Scottish Government

What support is available for Part-time or Distance learning Scottish students in higher education in 2003-04?

INTRODUCTION

The Scottish Executive is committed to widening access to higher education to students of all backgrounds.

Part-time study in higher education is a key part of lifelong learning. While many students are able to support themselves, some find it difficult to meet all their costs. Part-time and distance learning students in higher education with an income up to and including 13,000 (more depending on family circumstances) can apply for a loan of 500 in each year of their qualification to help meet study-related costs, such as equipment, books, travel, photocopying, paper, etc. This figure is increased to 15,000 if you are married.

This leaflet gives information about the loan that is available, who is eligible to apply, and how you can apply for it. It also gives some details about the other types of financial support that may be available to part-time and distance learning students for academic year 2003-04.

If you are in full-time higher education, we have introduced bursaries that are available for all eligible Scottish students. You can get more information, in our leaflets 'What support is available for young Scottish students in higher education in 2003-04?' and 'What support is available for mature Scottish students in higher education in 2003-04?'. You can get a leaflet from SAAS or your college or university. If you need more information about student support for higher education you can contact SAAS,
please visit their website at www.saas.gov.uk ;
phone them on 0845 111 1711;
e-mail them at saas.geu@scotland.gsi.gov.uk ; or
write to them at
The Student Awards Agency for Scotland
Gyleview House
3 Redheughs Rigg
Edinburgh
EH12 9HH

TUITION FEES

DO I HAVE TO PAY TUITION FEES?

Most students studying part-time and on distance learning courses will have to pay tuition fees.

However, a 'fee waiver' scheme can provide you with fee support if you are a less well-off part-time degree student studying at a Higher Education Institution (HEI). The scheme, which is a pilot, may apply to you if you are a part-time student who is either unemployed or on a low income and who is studying for a first degree at a HEI. The scheme has been extended to include similar students studying HNCs and HNDs at universities or colleges in Scotland.

For more information and eligibility details please contact your institution.

The Open University will advise you on the tuition fee assistance available for its distance learning courses. Please contact:

The Open University
Central Enquiry Service
PO Box 200
Milton Keynes
MK7 6YZ
01908 653231
www.open.ac.uk

If you are studying with another distance learning provider you should contact your provider direct for more information.

ELIGIBILITY

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR LOAN AND BURSARY SUPPORT FROM THE SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE?

If you are an eligible Scottish student studying a higher education course (up to and including first degrees) part-time or distance learning in the UK you can apply to SAAS for a loan of 500 in each year of your course to help meet study-related costs such as equipment, books, travel, photocopying, paper and so on. SAAS will assess your financial and personal circumstances to see if you are entitled to a loan.

To be eligible to apply for this support you must satisfy all the following conditions:

• be under 50 on the first day of the first academic year of your course or be aged 50 to 54 and be able to show that you are going to return to work after completing the course;
• meet the independent status conditions (see page 5);
• be ordinarily resident in Scotland (see page 5);
• not already have a degree qualification;
• not have previously failed to repay a loan;
• be working towards at least 50% of a full-time qualification. The institution where you are studying must confirm this (see page 7);
• be on a course that you can get a loan.

If you are not sure if you qualify, you should contact SAAS or your institution if you have any questions about your eligibility. Contact details for SAAS are on page 3.

WHO IS CLASSIFIED AS 'INDEPENDENT'?

We will consider you as being 'independent' if you meet at least one of the following conditions.

• You are 25 before the first day of the academic year for which the loan is being assessed.
• Neither of your parents is alive.
• You were married before the first day of the academic year for which the loan is being assessed.
• You have been supporting yourself with earnings or benefits for any three years immediately before the first day of the academic year in which the course begins.

The relevant date depends on when your course starts. The dates for the academic year 2003-04 are as follows:

• 1 August 2003 for courses that start between 1 August 2003 and 31 December 2003.
• 1 January 2004 for courses that start between 1 January 2004 and 31 March 2004.
• 1 April 2004 for courses that start between 1 April 2004 and 30 June 2004.
• 1 July 2004 for courses that start between 1 July 2004 and 31 July 2004.

