Further Education – Fees and Funding

Fees

The level of fees charged for courses at most further education colleges in England depends on:

• immigration status and how long you have been living in the UK
  
• whether you are receiving state benefits (i.e. Jobseekers Allowance,   Housing Benefit, support from the Social Services or support from NASS)
  
• how the course is funded
  
• your age
  
• whether you are studying part-time or full-time or part-time

Immigration status and length of time in UK: Refugees (with or without ILR), those withHP/DL/ELR and ILR are charged ‘home’ fees. Due to new restrictions, adult asylum seekers who have been in the UK for less than 3 years who are receiving NASS support (as well as those who are not receiving NASS support) can be asked to pay ‘overseas’ fees. However,asylum seekers who are 16 -18 are still eligible for ‘home’ fees and colleges have the discretion to charge ‘home fees’ for all learners if they wish. 

Receiving state benefit (including NASS): Many part-time courses are free or at a concessionary rate for refugees. This concessionary rate varies between colleges and courses. The college will usually charge a registration fee. Due to new restrictions, adult asylum seekers will only be entitled to publicly funded FE provision (including ESOL) six months after their claim for asylum. This includes those who are waiting for a decision and those who are on appeal. Those who have been refused asylum and are receiving ‘Section 4’ support from NASS will also be able to access ESOL courses for free after six months.Asylum seekers aged 16 -18 years can access publicly funded FE provision (including ESOL) for free if they are receiving NASS support, or are unaccompanied children seeking asylum and in the care of social services. If they become 19 years old while on a course, they can continue studying until the end of that course. If they are on a course waiting list and become 19 years old before a place is available, they can also study that course for free.

Who funds the course: It is possible to get fee remission for Level 2 and 3 publicly funded programmes depending on previous qualifications, age and other eligibility criteria. However, courses that are not publicly funded will charge full fees. This includes many higher-level courses.

Age of student: Students who are 16 –18 will be eligible for ‘home’ fees. Those who are 19+ and want to take a Level 2 course or those who are 19-25 and want to take a Level 3 course may be eligible for fee remission. 

Full-time or part-time: Most courses at FE are part-time. The full-time courses are mainly for those aged under 19 and are generally free for this group. Those 19 or over studying full-time will usually have to pay and it will also affect their benefits. The exception is those who have refugee status and start an English course of 15+ hours per week within a year of arriving in the UK. They can claim welfare benefits while studying for up to nine months.

Student support

Whether or not students can access statutory financial funds to cover the additional costs/support needs while studying at FE depends on:

• Immigration status and how long the student has been living in the UK
• Age of student
• Type of funding

Type of funding	Who is eligible now?	Who is eligible after 3 years?	Who is not eligible?
Learner Support funds	Refugee status (with or without ILR) Asylum seekers age 16 – 18	Those with ELR, ELE, HP, DL or ILR (without refugee status)	Asylum seekers age 19+
Education Maintenance Allowance (for learners age 16 – 19)	Refugee status (with or without ILR) Those with HP	Those with ILR (without refugee status)	Asylum seekers Those with ELR, ELE and DL

Colleges may also have some discretionary funding that they can use to support students in need. If a student is unable to access the student support outlined above, this may be an option.

Documents required when registering

When registering for a course, you will need to take:

• Home Office documents to show your immigration status
• Proof that you are receiving state benefits (such as letter from NASS or letter to show receipt of JSA) 

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Higher Education – Fees and Funding

Before entering a course at a Higher Education Institution you should ask yourself two key questions about funding:

• Will you be charged the ‘home’ or ‘overseas’ rate for tuition fees?
• Will you be eligible for student support? This includes help with tuition fees, grants, loans and bursaries.  You should get information for both full-time and part-time financial support.

The higher education institution will also want to see your Home Office documents showing immigration status and dates. The relationship between immigration status and fees and access to funding is summarised as follows:

Those with refugee status (with or without ILR) or the spouse or child of someone with refugee status: They pay ‘home’ fees for full and part-time courses (as determined by the Education Regulations 1997, Fees and Awards). They are also eligible for student support for first degrees, postgraduate initial teacher training and other specific ‘designated courses’ (such as Higher National Certificate or Diploma and Foundation Degree). It does not matter how long they have been in the UK as there is no requirement to meet the 3-year ‘ordinarily resident’ criteria.

Those with ELR, ELE, HP, DL or ILR (without refugee status) or the spouse or child of someone with this status: They pay ‘home’ fees for full and part-time courses (as determined by the Education Regulations 1997(Fees and Awards). They may also be eligible for student support for first degrees, postgraduate initial teacher training and other specific ‘designated courses’ (such as Higher National Certificate or Diploma and Foundation Degree). This depends on whether they have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for three years or more. In practice, for most people this means at the time the course starts, it should be 3 years or more from the time they claimed asylum.

Asylum seekers: The institution can charge ‘overseas' fees for full and part-time courses and most do this. However, as it is left to the discretion of the university, some will charge ‘home’ fees and others may be open to charging ‘home’ fees or providing some assistance with fees on an individual basis. The best way to find out is by presenting the individual case to the university. Asylum seekers are not eligible for student support. It does not matter how long they have been here.

Changes to immigration status in the middle of a course

If a student has a positive decision while on a course, they should tell the university immediately as they can be reassessed for ‘overseas’ or ‘home’ fees and for student support. For any positive decision, they will be eligible to pay ‘home’ fees when the fees are next charged. For student support, it depends on the decision:• Refugee status (with or without ILR) or the spouse or child of someone with refugee status: they will be eligible for assistance with paying fees for the subsequent years of the course and also for the current year, if the status is given within 3 months of the first day of the start of the course. They will also be eligible for support with living costs from the first quarter following the change in status.• Those with ELR, ELE, HP, DL or ILR (without refugee status) or the spouse or child of someone with this status: They must also meet the 3-year ‘ordinarily resident’ requirement (see above) before they are eligible for student support.Summary of entitlements for HE

Immigration status	Mode of study	Level of fees and support with fees	Other student support
Asylum Seeker	Full-time	Discretion of university. Generally charge ’overseas’ rates but some charge ’home’ rate. Not eligible for student loan for fees or university bursary to cover part of fees	Not eligible
	Part-time	Discretion of university. Generally charge ’overseas’ rates but some charge ’home’ rate. Not eligible for a course and fee grant	Not eligible
Refugee status (with or without ILR)	Full-time	‘Home’ rate.  If on a low household income, eligible for student loan for fees and also for university bursary to cover part of fees.	Eligible
	Part-time	‘Home’ rate If on low household income, eligible for a course and fee grant.	Eligible
HP, DL, ELR, ILR	Full-time	‘Home’ rate If on low household income and meeting ‘ordinarily resident’* criteria, eligible for student loan for fees and university bursary to cover part of fees.	Eligible if meeting ‘ordinarily resident’* criteria
	Part-time	‘Home’ rate If on low household income and meeting ‘ordinarily resident’* criteria, eligible for course and fee grant	Eligible if meeting ‘ordinarily resident’* criteria

* ‘Ordinarily Resident’ means living in the UK for 3 years prior to the start of the course.

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