A Guide to Student Support for 2009/10

What’s in this presentation? The Student Support available The Application Process The Assessment Procedure Loan Repayment details How to obtain further information

STUDENT SUPPORT AVAILABLE 2009/10 The main sources of Support available are; Tuition Fee Support Assembly Learning Grant Maintenance Loan Bursaries

TUITION FEES Tuition Fee Support is Non Means-Tested Support and not dependant on income HE Institutions in England and Wales allowed to charge up to £3, Tuition Fees Students who normally live in Wales and study in a HE Institute in Wales will be entitled to a Tuition Fee Grant of up to £1, which does not have to be repaid Students who normally live in Wales and study in a HE Institute in England will not be entitled to the Tuition Fee Grant Students will be able to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to cover the cost of the first £1, Tuition Fees if they study in Wales, and a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £3, if they study in England The Tuition Fee Loan is repayable and further information on Loan Repayments will follow later in the presentation

ASSEMBLY LEARNING GRANT The Assembly Learning Grant is a grant that is available to certain Welsh Students. The grant does not have to be re-paid if you attend for the whole academic year The maximum Assembly Learning Grant payable is £2, The Grant is means-tested Where the Household Income is; Lower than £18, the student qualifies for £2, £27, the student qualifies for £1, Where the Household Income is higher than £39, there is no Assembly Learning Grant payable

MAINTENANCE LOAN Most full-time students are entitled to apply for a Maintenance Loan The Maintenance Loan is meant to assist with students living costs. An Element of the Loan is means-tested The amount of Maintenance Loan that can be applied for also depends on the amount of Assembly Learning Grant awarded The Maintenance Loan is repayable and further details on the repayment procedure will follow later in this presentation

MAINTENANCE LOAN RATES LOAN RATEMAXIMUM LOAN AVAILABLE MINIMUM LOAN AVAILABLE PARENTAL HOME £3,673*£2,385 ELSEWHERE £4,745*£3,457 LONDON £6,648*£5,360 * Where a student is entitled to an Assembly Learning Grant of £1,288 or above, the student can only apply for the Minimum amount of the relevant rate of Maintenance Loan

HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD CONTRIBUTION ALG PAYABLE LOAN PAYABLE (LONDON) LOAN PAYABLE (ELSEWHERE) LOAN PAYABLE (PARENTAL HOME) £18,370£0£2,906*£5,360*£3,457*£2,385 £25,000£0£1,775*£5,360*£3,457*£2,385 £27,852£0£1,288*£5,360*£3,457*£2,385 £35,000£0£517£6,131£4,228£3,156 £39,329£0£50£6,598£4,695£3,623 £39,793£0 £6,648£4,745£3,673 £45,000£561£0£6,087£4,184£3,112 £48,303£918£0£5,730£3,827£2,755 £50,788£1,186£0£5,462£3,559£2,755 £55,200£1,662£0£4,986£3,559£2,755 Table showing Student Support available for 2009/10

NON MEANS-TESTED SUPPORT ONLY Where the Household income is above certain levels, an application should be made for Non Means-Tested Support Only. In these cases, it is only the student who has to complete the application form The income levels negating to Non Means-Tested Support depend on the applicable rate of Maintenance Loan The table below shows the relevant figures; MAINTENANCE LOAN RATE HOUSEHOLD INCOME FIGURE NON MEANS-TESTED LOAN PAYABLE PARENTAL HOME £48,303.00£2, ELSEWHERE £50,788.00£3, LONDON £55,200.00£4,986.00

BURSARIES Welsh Students entering a Welsh Institution in 2009/10, who are paying flexible tuition fees and are eligible for the Maximum Assembly Learning Grant, are eligible to receive £ from the Welsh National Bursary Scheme Welsh Students entering an English Institution in 2009/10, who are paying flexible tuition fees and are eligible for the Maximum Assembly Learning Grant, are also eligible to receive a £ Bursary The above bursaries are paid by the Student Loans Company and based on the information provided on the PN1 Application Form submitted to the Local Authority

APPLICATION PROCESS FOR 2009/2010 PN1 Application Form Available from February 2009 from Local Authority Supply of the forms sent to Schools Bridgend County Borough Council: Customer Support Office: (Monday to Friday 8am – 8pm Saturday 9am – 1pm)

Contains information on all aspects of Student Finance CALCULATE MY ENTITLEMENT available from November 2008 MY FACT FIND available from April 2009 MY FACT FIND allows students to; - Use on-line calculators to work out their entitlement to Student Support - Find out the different Bursaries that are available - Calculate their Budget for the academic year - Estimate their likely Loan Repayments once they have graduated

INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM THE STUDENT ON THE PN1 FORM College/ course details giving UCAS codes Estimated UNEARNED income for academic year Loan Request Form - No loan payments can be made without a fully completed Loan Request Form Bank Account details - No Assembly Learning Grant/ Maintenance Loan can be paid without them National Insurance Number - No loan payments can be made without a valid NINO Original valid Passport (Photocopies are not acceptable) or Original Birth Certificate accompanied by Birth Certificate/ Identity Confirmation Form

INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM THE SPONSOR(S) ON THE PN1 FORM Certification of income and allowances for the 2007/2008 financial year - Prior Tax Year Parent(s), Step-Parent’s, Parent’s Partner’s and Civil Partner’s income all taken into account – Household Income Certification of income required;  Certification of employment/ pension income - P60/P60P  Certification of income from self-employment as agreed by the Inland Revenue - Self-assessment Tax Return/ Accountant’s Letter  Certification of State Benefits - CB2 Form or P60U CERTIFICATION OF ALL INCOME IS REQUIRED ONLY TAXABLE INCOME IS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT

DEADLINES FOR THE SUBMISSION OF THE PN1 FORM Application should be returned to the Local Authority 24 April 2009 for Non-Income Assessed Support 22 May 2009 for Income Assessed Support As applications are dealt with on a date order basis, the application should be submitted AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE Your Local Authority will enter and submit the details from the PN1 Form onto the Student Finance Wales website This will generate letters indicating your Customer Reference Number (CRN) and Secret Answer Password. PLEASE KEEP THESE SAFE AS YOU WILL NEED THIS INFORMATION IN ORDER TO AUTHENTICATE YOUR IDENTITY! An assessment will then be made of your financial entitlement and you will receive: A FINANCIAL NOTIFICATION LETTER followed by a PAYMENT SCHEDULE LETTER

FINANCIAL SUPPORT NOTIFICATION Sent directly to the Student by Student Finance Wales The Notification shows;  Entitlement to ASSEMBLY LEARNING GRANT  Entitlement to MAINTENANCE LOAN  If there is any HOUSEHOLD CONTRIBUTION expected  The amount of TUITION FEE LOAN applied for  Entitlement to TUITION FEE GRANT (If applicable)  COLLEGE and COURSE details The FINANCIAL SUPPORT NOTIFICATION should be taken to the University/ College on enrolment day. This is to show the institution who will be responsible for the TUITION FEES

PAYMENT SCHEDULE LETTER Shortly after receiving the Financial Support Notification, the Student Loans Company will then send the student a Payment Schedule Letter The Payment Schedule Letter does not show any information about Tuition Fees, as the Student Loans Company pays any Tuition Fee Support direct to the University/ College The Payment Schedule Letter gives details of; Proposed dates for the three payments of Assembly Learning Grant (Supplementary Grants) Proposed dates for the three payments of Maintenance Loan The PAYMENT SCHEDULE LETTER should also be taken to the University/ College on enrolment day. The University/ College will then confirm attendance to generate the first payment of the Student Finance, usually within two – three working days

CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCE It is vitally important to inform the Local Authority if any details change after submission of the PN1 Form For example; If there is a change of course/ college after ‘A’ Level results If there is a change in term-time living arrangements If you are thinking of transferring courses If you are thinking of withdrawing from your course If there is a change in the Household Income Please note that you will have to submit a CO1 form to the Local Authority to inform them, in writing, of the changes You can download a CO1 form from the Student Finance Wales website You can also contact your LA on to request a paper copy

REPAYMENT OF LOANS Maintenance Loans and Tuition Fee Loans are added together Student Loans Company administer collection of the Loan Interest rate applies from 1 st September to 31 st August Repayments begin on the 6 th April after the Student graduates or stops attending the course At that time the Student Loans Company will advise HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) (Formerly the Inland Revenue) that the Loan has entered repayment The HMRC will instruct employers to deduct repayments from the Gross Income at the rate of 9% of any income earned in excess of £15, per year, £1, per month or £ per week

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT WHERE A STUDENT WITHDRAWS FROM THEIR COURSE BEFORE THE 1 st DECEMBER 2009 THE TUITION FEE LOAN/ TUITION FEE GRANT WILL NOT BE PAID CONSEQUENTLY, THE STUDENT WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYMENT OF ANY TUITION FEE THAT THE HE INSTITUTION DECIDES TO CHARGE

Contact Details Student Finance Bridgend County Borough Council