Scottish Government

ISBN 0 7559 4518 2

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Contents

Introduction
What's on Offer?
Do I Qualify?
Fees
Further Education
Higher Education
Other Sources of Funding
Benefits
More Information

Introduction

This Guide gives an overview of the funding available for part-time or distance-learning students, and is a useful guide to practitioners giving advice to part-time students.

It gives details of the financial support you may be eligible for and tells you how to apply.

Definitions of part-time for student support purposes

In further education, a part-time student is a student who attends college for fewer than 21 hours per week.

Attendance is defined as the time spent for timetabled classes, timetabled exam leave and study preparation, structured learning within the college grounds, formal placements and study trips. It excludes any other study such as home-based learning.

In higher education you will be classed as part-time if your course is equivalent to 50% of a full-time course. Your college, university or distance-learning provider will decide whether you are working towards at least 50% of a full-time equivalent higher education course.

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.

What's on offer?

As a part-time student you can claim for some of the same support as full-time students, such as:

• study costs;
• childcare costs;
• hardship; and
• travel expenses.

Some types of funding available to support part-time study are limited to applicants on low income or in receipt of benefits. See our Quick Guide below for what's on offer.

NB: This is a general guide and only indicates the funding that you may receive.

Do I qualify?

To be eligible to apply for funding you must meet certain residence conditions. These are complicated, and we would advise you to contact your local college (for Further Education courses) or the Student Awards Agency for Scotland ( SAAS) (for Higher Education courses) if you are in any doubt about your residence status. Higher Education students should visit the SAAS website or e-mail them at saas.geu@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Generally, the residence requirements are as follows:

1. You must be ordinarily resident in Scotland on the first day of the first academic year of the course.

In Further Education, this will be the start date of your course.

In Higher Education, you must be ordinarily resident on the following dates:

• 1 August 2005 for courses that start between 1 August 2005 and 31 December 2005.
• 1 January 2006 for courses that start between 1 January 2006 and 31 March 2006.
• 1 April 2006 for courses that start between 1 April 2006 and 30 June 2006.
• 1 July 2006 for courses that start between 1 July 2006 and 31 July 2006.

2.UK nationals must also have been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three-year period immediately before the start of the course. Those who are EEA (European Economic Area) or Swiss migrant workers, their spouse or children, must fulfil the three-year requirement in the EEA or Switzerland.

What does 'ordinarily resident' in Scotland mean?

The courts have defined 'ordinary residence' as 'habitual and normal residence in one place'. It basically means that you, your parents, or your husband or wife live in a country year after year by choice throughout a set period. This allows for temporary or occasional absences such as holidays or business trips and may cover you if you or your family were temporarily employed abroad.

You will not be treated as 'ordinarily resident' in Scotland if your main purpose in coming here is to study and you would normally be living somewhere else.

Fees

Most students studying part-time and on distance learning courses will have to pay tuition fees. However, your college or university may waive your fees if you are on a low income or receive certain benefits, and the course you are studying qualifies for a fee waiver.

If you are studying an eligible course at a further education college, you may be eligible for free tuition if you meet at least one of the following conditions:

you receive any of these benefits

• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• Incapacity Benefit
• Carer's Allowance

your family receives any of these benefits

• Income Support
• Working Tax Credit
• Pension Credit
• Housing Benefits

• you are a registered job seeker
• you, or your spouse or parent, are an asylum seeker living in Scotland
• you are on a low income, and you can provide evidence to the college that your family's income is at or below the income thresholds for 2005/06.

A similar scheme applies for those studying eligible part-time courses at universities or other Higher Education Institutions. Here you must meet at least one of the following conditions:

you receive any of these benefits

• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• Incapacity Benefit
• Carer's Allowance

your family receives any of these benefits

• Income Support
• Working Tax Credit
• Housing Benefits

• the sole income to your family is DWP benefits
• you are a registered job seeker and have been so for a continuous period
  of no less than six weeks prior to the date of application
• your family's net income is less than the level for receiving income support.

