Full time student loans and grants

Tuition Fee Loans
Students who have started a full-time course since September 2006 will normally be charged tuition fees. For academic year 2009-10 University of Worcester fees are £3225 a year for full-time undergraduate level courses (first degree, Foundation degree, HND, Dip HE etc). You can defer payment of your fees by applying for a non means-tested tuition fee loan from the Student Loans Company via Student Finance England. The fees are paid direct to the university on your behalf, this means that you need not find the money to pay for your course before you enrol or whilst you are studying. Tuition fee loans are available to eligible home and EU students. Apply to Student Finance England for a tuition fee loan and other financial support as soon as possible, normally when you apply foryour course. Application forms can also be downloaded from www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance or you can phone Student Finance England on 0845 300 5090 if you have any queries or wish to be sent a form. Students who normally live in Scotland or Wales should contact Student Awards Agency for Scotland or Student Finance Wales where appropriate. For further details visit www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance

Payment of Fees
Home students choosing not to take out a tuition fee loan will be invoiced for tuition fees at the start of their course. Students who change their minds about paying their fees without a loan in the course of an academic year and seek a re-assessment, will receive a refund of fees paid on production of the revised assessment.

Students Who Started before September 2006 and Tuition Fees
Continuing eligible students, that is, those who began their course before September 2006, who are liable for all or part of their own fees, can also apply to take out tuition fee loans. Continuing home students choosing to pay their fees without a loan can pay them in two instalments, one at the end of November and one at the end of February.

Maintenance Loans
Maintenance loans are available to eligible home students to help with living costs such as accommodation, food, clothing, travel etc. For academic year 2009/10 the maximum maintenance loan is £4,950 pa (or £3,838 pa for those living at home with their parents). 72 % of the loan is a basic entitlement and does not depend on household income but the remaining 28% is means-tested. Students in receipt of all or part of the Maintenance Grant (see paragraph below) will have their maintenance loan reduced by 50 pence for each £1 of grant. This reduction will not apply to those students with an underlying eligibility for means-tested welfare benefits; they will receive the Special Support Grant mentioned below instead. Apply to Student Finance England for a maintenance loan as soon as possible, normally at least four months before the start of your course. Application forms can be downloaded from www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance or you can telephone Student Finance England on 0845 300 5090 and ask to be sent a copy. If you do not apply within nine months of the start of your course you may lose your right to apply.

Repayment of Student Loans
Tuition fee and maintenance loans are repaid after you leave university and start earning at least £15,000 pa. The rates of interest are linked to inflation and not charged at commercial rates. Interest is added to tuition fee loans from when they are first paid to the university (February in most cases) and to maintenance loans from when they are first paid to the student (usually at the beginning of your course). Repayment is based on 9% of any income over £15,000. For example a graduate earning a salary of £20,000 would repay £8.65 a week. Student loan balances, but not arrears, will be written off after 25 years if the student in question started their studies after September 2006. More information regarding the repayment of Student Loans is included in the Department for Education and Skills publication Student Loans: A Guide to Terms and Conditions 2009/ 2010.

Maintenance Grant
New home students may be eligible for a non-repayable means-tested maintenance grant from Student Finance England of up to £2,906 pa, paid in three instalments. Students whose residual household income is £25,000 pa or less will receive the full £2,906. Those whose residual household income is between £25,001 and £50,020 will receive part of the grant and those whose residual income is above £50,020 will not be eligible for the grant. Receipt of all or part of the maintenance grant will reduce the recipient’s entitlement to the maintenance loan by 50 pence for each £1 of grant. This reduction will not apply to students with an underlying eligibility for means-tested benefits; they will be awarded the Special Support Grant mentioned below instead.

Special Support Grant
Students starting their course on or after September 2006 who have an underlying eligibility for means tested benefits will be eligible for a non-repayable special support grant of up to £2906 pa paid in three instalments. Payment is means-tested using the same income thresholds as the maintenance grant. This grant will be paid instead of the maintenance grant mentioned above and the Department of Work and Pensions has agreed to disregard it in calculations for income-related benefits. Receipt of this grant will not reduce entitlement to the amount of maintenance loan due.

Payment of Grants, Maintenance Loans and Allowances
Financial support from Student Finance England, with the exception of tuition fee loans which are paid directly to your university, is paid in three instalments in September, January and April.

University of Worcester Bursaries
Students starting after September 2006 who are in receipt of all of the maintenance grant or special support grant will receive a non-refundable bursary of £770 pa from the University of Worcester. Students in receipt of part of the grant will receive £640. Those students (including EU) who started their course on or after September 2006 and are not in receipt of the maintenance grant, with the exception of nursing and midwifery students, will receive a bursary of £500 pa. The bursaries will be paid in five monthly instalments from December. Payments will cease on withdrawal from the course. Bursaries payable to students in receipt of the special support grant will be disregarded as income by the Department of Work and Pensions in their calculations for income-related benefits. Students starting courses in January 2009 (Semester 2) who are eligible for a bursary will receive a pro-rata payment in two installments; one in April and one in May. In following academic year these students will be eligible for the full annual amount, paid in the same way as September starters.

University of Worcester Academic Achievement Scholarships
Each year the university will award scholarships of £1000 each, based on academic achievement, to students who began their studies after September 2006. Payment is made at the start of the second or third year of study.
University Extra Curricular Activity Scholarships
Students have the opportunity twice a year to apply for funds, up to £1000, to assist them with activities such as:-
• Voluntary activities which are community based, either in the UK or abroad
• Activities related to a past-time or interest in which the student is involved (e.g. music or some other arts-based area; elite sport)
• An activity which is course related but voluntary but, if undertaken, is likely to contribute to the scholar’s academic performance (e.g. a study visit or attendance at a conference)
Recent successful applicants have received funding to assist with traveling to the Gambia to run sports schools for local children and attending early childhood workshops in storytelling, and volunteering to work with the charity Relate.
The next deadline for application is 1st of March 2009. Information is available through the student SOLE page.

University of Worcester Sports Scholarships and Bursaries
Sports Scholarships are on offer in hockey, basketball and cricket at the University of Worcester. The University works in partnership with Worcestershire County Cricket Club, Worcester Hockey Club and the Worcester Wolves Basketball Club to award Sports Scholarships to talented players. If you are successful in receiving a Sports Scholarship here at Worcester you may be offered some of the following benefits:

Financial assistance for study
Access to training schemes run by or held at the University
Free membership to the University’s Fitness Suite
Sports Federation registration fees paid
Unlimited support in meeting the balance between playing and study
You may also be awarded a bursary which encompasses allof the above without the financial assistance for study?

For further general information about Sports Scholarship opportunities please contact Mick Donovan on 01905 855442, email: m.donovan@worc.ac.uk