1. UWE Bristol Student Finance Presentation
Presentation by
Kate White
Head of Money Advice and Funds Service
Although this talk is as comprehensive about government funding as it can be within the time scale, it is important to check out your own entitlement. It does not cover complex personal circumstances.
Handouts cover most of the information – so you won’t need to write it all down.
What it doesn’t cover:
Fee status – this determines the fees charged and the entitlement to funding. The law is different to the fee status definitions for FE,
If you are either:
a British Citizen or have Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or
an EU national
and have lived in the UK for the last 3 years, you will be entitled to the
funding described in this talk.
Recently arrived EU nationals may only be entitled to the fee loan.
Check out your own situation .- UKCISA/UWE Money Advisers
Previous HE study/HE qualifications – both of these can remove entitlement to fee loans or all funding.
Check out your own situation – UWE Money Advisers/Student Finance England (SFE)

2. Funding for living costs Your student budget
Tuition fees
Funding for fees
Funding for living costs
Your student budget
The small print – terms and conditions of student loans
Colour coding helps identify the sections.
It is important to not just deliver information about the funding, i.e. the income side of your student budget, without also talking about the expenditure side.
This presentation highlights the need to prepare your budget – making sure that you can ‘live’ it - ensuring that that money does not affect your academic achievement.
As the majority of funding for students is now repayable, it is important to understand the T&Cs (‘the small print’) of the student loans – What are you borrowing? How do you repay?
So this presentation is a journey - through applying for funding, working out your student budget and finally repaying the loan after graduation. It usually takes about 30 minutes with questions after.

3. Tuition Fees
Tuition fees only cover the cost of tuition – you will need to find money for books, course materials, field trips, travel and living costs.
UK and EU undergraduates pay between £6,000 to £9,000 tuition fees per year for degree courses.
UWE fees are £9,000 apart from Foundation Degrees which are £7,500 when delivered at one of our local partners,
Fees for a placement year - £1,125 to £1,800
Fees for part-time courses are usually on a pro-rata basis: 50% of a full-time course at £9,000 would cost £4,500 per year.
Some universities, such as UWE, include the cost of compulsory field trips in the tuition fees.
The items included in the tuition fees will be on the institution’s webpages – students are now protected by consumer legislation so the T&Cs of the contract with the University will meet standards of transparency and accessibility.
There is a suggestion that tuition fees may rise from 2017/18. This may be for new students only.
UK and EU students – this suggests that only certain nationalities will be charged this rate. However, this is about ‘fee status’ – and refers not only to nationality but residency as well.
The best resource is the link on the slide. UKCISA provides a student line so students or their family can check out their own circumstances.
Lower fees are charged at FE colleges delivering HE.
The fees for a placement year much reduced price – free in some universities.

4. Tuition Fee Loan For UK & EU students For full-time & part-time study
Choice of taking out all or part of the loan
Does not depend on household income
Paid directly to the university
Residency does affect entitlement to the loan – if in doubt refer on to UKICSA.org.uk
Loans are available for part-time courses – and the course can be completed in a minimum of 4 and maximum of 12 years.
Part-time study may be an option for students who wish to keep their student loan debt down – however, it can be hard to keep motivation going for 4 – 12 years and juggle possibly part-time work or benefits.
If you have another way of paying the tuition fees or part of the fees, you can choose to take out a lower loan or no loan at all.
Students are entitled to the fee loan regardless of the income of their parents.
The tuition fee loan is paid to the University in 3 instalments – October, February and May. Interest is charged the date the loan is paid to the University.
If your audience may have had previous study at HE level fee loan entitlement can be affected. Refer to SFE/UWE Money Advisers.