Post-graduate courses are not eligible for 'fee waiver' support.

For more information on the fee waiver scheme and eligibility details please contact your college or university.

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

Phone: 01908 653231
Web: www.open.ac.uk

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

ILA Scotland

If you or your chosen course are not eligible for a 'fee waiver', you may qualify for one of the new Individual Learning Accounts ( ILA Scotland) of up to £200 each year towards the cost of learning. You can use it to help pay for your choice of course from a wide range of approved learning providers all over Scotland - from community learning centres, local colleges and universities to private training companies.

If you are over 18 years of age, live in Scotland and earn £15,000 or less per year or receive certain benefits then you may qualify for up to £200 each year towards the cost of learning.

A "universal scheme" is due to be rolled out this summer (2005) and this will provide up to £100 per year for learners undertaking accredited Information Communications Technology ( ICT) courses up to SVQ Level 2 (Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Level 5) or recognised ICT courses of a similar level.

All ILA funded learners must make a minimum personal contribution (at least £10) towards the course costs.

For information on the scheme visit the ILA Scotland website www.ilascotland.org.uk or phone the ILA Scotland helpline 0808 100 1090 for advice about what learning is available or to obtain an application form.

Further Education

Further Education courses are those which are taught in colleges and are below Higher National Certificate ( HNC) level. They cover levels 1-6 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework ( SCQF) and include:

• academic courses up to Higher level;
• courses that do not lead to formal qualifications, such as independent living skills courses;
• basic skills courses, such as literacy and numeracy; and
• work related courses, such as Scottish Vocational Qualifications ( SVQs).

Support for Further Education is through means-tested discretionary bursaries, and these are not guaranteed to all eligible applicants.

Living Costs

Colleges offer discretionary means-tested, maintenance bursaries to cover living costs. Although these bursaries are not usually available for part-time students in Further Education, this decision is at the college's discretion.

Any amount you get depends on your age and household income and will be proportionate to the hours you attend college each week. This is calculated by:

• working out what you would be eligible to receive if you were studying full time; then
• multiplying that figure by the number of hours you attend college per week and dividing that by 21 (21 is the number of hours that define full-time study for bursary purposes).

Help for Those You Support Financially

Dependant Allowance

The college can use its discretion to offer you support for a dependant if you have care, financial or legal responsibilities for an adult. This allowance is income assessed and family circumstances and dependant's income will be taken into account.

Childcare Costs

Part-time students are one of the priority groups for childcare support. Colleges have a Childcare Fund which is used to help pay for registered childcare.

Additional Help

You may also be eligible for support towards study and travel expenses, as well as the Additional Support Needs for Learning allowance.

Study Expense Allowance

This allowance may be used to fund study expenses that you would otherwise have to meet. The specific items allowable depend on the course but only the following types of expenses are included:

• items that are essential to that course, e.g. essential texts but not additional reading
• items that, if absent, do not prevent the course being taught but will prevent the student participating and learning, such as specific clothing, footwear, tools
• items that are required for health and safety reasons
• mandatory study trips.

Travel Expense Allowance

This allowance is dependent on your circumstances and may cover one or more of the following expenses:

Travel expenses do not include:

• travel between campuses
• additional residential expenses
• post course travel expenses such as job interviews.

Students with disabilities

Disabled students who have extra costs arising from their attendance at college may apply for additional support towards study and travel-related expenses (an Additional Support Needs for Learning Allowance) as part of their bursary application. This allowance is not means tested and is paid on a discretionary basis by the college to eligible students. You should contact your college for further details.

Hardship

You may also be able to get some financial help from your college Hardship Fund. Hardship funds can help students who have financial difficulties that might prevent them gaining access to education, or continuing their course. Colleges also have discretion to provide payments from their Hardship Fund to students who are moving from the benefit system to take a course. You can apply at the start of your course or during your course if financial problems arise.

