www.le.ac.uk

Understanding Student Finance and

Funding 2012 and beyond

Nick Cave

Student Recruitment Officer

School and College Services

University of Leicester

University Finance

• How it works & what’s new

• Case studies

• Budgeting and money management

• Why go to University?

What’s in the news…

Key messages

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1izMDidvJtE

Tuition Fees

• Universities can charge a basic threshold of

£6,000 per year for tuition fees

• In “exceptional cases”, some universities will

be able to charge up to £9,000, on approval by

the Office For Fair Access (OFFA)

• Government will provide full Tuition Fee Loans

for eligible students

• Students/parents do not pay fees – Graduates

do

Tuition Fees for Medicine Students

• Undergraduate programme (5 years)

– SLC pay full fees for years 1-4

– NHS pay full fees for year 5

• Graduate programme (4 years postgrad.)

– Student pays first £3,375 of fee for year 1

– NHS pays first £3,375 of fee for years 2-4

– SLC tops up all 4 years to £9,000

Maintenance Loans/Grants

• Student Finance England provide financial

support for students towards cost of living

• Maintenance Loan – to be paid back

• Maintenance Grant – FREE

• Loan and grant are linked, and calculated via

means testing

• Also depend upon where you live

Maintenance Loans/Grants

Household Income Grant Loan TOTAL

£25,000 or less £3,250 £3,875 £7,125

£30,000 £2,341 £4,330 £6,671

£35,000 £1,432 £4,784 £6,216

£40,000 £523 £5,239 £5,762

£45,000 £0 £5,288 £5,288

£50,000 £0 £4,788 £4,788

£55,000 £0 £4,288 £4,288

£60,000 £0 £3,788 £3,788

Over £62,500 £0 £3,575 £3,575

Loan Repayments

• No repayments until you are earning above

£21,000 (currently £15,000)

• Repayment = 9% of income above £21,000

• All outstanding repayments will be written off

after 30 years

• This means all graduates will pay less per

month than they would under the current

system!

Loan Repayments - Examples

• Gov. to consult on potential early repayment

mechanisms

Salary Amount above £21,000 Monthly repayment

£21,000 £0 £0

£22,000 £1,000 £7.50

£25,000 £4,000 £30.00

£30,000 £9,000 £67.50

£40,000 £19,000 £142.50

Loan Interest

• Interest rates (after graduation):

Graduate Earnings Proposed Rate of Interest

Below £21,000 pa No real rate of interest applied to

loan

Between £21,000 - approx £41,000 Real rate of interest will start to

be charged, reaching a maximum

of RPI plus 3%

Above £41,000 Repay at the full rate of RPI plus

3%

Additional support

• Disabled Students’ Allowances

– Additional grant

• Help for students with children

– Childcare grant

– Parents’ Learning Allowance

• Adult Dependants’ Grant

• Access to Learning Fund

– Financial hardship

Recap on funding

Student Finance

Tuition Fee Loan

Maintenance Grant

Maintenance Loan

Additional Support

Universities

Scholarships

Scholarships

• Money given to students by universities

• Non repayable – FREE!!

• Universities are changing their offers of

scholarships as fees change

– Students need to do their research; speak to

the university

– Different scholarships from each university

Scholarships at Leicester

• Chancellor’s Scholarship

– £2,000 annual fee waiver

– AAA at A-level (or equivalent)

• Departmental Scholarship

– £1,250 annual fee waiver

– Varying academic criteria

Scholarships at Leicester – cont.

• Leicester National Scholarship Programme

– £2,000 annual fee waiver

– £1,000 annual cash award

– For students with academic ability and

potential whose household income falls

below a threshold level

Latest scholarship information:

www.le.ac.uk/fees

Case Study A: Anjali, Leicester

• Earning £24,000

• Only starts repayments once

earning over £21,000

• Calculated at 9% of anything

over £21,000

• 9% of £3,000 = £270

• Repayments of £22.50 per month

/ £5.63 per week

• Debt cancelled after 30 years

Case Study B: Mark, Leicester

• Earning £16,000

• Only starts repayments once

earning over £21,000

• Calculated at 9% of anything

over £21,000

• 9% of £0

• No repayments

• Debt cancelled after 30 years

How to apply

• Apply through Student Finance England online

• Means testing based on previous tax year (i.e. April

2010 – April 2011)

• Can apply for “Current Income Assessment” if income

changes (more than 15%)

• Linked to UCAS application

www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance

Budgeting

Variable Fixed

Will students have enough money…?

• Part time job

• Full time job during the summer

• Parents/family/savings

• Student bank account

• Credit card?

Graduate Earnings

• Average Graduate wage (1st year after uni):

£19,695

• Graduates earn on average £12,000 more per

year than non-graduates

• Graduates likely to earn 43% more over their

lifetime than non-graduates with A-Levels or

equivalents

Thank you for Listening

• Any Questions?