5. Living Cost Funding Student Finance England Maintenance Loan UWE
Bursary
Learner Support Fund
Student
Part-time work/support from family/savings/benefits
Knowing that the tuition fee is covered by a fee loan, it is important to think about how you are going to cover the other costs associated with not just your course but with general living. This is the start of creating and then living on your own student budget.
So on top of the tuition fee loan, you will also borrow some money for your living costs. It is important to understand that the money the government provides may not be enough to live on.
Note: EU students may not be entitled to any living cost funding from the government or from the University. If a student has arrived from the EU to start their studies, they are expected to find their own living costs. If they have been in the UK for 3 years before the start of their course, then their fee status will be UK and they will receive funding for their living costs.
You may be entitled to financial support from the University – which you won’t have to pay back. This can be via a scholarship or a bursary…and every university will have hardship fund.
This can be an important source of income, especially if you are unable to work part-time during your studies due to a medical condition or disability. Check out the webpages!
You may need to supplement your funding with part-time work, your family may help you, and finally you may have entitlement to benefits while you study.
Only:
lone parents,
student couples living with dependent children,
students in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments).
Get more information from UWE Money Advisers if you have applied to UWE – we can provide a benefit calculation.

6. Maintenance Loan – paid termly
Max £10,702 studying in London
Max £8,200 study elsewhere
Max £6,904 if living with your parents
Lone parents/students in receipt of PIP or DLA
Max £11,671 London
Max £9,347 Elsewhere
Max £8,144 Parents
So 3 different levels of loan depending on your personal circumstances and where you live.
For students who want to study in London, the loan is up to £10,702 (£11,671 for students who are lone parents, or in receipt of the specific benefits)
It is paid into your bank account termly.
So as you can see there, it says ‘up to’ – which indicates that you may not receive that much…so how do you find out how much you will get?

7. Working out your money! Whose income counts?
Under 25: the income of your natural/adoptive parents
If parents do not live together, it will be the income of the parent that you live with
If that parent lives with a partner, it will be their income too
If you are over 25 and live with a partner, their income
Your income
As family income can affect how much living cost funding you get, it is important to work out who counts as your family. It is only natural or adoptive parents who count (and any step-parent) – so students living permanently with a grandparent for example, their income is never used.
As a rough guide, whichever parent has been receiving child benefit or child tax credit is likely to have to provide income details.
Children of separated parents will need to provide evidence that their parent is single. This includes divorce certificates, or evidence of single person discount for council tax.
Step parent income is included in the income-assessment regardless of how long the relationship has existed.

8. Under 25 & independent from parents
If you are responsible for a child
If you are a care leaver
If you have fallen out with your parents permanently
If you have supported yourself for 36 months before the start of the course
For students with more complex personal circumstances, family income may be ignored – this is called establishing independence – which you don’t need to do if you are over 25. As parental income can affect 60% of funding, if you can establish independence, your funding may increase.
Links take you to information on evidence.
1. Student Finance will need evidence of their status – so proving that you are responsible for a child is easy – birth certificates, Tax Credit award notice.
2 & 3: Care Leavers and estranged students will need third party corroboration. The links in the above slide take you to specific information on what you will need to provide if you are in one of the groups above.
4: For establishing independent status because you have supported yourself for 36 months, you will need to provide:
P60s
Evidence of benefit claims
Wage slips
The 36 months do not need to be consecutive, so you can choose a month here and a month there.

9. Working out your money! What income counts?
Parents’ and/or partner’s gross taxable income for tax year 2014/15
an estimate of your unearned income from September 2016
‘Reassessment’ if your household income
drops by 15%!
What income counts – the link takes you to the guidance chapters of SFE – so if there are questions about specific income – especially evidence for self employment income - the chapter ‘assessing financial eligibility covers this.
Gross taxable income is income before tax and national insurance is taken off. Your parents or partner will have information now about the gross taxable income from the prior tax year: P60s, final wage slip for March 2015, confirmation of income from HMRC for self employment..
You do not usually have to provide income evidence as Student Finance get the figures directly from Customs and Revenue. SFE will ask for details of income and National Insurance numbers and automatically check the income and this speeds up the application process.
Student income – this is not income from part-time work or income before you start being a student. The only income that affects funding is stuff like trust funds, secondment from employment to study and income from rental property. Non-earned taxable income.
Re-assessment…as Student Finance are using a historical income figure, 2014/15, your family income may have reduced since drop of 15%, then ask for a ‘current year assessment’. The link takes you to the information.

