Special Circumstances for fee reduction at Level 1

 Students must sign to declare that they do not already have a full Level 2 qualification or above and that they are taking a Level 1 programme with the express intention of gaining the basic skills to join a Level 2 vocational programme. Obviously, we cannot predict with certainty that a student will be able to progress, but there may be cases where we can see good reasons why they may not. Most learners who want a L2 course, but need to upskill via a full L1 course, should qualify.

Other Special Circumstances for fee reduction - the Concessionary Waiver

The 'Concessionary' benefits entitlement declaration reflects government realisation that unemployed learners seeking to up-skill in order to gain employment, who are not on JSA or ESA (WRAG) are being disadvantaged. Thus it will cover over 19's who are unemployed, and are seeking training in a new area to that in which they were previously trained (if anything), and where that new area is a 'vocational' course.

Colleges are to use their 'discretion' in deciding how to apply this, and the rules we have decided upon (for now at least) are as follows:

We will cover L1, L2 & L3 accredited learning (ie: where we are funded by the SFA) on vocational programmes (so, this can include some PT delivered courses, where a full accredited qualification aim is attached), plus ESOL at L1 and L2.

We are thus excluding, as 'academic' or 'route to university' the following accredited courses: Access to HE; Pre-Access; A-levels; GCSE's; the Level 3 Art and Design Foundation Diploma.

Also at present this excludes the few L4 (higher education) courses where the course is SFA (further education) funded.

 Please note that, additional to being unemployed, learners must be standard EEA / EU / UK residents and must at least indirectly prove their unemployed status. Thus, we use the 2010/11 benefits list, minus work related or post-retirement benefits, ie:

• council tax benefit;
• housing benefit;
• income support;
• contribution-based ESA (unless in the Work Related Activity Group)
• Working Tax Credit (where the learner is an unemployed named dependent of the main claimant and the assessed household income is under £15,275 per annum: please note that the main (employed) claimant is not eligible)

Evidence for the benefits for the concessionary waiver are the same as those for the ordinary waiver described above.

 Spreading the cost

Please note that this payment plan does not apply to Higher Education courses.

New policy for 2011/12:

If your course costs more than £200 and runs for longer than one term (on average, 15 weeks+) you can pay by debit/credit card across three payments, after paying a deposit at enrolment.

Deposits are required at enrolment with the completed and signed enrolment form, together with a valid fee payment form (which can be provided by Student Services).

For courses that cost under £400 the minimum deposit is £100, and for courses that cost £400 or more, the minimum deposit is 25% of the total fees payable.

If you choose this method of payment, the balance will be paid by debit/credit - the payment plan for September start students, for example, would be 3 instalments taken on 1st November, 1st February and 1st March.

If you are claiming for fee remission at enrolment, then, as long as the balance is more than £200, payments can be split as above. Evidence that you qualify for the fee waiver must be produced at enrolment. If evidence is not available at this time, unless you can pay the fee in full, enrolment will not be allowed. Should you find yourself in this situation, please ask the Student Services staff for guidance on how to move forward.

There are some part-time courses which do not attract remission from tuition fees. This includes all Higher Education courses, which have possible funding support via Student Finance Direct (see the section below on Higher Education Funding for more detail).

Learner Support Fund

If you are in hardship and need assistance with 'other course costs' (ie: not including fees and exam/registration), travel, kit or childcare, you may be able to get help through the College's Learner Support Fund (please note that this excludes Higher Education courses and full cost courses, and that 'international' students and asylum seekers will not qualify). Forms for applying are usually published in late July / early August, and as the available fund is limited, we advise applying early.

Please note: monies are paid out, when awarded, from October, so you may need to make payments before you know funding is available to help you.