WHAT DOES 'ORDINARILY RESIDENT' IN SCOTLAND MEAN?

Ordinarily resident has been defined in the courts as 'habitual and normal residence in one place'. It basically means you, your parents or your husband or wife live in a country year after year by choice throughout a set period, apart from temporary or occasional absences such as holidays or business trips. Living here totally or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education does not count as being ordinarily resident.

SAAS will not treat you as being 'ordinarily resident' in Scotland if your main purpose in coming here has been to receive full-time education and that you would have otherwise been living elsewhere.

To meet the residence conditions, you must have been 'ordinarily resident' in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three years immediately before the first day of the first academic year of your course (relevant date). If you are not a UK national you must also have been settled in the UK (as set out in the Immigration Act 1971) on the relevant date. If you were living outside the UK only because you or your family were temporarily employed abroad, SAAS may treat you as if your ordinary residence in the UK and Islands had not been interrupted.

You must also be 'ordinarily resident' in Scotland on the relevant date (see page 6 for dates).

The residence eligibility conditions are complicated and you should contact SAAS if you are in any doubt about your residence status.

WHAT IS AN INCOME ASSESSMENT?

All student loans are income-assessed. This means that SAAS will assess your financial and personal circumstances to see if you are entitled to a loan. Your income and your husband or wife's income, if this applies, is taken into account.

This does not include any tax credits or child benefit which may be paid to you, your husband or wife.

Every part-time or distance learning student who applies for a loan will have to make a formal declaration of their total income from all sources for the previous financial year. You will have to send supporting documents to confirm this.

You are automatically eligible for a loan if you or your husband or wife (if you have one) are currently receiving any income-related Income Support, Housing Benefit, or Council Tax Benefit. If you send supporting documents to confirm this, you will not need to give any more details about your own income or that of your husband or wife.

To be eligible to claim for a loan, we will access your financial resources (including your husband or wife's income) for the previous financial year. If you are:

• a single student, your income must be less than 13,000 plus 2,000 for your eldest child and a further 1,000 for each other child; or
• a married student, your income must be less than 15,000 plus 2,000 for your eldest child and a further 1,000 for each other child.

If, due to your household's income, you are currently not eligible for a loan but you expect a drop in income over the current financial year, for example due to unemployment or reduced working hours, then you can still apply. You will have to send supporting documents with your application to confirm this.

AM I ELIGIBLE IF I HAVE PREVIOUSLY STUDIED?

You will not be eligible for a part-time loan if you already have a degree qualification. This means that you would be eligible if you have attended and failed to complete a full-time or part-time degree course and if you have previously attended a sub-degree course such as HNC or HND.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I TRANSFER FROM A FULL-TIME TO A PART-TIME COURSE?

You can transfer from a full-time to a part-time course and the other way around. You would have to apply to SAAS for a loan for the new course and they will notify you of any change to the maximum amount of loan applicable in your case as a result of the transfer.

If you are not sure if you qualify, you should contact SAAS for further details. SAAS is responsible for processing applications from eligible Scottish students.

WHO DECIDES ON COURSE ELIGIBILITY?

Your college, university or distance learning provider will decide whether you are working towards at least 50% of a full-time equivalent higher education. A part-time or distance learning course must last for more than one academic year, but not more than twice the period normally needed to complete a full-time equivalent leading to the same qualification. Distance learning courses, for example, that are provided by the Open University, must add up to 60 points in any year to be eligible. Your college, university, the Open University or your distance learning provider must endorse your application form. If they do not the form will be returned and your payment will be delayed.

APPLYING FOR A STUDENT LOAN

HOW DO I APPLY FOR A LOAN?