10. Living Elsewhere Maintenance Loan Parental contribution ?
Household income
Living Elsewhere Maintenance Loan
Parental contribution ?
Per Week (40 weeks)
Under £25,000
£8,200 £0
£205
£30,000
£7,612
£588
£190
£40,000
£6,434
£1,766
£160
£50,000
£5,256
£2,944
£131
£60,000
£4,078
£4,122
£101
Over £62,000
£3,821
£4,379
£95
Column 1
Deductions from income
Deduct £1,130 for each dependent child and/or any other full-time student in family
Once income reaches £62k or more, you will receive the ‘minimum amount’ so even if you are a child of a millionaire, you will still receive partial loan.
Minimum live with parent rate: £3,039
Minimum study in London rate: £5,330
Column 3
Parental Contribution
There is no legal requirement to pay the assessed contribution. The table just identifies the amount of funding affected by the household income.
How much parents can support their students will depend on their outgoings which are not taken into account in the SFE means-test.
The threshold that triggers maximum funding has not gone up since 2008 and is now lower than average wages (£26.5). Proposing that parents earning £30k can support their child to the tune of £64pcm during the academic year at the same time as they lose child benefit becomes more unlikely each year.
Weekly amount
It is useful to start identifying the weekly amount of income. The 40 weeks is from September to June so academic year length. The rent of student accommodation is often described as a weekly figure and this is the start of the student budget.

11. Disabled Students’ Allowances
Available help for extra costs incurred because of:
long-term health conditions,
specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.
mental health condition
Not dependant on household income and non-repayable
APPLY FOR FUNDING EARLY!

12. Apply for funding every year
One application form for:
fee loan
living cost loan
disabled students allowances, childcare grant
Apply at
When – February 2016?
Don’t wait until you accept your offer – apply as soon as possible and then update your application
Prepare before you apply:
Evidence of ID: either a valid UK passport – enter number. Or send valid non-UK passport. OR certified copy of UK birth certificate. Certified by someone who is happy to provide their valid UK passport number.
National Insurance Number for student, parents, step-parents and partner.
DEADLINES
31 May 2016 to ensure funding paid at start of year
31 May 2017 for applications and evidence

13. Non means-tested funding
Income above £62k (after deductions):
Fee Loan
Minimum maintenance loan
Disabled Student Allowances
Simpler application as no parental income details are required.
So you can choose between a simple application for the non-means-tested (NMT) funding and one that applies for all means-tested funding. It is easy to apply for NMT funding but time consuming to correct. This can be difficult if discovered as you start uni so take care as you apply.

14. Financial support from UWE
Interest-free short-term loans
Bursaries
Learner Support Fund
All universities will provide some form of financial support - Bursaries tend to be based on parental income and allocated early on in the first term. Hardship funds are available each year of study, and awards based on the student’s own financial circumstances once they have started at University.
We use the interest-free loan to support students with delayed funding or no money.

15. UWE Bursary Who is eligible? English-resident student
starting year one at UWE in 2016
1,300 £500 each year of study
Lowest income students paid first
To find out whether you are entitled to more money, you will need to research carefully via the web, perhaps contact the University and ask.

16. The Enhanced Bursary
80 £3,000 first year, £1,000 subsequent years of study
Care Leavers
Estranged students – no contact with parents
Students who are living with and providing significant care for an ill or disabled family member.
Contact us!
These students are a priority for support in many institutions. So again, check out what is on offer – and whether, unlike at UWE, you need to complete an application form.

