. These increase each year in line with inflation. All eligible students can apply for a tuition-fee loan to pay part or all of their fees. Contact your awarding authority for further information.
Studying in Scotland
If you are from Scotland, you will not be charged tuition fees in Scotland on your first degree course. If you are from England, Wales or Northern Ireland, you will have to pay tuition fees of up to £1,820 (£2,895 for medicine) per year. These increase each year in line with inflation. You may qualify for a tuition fee student loan to pay part or all of your fees. Contact your awarding authority for further information. It is worth remembering that Scottish degrees tend to be four years long, instead of three years elsewhere in the UK.
Financial support
All 16-year-old students in England who qualify for Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) will be guaranteed the top rate of Maintenance Grant if they go into higher education within the next three years. This is called the Higher Education Student Support Guarantee (HESSG).
Student Loans for Tuition Fees
Full-time students are eligible for loans to cover the costs of tuition fees, depending on your location in the UK as already described. The loan is paid directly to the college or university on your behalf. This means that you will not have to find the money before you start the course or while you are studying. You have to start repaying the loan in instalments after you have finished the course and are earning over £15,000 per year. There is no upper age limit on applying for tuition-fee loans.
Students who take out loans are allowed ‘repayment holidays’ after graduating. You can choose to take breaks from repaying your loan for up to two years in total.
Maintenance grants
Full-time students from lower-income households in England, Wales and Northern Ireland may be eligible for non-repayable maintenance grants. How much you can get depends on your income and that of your household. In England the maximum grant is £2,906 and in Northern Ireland the maximum available is £3,475 per year. Contact Student Finance England or your ELB for details.
Assembly Learning Grants (Wales)
Full-time students from lower-income households in Wales may be eligible for non-repayable maintenance grants, known as Assembly Learning Grants. How much you can get depends on your income and that of your household. The maximum available grant is £2,906 per year. Contact your Local Authority for details
Special Support Grant
A Special Support Grant is available to some full-time students, such as lone parents and those already receiving certain disability benefits who are eligible to apply for Income Support and/or Housing Benefit. The maximum amount available is £2,906 per year.
If you get this grant you are not entitled to other maintenance grants. The advantage of the Special Support Grant is that it is not counted as income when calculating income-related benefits.
Bursaries (Scotland)
If you live in Scotland and want to study there full time, you may be eligible to apply for the Young Students’ Bursary (YSB). This is a means-tested, non-repayable grant of up to £2,640 per year. It is paid instead of part of the student loan, so it reduces the amount you need to borrow. The YSB is not available if you are over 25, have been living independently for more than three years, or if you are married (unless you have a dependent child). Contact SAAS for more information.
Student Loan for Living Costs
You can apply for a student maintenance loan if you are a full-time student from the UK and under 60. Once your awarding authority has decided how much support you are entitled to, you should let them know how much of the loan you wish to borrow. You only start to pay back the loan once you start earning over £15,000 per year.
Students who take out a loan are allowed ‘repayment holidays’ after graduating. You can choose to take breaks from repaying your loan for up to two years in total.
There are two parts to the loan. All students can apply for the first part and are entitled to 75% of the maximum figure. The second part depends on your household income - the higher your income, the less you can apply for. The amount of loan you can receive also varies according to where you live and study. You can get extra weekly loan payments if your course lasts longer than a specific amount of time. These extra payments also depend on your income and where you are living and studying. If you study abroad for at least eight weeks as part of your course, you can apply for an overseas rate of loan.
The amounts of student loan available for 2010/11 are:
Living
/ in London / Elsewhere / in the Parental HomeLoan rate – full year / £6,928 / £4,950 / £3,838
Loan rate – final year / £6,048 / £4,391 / £3,319
Bursaries from colleges and universities
Colleges and universities in England and Northern Ireland which charge more than £2,906 in tuition fees per year have to provide additional non-repayable support to students who get the full maintenance grant. The packages vary, but should be at least £329 per year if they are charging tuition fees of £3,290. In 2009/10 the average bursary was around £1,000. You should contact each institution you are interested in to find out exactly which bursaries are available to you. There is also a National Bursary Scheme for students in Wales. Contact Student Finance Wales for more details.
6 Funding for part-time students
Fees
Fee Grant (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
If you are studying at least 50% of the full-time equivalent course, you may be able to apply for a means-tested fee grant and a course grant towards other study costs such as books, materials and travel.
Percentage of full-time equivalent / Max fee grant for 2010/11 / Max course grant for 2010/11 / Total support50% / £820 / £265 / £1,085
60% / £985 / £265 / £1,250
75% / £1,230 / £265 / £1,495
Part-time students can also apply for a career development loan (CDL). CDLs are available from participating banks. You can borrow between £300 and £10,000 and the government pays the interest while you are studying.