You should contact your chosen college for more information on the support that is available and for advice on how to apply for these funds.

Higher Education

Higher Education means courses of study which are at Higher National Certificate level or above (which is Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 7 or above). Higher education courses can be taken at college or at university. Higher education includes:

• an undergraduate honours degree
• an undergraduate ordinary degree
• a Higher National Certificate ( HNC) or Higher National Diploma ( HND).

Support for Higher Education is mainly loans-based, with a number of means-tested grants for specific groups of students.

Study Costs

You may be eligible for an income-assessed loan of £500 in each year of your course to help meet study-related costs such as equipment, books, travel, photocopying, paper, provided you meet the conditions below:

• 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;
• be ordinarily resident in Scotland;
• 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;
• meet the independent status conditions.

Independent Status

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.

Income Assessment

All student loans are income-assessed. To be eligible to claim a loan, we will access your financial resources (including your husband's or wife's income) for the previous financial year. You will have to send supporting documents to confirm this. 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.

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

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 for a loan. You will have to send supporting documents with your application to confirm this.

You are automatically eligible for a loan if you or your husband or wife 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.

If you are not sure if you qualify, you should contact SAAS on 0845 111 1711 or visit www.saas.gov.uk .

How To Apply for a Loan

You can download the loan application for part-time and distance-learning students from the SAAS website at www.saas.gov.uk .Or, you can contact SAAS direct for one.

Your college, university, the Open University or your distance learning provider must fill in a certificate on the application form to confirm that you are working to at least 50% of a full-time equivalent higher education qualification. If they do not, the form will be returned and your payment will be delayed.

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). They will set up your loan account and issue your £500 loan direct into your bank account.

Additional Help

Students with Disabilities

If you have extra course related costs as a direct result of your disability, you may be able to claim the Disabled Students Allowance ( DSA). DSA can help with the cost of items of specialist equipment, non medical personal help and other course related costs. 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. You may also claim DSA for some part-time post-graduate courses.

The DSA is not income assessed. 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 60% of an eligible full-time higher education qualification, you will be able to claim 60% of these allowances.

You can get more information from SAAS. Application forms are available from the SAAS website at www.saas.gov.uk , your college, university, the Open University or distance-learning provider.

Hardship Fund

If you are experiencing particular financial difficulty you can apply for help from your institution's Hardship Fund. This can include help with childcare, housing and travel costs.

Graduate Endowment

Part-time and Distance Learning students are not liable to pay the Graduate Endowment when they graduate.

For more information on the support that is available for Higher Education contact the Students Award Agency for Scotland ( SAAS) on 0845 111 1711 or visit www.saas.gov.uk

Other Sources of Funding

Career Development Loan

If you cannot get assistance from SAAS, or any other public 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.

A CDL can support any type of 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

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.

For more information on CDLs, phone the CDL helpline on 0800 585 505, or visit their website at www.lifelonglearning.co.uk

Benefits

How does studying part-time affect your 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. However the benefits regulations may define part-time study in a different way than your college, for example:

for a number of benefits, such as Income Support you are classed as studying full-time if you are following a course which consists of at least 16 hours of guided learning a week. A course with fewer hours would be considered part-time.

for FE students under 19 for benefits purposes a course is part--time if it is 12 hours or less a week during term-time.

It is important to discuss this with your college or university student adviser as well as the local Jobcentre Plus office.

If you're out of work and studying part-time you may still qualify for Jobseeker's Allowance, as long as your course is less than 21 hours a week and you can show that you're still available for work. Check this with your local Jobcentre Plus office.

Generally payments you receive that are for a specific purpose, such as equipment, travel, books, photocopying, paper and so on, will not affect your benefits.

As a higher education student, if you receive the £500 loan for study-related costs, this is disregarded when your Income Support, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are worked out.

As a part-time further education student, if you get a maintenance allowance from your college then this is taken into account as income for Income Support, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit and will reduce the amount of benefit you are entitled to.