17. The Learner Support Fund aka hardship fund
Non-repayable awards between £200 - £4,500 each year
Assumption that those student who are able to, get a part-time job
Priorities for support:
Lone parents
Students with medical conditions or disabilities that prevent part-time work
Final year students
Apply after starting at UWE
All universities will have some form of hardship fund. We often follow the same processing rules for the fund – so priorities for support will be similar to UWE’s.

18. Mind the gap Your Student Budget!
So the gap between your income and your expenditure….working out your money is as important as choosing your course or your career. Ignoring financial issues can interfere with the achievement of your goals.
The first term is the most exciting and where you experience for the first time the joys of termly payments – not a regular number of weeks in each payment period.
So to start off your budget, check out the term dates at the uni to see when you are likely to receive your payments. Then count the weeks between the instalments.

19. Living Elsewhere Maintenance
Household
income
Living Elsewhere Maintenance
Loan
Per Week
(40 weeks)
Under £25,000
£8,200
£205
£30,000
£7,612
£190
£40,000
£6,434
£160
£50,000
£5,256
£131
£60,000
£4,078
£101
Over £62,000
£3,821
£95
Just a reminder about the level of funding - what is your weekly amount? if your parents are on low income or in receipt of benefits, then yours will be £205 a week….
I haven’t included parental contribution in this table as that is optional.
What about the expenditure side – what are you going to spend your money on?

20. A basic student budget (40 weeks)
weekly
Rent ,
Food, toiletries etc ,
Travel
Books/course costs
Basic cost £9,
Cost for living at home £3,
Rent – this is likely to be the most expensive outgoing – especially in your first year and if you are in University or UNITE/student accommodation rather than privately renting.
If your budget is tight – perhaps your parents are not able to make up the funding lost by their income, then choose your accom carefully – you can get cheaper….but you also need to work out what bills are included if you rent privately.
Sign up for termly payments if you can – it spreads the cost evenly – otherwise you end up paying much more during the middle term.
Living costs – how much does it cost to live each week,…How much do you spend on food? How much is your mobile phone each week? Can you cook? Do you drink bottled water? How much is your haircut?
To manage on £70 pw is possible but it requires focus and planning. You can live on £15 per week for food!
Travel – are you thinking of taking a car to uni - £1k for it to just sit outside your door. Can you travel by bike or walk? Reduce the £500 down?
Course Costs – these will be published on University webpages – the amounts will be the most you can expect to spend – however, you can save money – club together with other students, buy one text book each – buy second hand books – don’t buy as soon as you get the reading list – perhaps talk to the academic about which is the most important. Use the library.
So what is missing from that budget?
Fun….socialising…..travel home…
Is it possible to live on this budget? Yes – many students do – and that is part of university life - living with people on as tight a budget as you….shopping and eating together does keep costs down.

21. Maintenance Loan Minding the Gap £235
Household
income
Maintenance
Loan
Minding the Gap
£235
Under £25,000
£205
- £30
5 hours ptw
£30,000
£190
- £45
£40,000
£160
- £75
14 hours ptw
£50,000
£131
- £104
£60,000
£101
- £134
Over £62,000
£95
- £140
So most students work to close the gap between funding and expenditure. They work to achieve the minimum budget that we have just looked at, and they work for the luxuries – the fun.
Uwe recommends students work no more than 16 hours a week – there is real link between increasing hours of work and decreasing academic achievement. As there is also research that suggests a part-time job can help with time management.
Funding has increased by £850 for the lowest income students this year – which represents 4 hours less per week of paid work.
There is the Learner Support Fund to mind the gap for students unable to work or who have especially high costs.
Sorting out your budget before you start and keep a spending diary.

