College Fees and Funding

The following students will not have to pay tuition fees:

• Students aged 16 to 18 on 31^st August 2022
• Students aged 19 to 23 on 31^st August 2022 who do not already have a full level 2 qualification (e.g. 5 GCSEs at grade C and above, or grade 4 and above) and are enrolling on the following courses only:
• C&G Level 2 Diploma in Professional Food & Beverage Services (Bar, Cocktail and Professional Services)
• VTCT Level 2 Diploma In Hair And Media Make-Up
• VTCT Level 2 Diploma in Hairdressing Tech Cert.
• VTCT Level 2 Diploma in Beauty Therapy Tech Cert.

• NB: If you are aged 19-23 and do not already have a level 2 qualification, you will have to pay for your tuition fees unless you do one of the two courses above.
• Students in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)*
• Students in receipt of Employment Support Allowance (ESA)*
• Students in receipt of Universal Credit*, and their earned income from employment (disregarding benefits) is less than £345 per month (learner is sole adult in their benefit claim) or £552 a month (learner has a joint benefit claim with their partner).
• Students who receive other state benefits* and their earned income (disregarding benefits) is less than £345 a month (learner is sole adult in the benefit claim) or £552 a month (learner has a joint benefit claim with their partner); want to be employed, or progress into more sustainable employment, and the identified learning is directly relevant to employment prospects and the local labour market needs.
• Students who are employed or self-employed and earn less than £18,525 annual gross annual salary. Proof of salary must be shown to qualify for this category. (Proof of income must be presented at enrolment such as a wage slip, a Universal credit statement within three months of the start date of the course, or a current employment contract that states gross monthly/annual wages.)
• Students released on temporary licence, studying outside a prison environment, and not funded by the Ministry of Justice

 * For us to assess your entitlement, you must provide your benefit letter to FISU, either in person at enrolment, or via the online methods made available to you. It must be in your name and dated within the last three months. If you only have a letter older than three months, please bring this/upload this, together with the relevant section of your most recent bank statement. This should contain visible evidence that you are still in receipt of benefit payments.  We must be able to see from the statement that the bank account is in your name and that the payment details match those on your benefit letter. Once checked, we will remove these copies from our systems as we will not need to keep them.

If you do not fall into one of the categories for tuition fee waivers, you will have to pay the tuition fees for the course. The fees can be paid in four instalments, the first instalment must be paid when you enrol, then three further instalments in November, February and April.

The following students will not have to pay tuition fees:

• Students aged 16 to 18 on 31^st August 2022
• Students aged 19 to 23 on 31^st August 2022, enrolling on the following courses, who do not already have a full level 3 qualification e.g. 2 A Levels, 90 credit diploma:
  • Access to Higher Education Diploma in Business
  • Access to Higher Education Diploma (Computing)
  • Access to Higher Education Diploma (Education)
  • Access to Higher Education Diploma (Social Science and Health)
  • VTCT Level 3 Diploma in Beauty Therapy Tech Level
  • VTCT Level 3 Diploma in Theatrical and Media Make-up - Tech Level
  • VTCT Level 3 Diploma in Hairdressing Tech Level
  • Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma in Business
  • Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Business
  • Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Certificate in Business
  • BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Business (Y2 continuing)
  • Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma in Computing
  • Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Computing (Y2 continuing)
  • Mixology, Advanced Wine, Supervision & Events (C&G Level 3 Diploma in Food & Beverage Service Supervision)
  • Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma in Business - Marketing and Social Media
  • BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Business and Finance
  • Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma in Engineering (Y1)
  • Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment (Y1)
    Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science
  • Level 3 Tourism, Aviation, Events and Hospitality (Pearson BTEC National Foundation Diploma in Travel and Tourism)
• Students aged 19+ on 31^st August 2022 who do not already have a full level 3 qualification enrolling on the Level 3 Certificate or Level 3 Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care*, the Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education* (Early Years Educator Year 1), or City & Guilds Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Professional Cookery*, may qualify for funding under the ‘Free Courses for Jobs’ (FCFJ) scheme.

• Learners who already hold a level 3 qualification (achieved before April 2021) and meet the definition of ‘low wage’ or ‘unemployed’ may be able to claim an additional level 3 qualification via the FCFJ scheme (courses below).

  • Level 3 Certificate in Health and Social Care
  • Level 3 Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care
  • Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education
  • City and Guilds Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Professional Cookery
  • National Foundation Diploma in Business
  • Extended Diploma in Business
  • National Foundation Diploma in Construction
  • National Foundation Diploma in Engineering
  • National Foundation Diploma in Computing
  • Extended Diploma in Computing

If you do not fall into one of the above categories, you will have to pay the tuition fees for the course. If you are aged 19 and over on the first day of your course, you may qualify for an Advanced Learner Loan. This is a non-means tested loan available from the UK Government to pay the tuition fees of full level 3 qualifications (course exclusions apply**). The loan is paid directly to UCB to cover the cost of your tuition and does not have to be repaid until you are earning over £27,295 a year.

For more information on the Advanced Learner Loan, please visit www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan.  

**The following courses are not eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan:

• CACHE Level 3 Award Health & Social Care           

If you are paying your own fees, you can either pay in full at enrolment, or payment can be made in 4 equal instalments: instalments are due by the end of October, January, March and May.