You can download the loan application for part-time and distance learning students (Form PT1) from the SAAS website at www.saas.gov.uk . Or, you can contact SAAS direct for one. The contact details are on page 3. Your institution (for example, your college, university or distance learning provider) must fill in a certificate on the application to confirm that you are working to at least 50% of a full-time equivalent higher education qualification. Once you have filled in the application form and sent it to SAAS, they assess your entitlement and electronically send your loan information to the Student Loans Company Ltd (SLC). SLC will set up your loan account and issue your 500 loan direct into your bank account. You must give the correct bank or building society details (sort code and account number). You must also give:

• your United Kingdom National Insurance number;
• your previous student loan account number (if you were studying before the academic year 1998-99); and
• the names and addresses of two contacts. The SLC will only use this information if they lose contact with you. Otherwise, they will not contact the people you mention, or ask them for a reference or to act as guarantors for any loans.

HOW SOON WILL I GET MY LOAN?

The earliest loan payment date will depend upon when you apply to SAAS. SAAS aim to process all fully filled-in application forms, which have the necessary supporting documents, and issue a letter of award, within 21 days of receiving the form. The final closing date for receiving applications is 30 June 2004 for people who start their course in autumn 2003.

REPAYING THE STUDENT LOAN

WHEN DO I START REPAYING THE LOAN?

You will not be liable to start repaying your loan until the April after you have completed or left your course.

The amount that you will repay will be linked to your income. At present, you will be expected to repay 9% of your annual income over 10,000 and you will not have to repay anything if your income is less than this. Your loan will be cancelled when you reach 65 or if you die. You can pay off your loan more quickly by making extra repayments, even if you do not earn 10,000 a year. The SLC will tell you how to do this.

You will not have to repay your loan over a fixed period. The level of repayments will rise and fall in line with your income. Examples of repayments are detailed below.

HOW DO I REPAY MY LOAN?

SLC will work with the Inland Revenue to collect repayments. Your employer will take your repayments from your salary and these will show on your pay statement. The Inland Revenue will collect repayments from you if you are self-employed through the self-assessment system. The SLC will make alternative arrangements to collect your repayments direct if you do not pay UK income tax.

Interest on the amount you owe will be linked with inflation _ in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) _ so the value of the amount you pay back will be about the same in real terms as the value of the amount you borrowed.

CAN I REPAY MY LOAN EARLY?

You can pay off your loan more quickly by making extra repayments direct to SLC. This can include making payments before your start date or if you earn 10,000 a year or less. The standard deductions will continue to be made through the tax system, as appropriate. SLC will tell you how to do this.

IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH YOUR LOAN

You must apply to SAAS for the loan. If you need information about eligibility, you should contact them on 0845 111 1711 or e-mail saas.geu@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

SLC manages the payments of loans. They are responsible for keeping details of your account, adding interest (inflation-linked), sending you a yearly statement and answering questions about your loan. You can get information about how the SLC pay your loan, and how you can repay it, from the SLC at 100 Bothwell Street, Glasgow G2 7JD, from their website at www.slc.co.uk, or Freephone 0800 405010.

DISABLED STUDENTS' ALLOWANCE

DISABLED STUDENTS

If you are a distance learning student or studying part-time and the course is equivalent to at least 50% of a full-time course (HNC, HND, degree or equivalent), you may also be eligible for the Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) which is not income assessed. If you have a disability and you have extra course related costs to study or attend your course, you may claim for extra expenses. These extra costs may, for example, be due to physical disabilities, mental-health problems, sensory impairments, specific learning difficulties or medical conditions such as diabetes.

DSA is not intended to help you with disability-related costs which you would have to pay whether you were studying or not. The DSA payment must arise from your study or attendance on the course as well as from your disability. DSA does not cover the cost of support, counselling or tutorial services which the institution makes available to all students. It Is also not intended to meet the costs of extra academic tuition or support in your subject area. Support from DSA would also not be given for any service that can reasonably be expected to be provided by your institution or by some other agency, for example, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP - previously the DSS).

