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

2013/14 HE Student Finance
Assessing Eligibility Guidance
Policy
course to be similar, either in whole or in part to the course for which
they had received the offer.
6. If the institution was no longer offering the course the student
received their original offer for, then they would still have been
considered a gap year student if they had to undertake that course
(or a similar course) at another institution.
7. In determining whether a student qualified as a gap year student,
SFE would need to be satisfied that they met the criteria in the
Regulations. As the student would have had confirmation of their
deferred place from their institution this could have formed part of the
evidence they were required to provide. Where a student received an
offer of a deferred place after 1 August 2005, they should have
provided evidence that this had been a result of an A-level appeal.
These rules apply irrespective of where the student is studying in the
UK.
8. Where a student does not meet the criteria for being a gap year
student, they will be a current system student (provided they meet
the relevant criteria), and eligible for the package of support available
to all current system students. This is the case irrespective of
whether the institution decides to charge them fees of up to £1,380
rather than up to £3,465 or £3,575 where the HEI is Northern Ireland.
9. Eligibility can be broken down into four main headings:
• Personal eligibility
General exclusions
• Eligibility for fee support
• Eligibility for support for living costs
• Designated courses
10. Paragraph (3) of regulation 4, provides that students are excluded
from any support under the Regulations if they:
• Hold a mandatory award under the old arrangements (i.e. those
students who started their course in 1997/98 or earlier and those
1998/99 entrants who are exceptionally treated as though they had
started in the 1997/98 academic year);
• Are eligible for a loan in relation to an academic year of the course
under the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990 or the Education
(Student Loans)(Northern Ireland) Order 1990 (this means students
eligible for a mortgage style loan under the previous arrangements);
• Are in receipt of a non-means tested “healthcare bursary”, (as
defined in regulation 2(1)) or other allowance referred to in regulation
4(3) - see paragraph 12 below for an explanation of what a
“healthcare bursary” is;
• Are in breach of any obligation to repay any student loan;
• Have reached the age of 18 and have not ratified any student loan
agreement made with them when they were under the age of 18; or
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