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

2013/14 HE Student Finance
Assessing Eligibility Guidance
Students are normally required to undertake the course for a period
of a minimum of 24 weeks in each academic year, and for courses
of two years or more, for a minimum of 8 weeks in the final year.
That a whole year full-time fee is chargeable by the institution for
the current year of the programme of study (exceptions to this will
be made for students who are repeating part of a year).
Full-time means that students are required to undertake their
course on most days of the week and for most weeks of the year.
Additionally, such courses atHEFCE or Teaching Agency, an
Ececutive Agency of the Department for Education funded
institutions which meet the criteria set out above would be subject
to the tuition fee cap and should have an OFFA agreement.
Only those full-time distance learning courses specifically
designated by the Secretary of State under regulation 122 will be
designated distance learning courses. Details of these courses will
be kept on the Student Finance England website, and they include
courses offered by publicly funded institutions (where they begin
before 1 st September 2012). HEIs and students should note, if a
course is a full-time distance learning course and it is not
specifically designated, students undertaking that course will not be
able to qualify for support under Part 11 of the Regulations.
Students undertaking full-time distance learning courses in
England that are not specifically designated will not be eligible for
support under Parts 4-7 of the Regulations.
Distance Learning – Disabled Students
212. The exception to this rule is disabled students who are undertaking
their course but not in attendance on it because they are unable to
attend for a reason which relates to their disability. Such students
are treated as if they were in attendance. Disabled students who are
undertaking full-time distance learning courses but not treated as
being in attendance on their course are potentially eligible for DSAs
at the full-time rate.
Students who are unable to attend an HEI for a reason related to
their disability but who are able to undertake the course by
distance learning will, however, remain eligible for the full-time
student support package. This will be the case even if the course
they are undertaking has been specifically designated under
regulation 122(2). They will continue to apply for student support
via the full-time student support application form.
Distance Learning and Student Support. Students starting courses on or
after 1 st September 2012
213. Full-time distance learners who start a course on or after 1 st
September 2012 are potentially eligible for tuition fee loans at rates
equivalent to full-time students who are in attendance on their
course, and are also potentially eligible for full-time rates of DSAs.
These students are not eligible for any maintenance support
(including targeted grants) as they are not in attendance.
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