SFE Assessing Eligibility Guidance 2013/14 - Practitioners - Student ...

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2013/14 HE Student Finance Assessing Eligibility Guidance 1 st September 2004); while a student who started his course on or after 1 st September 2006 may be eligible for a tuition fee loan, loan for living costs, long courses loan (or the extra weeks element of loan for living costs), disabled students' allowance, grants for dependants, grant for travel and either the maintenance grant or the special support grant. There are exceptions to these principles. 146. A student will not qualify for fee support in an academic year which is a bursary year (defined in regulation 2(1)), an ERASMUS year (defined in regulation 2(1)) or when the student is on a flexible postgraduate ITT course (defined in regulation 2(1) which lasts less than six weeks). Also students are not eligible for grants for living costs for any academic year which is a bursary year (as defined in regulation 2(1)). 147. Current system students who commenced their current course on or after 1st September 2009 will generally not be eligible for fee support for a further course if that course is equivalent or lower in level than their previous course (taken in the UK or overseas). Current system students who started their current course before 1st September 2009 will generally not be eligible for fee support for a further course if they already have an Honours degree from a UK institution. 148. Where a student is ruled out of tuition fee support due to their previous study (see paragraphs 159-163) or because they already have an Honours degree from a UK institution (for those who started their current course prior to 1 September 2009) or they already hold an equivalent or higher level qualification from a UK or overseas institution (for those who started their current course on or after 1 st September 2009), they will not qualify for some grants. This affects the Maintenance Grant (regulation 56(3)), Special Support Grant (regulation 60(3) and the Higher Education Grant (regulation 66(3)). 149. The loan for living costs is available to eligible students who do not already have a UK Honours Degree for those who started their current course before 1 st September 2009 or do not hold an equivalent or higher level qualification from an institution in the UK or elsewhere for those who started their current course on or after 1 st September 2009. Where a student has already achieved an Honours Degree or an equivalent or higher level qualification, they will not qualify for the loan for living costs unless one of the exceptions listed in regulation 69(2) (current system students) or 70(3) (old system student) applies. 150. All students will continue to have access to supplementary grants (e.g. Disabled Students’ Allowances, Childcare Grant) provided that they meet the other eligibility criteria applicable. ELQs and previous study changes from academic year 2009/10 151. It is the intention that funding should be focussed on those students studying in higher education for the first time and that, by and large, students should only be funded for one undergraduate degree to honours level. The Student Support Regulations state that a person who studies for a qualification which is deemed to be equivalent to or lower than a qualification they already hold are not entitled to financial support i.e. tuition fee loans or maintenance grants/loans. This rule applies whether their previous qualification was: Version 1.8 40
2013/14 HE Student Finance Assessing Eligibility Guidance • studied in the UK or elsewhere • self-funded or publicly-funded • studied on a full-time, full-time distance learning, compressed or part-time basis Under regulation 2(5) of the Education (Student Support) Regulations the Secretary of State has the discretion to determine what is an equivalent or lower qualification where the qualification already held is of a level which is equivalent to or higher than the qualification to which the current course leads and the qualification held is an Honours degree. 152. When assessing applications for student support from students who wish to study a second higher education qualification, the Department is of the opinion that assessors should take into account a range of factors in assessing the level of the second degree, and hence whether it is a qualification which is equivalent or lower to their first qualification. These include: the whole qualification, the title and final award, the entry requirements for the qualification and how the final award allows progression to postgraduate qualifications. They may also seek advice from the higher education institution or awarding body. Furthermore, if the HE qualification which someone already holds is an honours degree from a UK HEI, then consideration does not need to be given to the academic level of the course: it is automatically an ELQ. The following table sets out the Department‟s opinion on academic levels, however, the list is not exhaustive. E D C B A Masters MBAs PGCE Honours Degree LLB Integrated Masters Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary courses Scottish MA‟s Oxford and Cambridge MA‟s Ordinary Degree HNDs Dip HE Foundation Degrees HNCs Cert HE Integrated Masters 153. For the purpose of providing student support, an integrated masters is an undergraduate entry first degree the same as an Honours degree and should therefore be treated in the same way when assessing eligibility for student support. Therefore, students who hold an Honours degree and subsequently undertake one of these courses are not entitled to any further support. Version 1.8 41
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