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 Jobcentre Plus office, your college or university, the Open University, your distance-learning provider, the National Union of Students or from the website http://scottishhandbooks.cpag.org.uk

Tax Credits

Students with dependent children are entitled to claim Child Tax Credit from the Inland Revenue. Those who are receiving the maximum amount of Child Tax Credit are entitled to free school meals for their children (but not if you or your partner receive Working Tax Credit). Contact your Local Education Authority for more details on how to apply for free school meals.

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.

How much help you get depends on your circumstances. To find out more:

• visit www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/taxcredits or
• call the Tax Credit Information Line on 0800 500 222.

For more information about how tax affects students:

• visit www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/students or
• your local Inland Revenue Enquiry Centre (listed under Inland Revenue in the telephone directory).

Housing Benefit

This helps you with the cost of your rent if you're on a low income. For further information on whether you qualify visit http://scottishhandbooks.cpag.org.uk . Your local council will also advise you and provide you with application forms.

Benefits Information

For more information contact your local Jobcentre Plus, your college or university student adviser or your local Citizen's Advice Bureau or visit http://scottishhandbooks.cpag.org.uk

More Information

To find out more about the various financial help available or for answers to any queries contact:

Student Awards Agency for Scotland ( SAAS)

Application forms and the SAAS guide are available on the SAAS website. If you have any questions about your eligibility or about payment of fees, bursaries, etc. you can contact SAAS at:

Student Awards Agency for Scotland
Gyleview House

Your Local College

For more information on Further Education student support please contact your local college. For a list of local colleges contact the Scottish Funding Councils for Further and Higher Education at:

The Scottish Funding Councils for Further and Higher Education
Donaldson House

Learndirect Scotland

If you want to get into learning but aren't sure where to start, contact Learndirect Scotland and one of their advisers can help you choose from thousands of learning opportunities, offered by learning centres, colleges and universities in Scotland.

tel: 0808 100 9000 (freephone)
web:www.learndirectscotland.com

Careers Scotland

Careers Scotland gives guidance to anyone in Scotland about work or learning. The aim is to increase participation in learning, employment and provide guidance. Find out more on their website, www.careers-scotland.org.uk

ILA Scotland

ILA Scotland is a new scheme to help pay for a wide range of learning. To request an application pack call the helpline free on 0808 100 1090 or visit their website at www.ilascotland.org.uk for advice about what learning is available.

Inland Revenue

Contact the Tax Credit Information line on 0845 300 3900 or visit their website at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/taxcredits

Skill Scotland - National Bureau for Students with Disabilities

Skill's Information Service gives free information and advice to disabled people, and those working with them, about post-16 opportunities including Further and Higher Education, employment, work-based learning and volunteering. Contact their Information Service from Monday to Thursday between 1.30 and 4.30pm on:

tel/text: 0800 328 5050
email:admin@skillscotland.org.uk
web:www.skill.org.uk

The Open University in Scotland

Career Development Loan

Freephone: 0800 585 505
web:www.lifelonglearning.co.uk

Child Poverty Action Group ( CPAG)

CPAG's new online information service - the Benefits for Students in Scotland Handbook - is now available. This is a fully searchable version of the 2nd edition of the Benefits for Students in Scotland Handbook and is available to use free of charge from their website.

web: www.cpag.org.uk at http://scottishhandbooks.cpag.org.uk

Funding for Learners

For more information regarding this booklet for part-time students contact:

The Scottish Executive
Funding for Learners Division

email:studentsupport@scotland.gov.uk
web:www.scotland.gov.uk/fundingforlearners

Other Publications available include a summary of the funding support that is available to students, 'Helping you meet the costs of learning: Your Guide to Funding' which is available free of charge from:

Blackwell's Bookshop

For free copies of this booklet contact Blackwell's Bookshop on 0131 622 8283

www.scotland.gov.uk