09 May 2017
Dear Learner
I would like to let you know about some changes to the way our courses are subsidised by the Government and how this will affect many of our courses from September 2017.
The Government, through the Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA), subsidises almost all of our courses,
which helps us keep fees as low as possible.
However, there are changes to the subsidy for adult learners (aged 19 and over) this year and these changes will, in some cases, impact on fees. Courses will be organised into two categories, with fees and subsidies operating differently in each category.
Here is a brief summary of the two categories and the changes:
Community Learning courses which includes almost all of the Arts provision, ESOL delivered in community venues and most other courses which do not have a formal qualification.
Formula Funded courses which lead to a formal qualification and these include ESOL, English and Maths courses.
The main change is that, for both types of courses, fees are likely to rise slightly, though some courses such as English and maths will continue to be free.
Learners in receipt of state benefits will continue to be entitled to full fee remission for Formula Funded courses and they will be entitled to a 75% discount on the published course fee for a Community Learning course.
We are committed to enabling access to education for all learners. Our fee structure, course pricing and financial support package all underpin this commitment. We aim to ensure that the level of course fees does not deter potential learners from participating in courses and so we have also made changes to the Learner Financial Support Fund (LFSF) to support learners with paying their course fees.
We have recognised that some learners moving onto Studio Practice Courses find the cost potentially excludes them from continuing their learning and so these learners will be able to apply for financial support from the LFSF for up to 50% of the cost of the course fees.
The new Course Guide will be published towards the end of June and this will give detailed information at a course level.
Over the next couple of weeks there will be several Principal Learner Forums where I will be able to meet with learners to discuss these changes and any other issues about WMC that you wish to raise with me.
Please look out for the Learner Forum posters and do come along to one of the meetings.
I look forward to seeing you at one of the forums,
Helen Hammond
Principal
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