22. Student loans Repayments Loan term Interest rate
The terms and conditions for the loan come up as you sign your declaration and tick that you have read them.
The application takes about 30 minutes – so within half an hour you may have borrowed a loan for fees and maintenance…£17k! If you understand the repayments you may feel more confident in borrowing such large sums.
So can you take these loans out confident that the government will not change the T&C to your detriment? Changes have to pass via Parliament – but as much of the student loan scheme is not statute, they do not have to bebated. There are millions of people with student loans. The outcry is likely to force full parliamentary consideration for any proposed retrospective changes that impact negatively on the graduate.
Martin Lewis for details:

23. Repaying the loans
Liability to repay the April after graduation for full-time students
Only repay if earning above £21,000 gross taxable income
Repayments are 9% of earnings above the threshold
So finish course in June, liability April after graduation or the April after you withdraw from the university. So if you don’t like the course, and leave in January, you will need to let the SLC know as your liability to repay starts in the April. But you will only repay if you earn more than £21k.
Threshold: this was due to increase by rate of earnings from April 2017 but Spending Review announcement last November announced a freeze to threshold until April This is the first time that a government has made a negative retrospective change to the T&C of student loans since their introduction in The only retrospective change (in 2012) to increase the threshold from £15k for pre-2012 loans (for courses started between 2006 and 2011).
For the post-2012 scheme, the government announced that the threshold would increase each year. So students may feel that they have been tricked into taking out the loans that suddenly are without the protection of a progressive income threshold.
It is breaching the principle of no retrospective changes. 8 December 2010, Secretary of State Vince Cable said in a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament that the uprating will be every year – and reiterated the progressive character of the system:
‘Secondly, we have been keen to ensure that there is adequate protection for lower earning graduates in our new system. One critical component of this protection is the income threshold at which graduates start repaying, and the way that threshold is then uprated in future years. As announced on 3 November, that income threshold will be £21,000 as from 2016, compared with the current threshold of £15,000. Our modelling to date has assumed that that threshold should be uprated every five years in line with earnings. In order to give better protection for those on lower incomes, we now propose that the uprating should instead be made every year. Around a quarter of graduates will be better off in this new, more progressive regime than under the current regime
So can you take these loans out confident that the government will not change the T&C to your detriment? Changes have to pass via Parliament – but as much of the student loan scheme is not statute, they do not have to bebated. Tthe outcry is likely to force full consideration for any proposed retrospective changes that impact negatively on the graduate. There are millions of people with student loans.
Martin Lewis for details – also independent overview of the whole funding scheme.
The Repayment amount is not linked to amount owing (as in a mortgage or nearly every other loan you take out). The annual repayment is a set % above the threshold. 9% - or £90 for every £1k above threshold. So whether you borrow £10,000 or £100,000, you pay the same.

24. Repaying the loans Repayments are deducted by Revenue and Customs
Student loans do not go on credit files and should not affect you getting a mortgage
Any debt is wiped after 30 years of liability to repay
So the repayments are deducted at from your wages before you get them in the same way as income tax or national insurance contributions. You can repay more if you wish without penalty, whenever and however you want.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders have said that the amount outstanding does not affect the level of mortgage offered to you but your net income/wage will. So the deductions for student loans will reduce your net income.
And the repayment term is 30 years after liability starts (April after you graduate). If you become so incapacitated that you are unable to work, you can end liability earlier. Any balance is written off as it is should you die before the end of the 30 years.

25. Interest rates Retail price index (RPI) + 3% charged during study
RPI is currently 0.9%
Interest rates after study depends on level of earnings.
Interest is a charge for borrowing that is added to the student loans each year. Interest is only charged against the amount of student loans. So it is not compound interest.
The interest rate is set each September and can be found on the SLC website.
Interest is charged from the day that the first instalment is paid into your bank account (which is not the first day of the academic year – it is usually 3-5 days later…even if the Student Loan Company (SLC) tell you that it is arriving on day 1) and the day the first instalment of the fee loan is paid to the university.
You will receive an annual statement that shows the interest charged and loans borrowed and eventually repayments made.
So the interest rate is not the same…it changes depending on whether you are a student or a graduate and the graduate rate will depend on the level of your earnings. And finally, the interest rate depends on the rate of inflation - RPI.