WHAT ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE THROUGH DSA?

There are three allowances that make up the DSA, all of which are subject to maximum amounts:

• the basic allowance;
• an allowance for large items of equipment; and
• an allowance for non-medical personal help.

The amount of basic allowance and allowance for non-medical helpers will be in proportion to the time spent on the qualification. For example, if you are studying 50% of an eligible full-time higher-education qualification, you will be restricted to 50% of these allowances.

The Basic Allowance

This is a yearly allowance and you may claim a proportion of the full-time allowance of up to 1,490 in session 2003-04 for items like tapes, Braille paper, extra photocopying charges, radio aids and other small items of equipment. You may also claim for the costs of medically-certified special dietary needs over and above your normal costs.

Special Equipment Allowance

This allowance is for major items of equipment, for example, a personal computer, a portable loop or close-circuit television to enlarge book print. The amount you can claim is set at the maximum for the academic year in which you make your first application. If you are applying for the first time in 2003-04, you may claim up to 4,460 over the whole of your qualification.

Non-Medical Personal Help

This is a yearly allowance for course-related personal help, for example, readers for people with sight difficulties, sign-language interpreters, lip speakers, note takers and so on. You can get a proportion of the full-time allowance of up to 11,015 in 2003-04.

HOW CAN I MAKE A CLAIM FOR DSA?

You can apply to SAAS for this allowance. Before you can get this allowance, you must complete a DSA application form to give information about the extra course-related costs you will have in order to study or attend your course because of your disability. It may be necessary to refer you to an assessment centre for advice on the equipment you may need. This can take time so it is essential that you apply as early as possible. You must make sure that the application is completed by you and an authorised person at the institution or, if you are a distance learner, by another authorised person. Contact SAAS for more details.

You will have to send recent supporting documents to confirm your disability and, where possible, to recommend any course-related needs arising from it. You can get the supporting documents from a qualified person or organisation, for example, your doctor or educational psychologist. If you do not have an assessment of your needs, or the first assessment does not confirm your equipment needs and costs, SAAS may refer you to an appropriate assessing organisation. They will pay the cost of the assessment, on your behalf, no matter what the outcome. SAAS will not pay the costs of working out whether or not you have a disability or specific learning difficulty.

You can get more information from SAAS, their contact details are on page 3. You can download the appropriate application form from the SAAS website at www.saas.gov.uk, or application forms are available from your college, university, the Open University, distance learning provider or SAAS.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM OTHER SOURCES

The following types of support are not paid to you by SAAS and therefore you will need to apply separately.

TAX CREDITS

Students and their families could be entitled to more money through the new tax credits, which come into force in April 2003. Students with children will be entitled to claim the new Child Tax Credit which, for the first time, will be paid to those who are responsible for at least one child, whether or not they are in paid work.

The Child Tax Credit could be worth up to an extra 4,880 per year for eligible families. Students who work more than sixteen hours a week could also be eligible for Working Tax Credit, which is designed to make work pay for those on lower incomes. Extra help is also available to those who are disabled or who are caring for disabled children.

There are various ways to find out about eligibility:
Call the helpline on 0845 300 3900
Use the online calculator at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/taxcredits

BENEFITS

The Benefits Agency assesses your entitlement to income-related benefits. If you are currently eligible for certain income-related benefits you may still be entitled to them when you become a part-time or distance learning student. It is important to discuss this with your college, university, Open University or distance learning provider student advisor as well as your local Benefits Agency.

Generally, the Benefits Agency will ignore payments you receive that are for a specific purpose. As your loan is for study-related costs, such as equipment, travel, books, photocopying, paper and so on, your benefits should not be affected. Any payments you receive from Hardship Funds will not be taken into account unless the payment is towards general living costs.

You can find more details about your benefit entitlements from your local Benefits Agency, your college or university, the Open University, your distance learning provider or the National Union of Students.

HARDSHIP FUNDS

If you are experiencing particular financial difficulty, you can apply for help from your institution's Hardship Funds. These used to be known as Access Funds.

The Scottish Executive provides these funds, but individual colleges and universities handle them. They are specifically targeted to help you if you have financial difficulties that might prevent you gaining access to further or higher education, or continuing your course.

Colleges and universities may decide to provide payments to you if you are moving from the benefit system to take a course.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT LOANS

If you cannot get assistance from SAAS, or any other funding, to help pay for the course you want to do, you may be able to apply for a Career Development Loan (CDL). CDLs are managed in partnership with a number of high street banks and can support a wide range of vocational courses.
(For more information on CDLs, phone 0800 585 505.)

A CDL can support any type of full-time, part-time or distance learning course as long as it:

• is related to a job (not necessarily to a current job);
• lasts no more than two years plus up to one year's practical experience that is part of the course, where relevant; and
• is not supported financially by a student award at a publicly funded higher education institution.

You can borrow from 300 to 8,000 and use the loan to cover up to 80% of your course fees plus all your related expenses - including books, childcare, travel expenses and any costs associated with disability.

If you have been out of work for three months or longer at the time of application, you can apply for a CDL to cover 100% of your course fees.

You will not have to make any repayments while you are training and for up to one month afterwards (or up to 17 months if you are unemployed when repayments are due to start). During this time, the government will pay the interest on the loan for you. At the end of this period, you become responsible for the loan repayments and any further interest.

GRADUATE ENDOWMENT

WHAT IS THE GRADUATE ENDOWMENT?

The Graduate Endowment is a fixed amount that some graduates on full-time courses will be liable to pay at the end of their degree if they are awarded a degree or have satisfied the requirements for an award. The Graduate Endowment is provided for by the Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) Act 2001. The funds raised from the Graduate Endowment will be used to provide student support, including bursaries, for future generations of students.

WILL I HAVE TO PAY THE GRADUATE ENDOWMENT?

No. Part-time and distance learning students are not liable to pay the Graduate Endowment when they graduate.

WHO HAS TO PAY THE GRADUATE ENDOWMENT?

The Graduate Endowment will only apply to you if you are a Scottish student or an EU student who started your first full-time degree course at a publicly funded Scottish institution on or after 1 August 2001.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I TRANSFER FROM A PART-TIME TO A FULL-TIME COURSE?

Young students who transfer from part-time or distance learning courses may become liable to pay the Graduate Endowment. For more information, please see our leaflet 'What support is available for young Scottish students in higher education in 2003-04?' available from SAAS, your college or university.

CONTACTS

USEFUL ADDRESSES

Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS)
Gyleview House
3 Redheughs Rigg
EDINBURGH EH12 9HH
0131-476 8212

Scottish Executive
Funding for Learners
Europa Building
1st Floor
450 Argyle Street
GLASGOW G2 8LG
0141-242 0112

Students Loans Company (SLC)
100 Bothwell Street
GLASGOW G2 7JD
Freephone 0800 405010

The Open University
Central Enquiry Service
PO Box 200
Milton Keynes
MK7 6YZ
Phone: 01908 65323

Career Development Loan Information Line
Freephone: 0800 585 505
www.lifelonglearning.dfes.gov.uk

Learndirect scotland

If you want to get into learning but aren't sure where to start, contact learndirect scotland on their Freephone helpline number 0808 100 9000. One of their advisers can help you choose from thousands of learning opportunities, offered by learning centres, colleges and universities in Scotland. Alternatively browse around for ideas on their website at www.learndirectscotland.com or write to: SUFI, Ground Floor, 450 Argyle Street, GLASGOW G2 8LG

The information in this leaflet is also available on the Executive's websitewww.fundingforlearners.co.uk

Please e-mail any comments or questions you have via the web site's e-mail addressstudentsupport@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Information on part-time support, including applications, is also available on the SAAS website atwww.saas.gov.ukor
e-mailsaas.geu@scotland.gsi.gov.uk