26. + £4,025 interest accrued after 3 years of study
Student loan debt
Fees ,000
Living cost loan 8,200
17,200
x 3 years
£51,600
+ £4,025 interest accrued after 3 years of study
So as an example, using student who is entitled to the maximum funding taking out both loans.
And the interest accrued during the 3 years of study….

27. Gross Taxable Income Net monthly wage Monthly repayments
Annual Repayment
Annual interest on
£55,600
Interest rate
RPI = 0.9%
£20,000
£1,391
£465
0.9%
£26,000
£1,731
£37.50
£450
£850
1.65%
£31,000
£2,014
£75
£900
£1,238
2.4%
£36,000
£2,297
£112
£1,350
£1,625
3.15%
£41,000
£2,581
£150
£1,800
£2,012
3.9%
£46,000
£2,834
£187
£2,250
£56,000
£3,317
£262
£3,150
So this model is for the debt of £51, the interest accrued during studies of £4k. Down the side is the graduate earnings – and the next column, the wage in your pocket but before student loan deductions.
On the far right, is the fluctuating interest rate. Something +Inflation rate. The highest interest rate is charged both during study and once your earnings hit £41k.
Next to the interest rates is the annual interest charge that is added to the £55k that you start with. When you compare it to the annual repayments, you can see that until you earn £46k your annual repayments are lower than the annual interest charge. So until you earn £46k, you never repay any of the outstanding student loans. You just repay part of the interest charge.
If your loan is higher, (study in London, lone parent, longer course) or the rate of inflation higher, then you could need to earn £56k before you started paying more than the interest charged.
So the net result of this, is that very few (a minority) of students will repay in full. Those that perhaps have benefitted most from their degree….
The safety net is that if you do not earn enough you do not repay. Students are only just starting to repay loans borrowed under these T&Cs so we don’t know how much will be repaid.

28. How much will your degree cost?
Will depend on:
Interest rates
Earning threshold increasing or not
Your earnings
Earnings
Repayment
over 30 years
Amount ‘written-off’
(excluding interest)
£20,000 £0
£55,600
£26,000
£13,500
£42,100
£36,000
£40,500
£15,100
£46,000
£54,000
£1,600 interest accrued during study
So it easy to get hung up on the price tag for your degree but for the majority of you, your degree will cost less than the price tag.
This is an unusual loan in the financial world:
security of not paying if you don’t earn enough
ability to request refunds if you repay when you shouldn’t during a financial year
majority of borrowers will not repay in full
written off after 30 years
Selling off student loans As Martin Lewis says ‘the Government has already announced it's selling off the remaining £40bn of student loan debt from the scheme of loans. In itself that can't change the terms and structures of the way the loans work, but it can change operating practices which may be a pain in the neck for some’.
It will only affect those not repaying via the PAYE scheme – ie. deductions from wages as these will continue to be made by HMRC.

29. More information www.gov.uk www.slc.co.uk/students.aspx

30. Remember! Reassessment if family income drops
Financial commitment of the decision
Tenancy agreement
Using up a year of funding even if you only stay a fortnight.
Contract with the university
Contract with SLC for loans
Student overdraft
Council tax
Entitlement until 60 years of age – there’s no rush!

31. Any Questions?

32. Support once you have applied to UWE
Pre-entry Money Advice Line: Every Wednesday – Tel:

33. Support for Students with Children
Adult Dependant Grant £2,757
Parent Learning Allowance £1,573
Childcare Allowance
85% of cost up to maximum of: 1 child £155 pw
2+ children £266 pw
How much you receive will depend on your partner’s/children’s income.
Income under £10,000 can reduce entitlement

34. Step 1 Calculating maximum allowances
Case Study of student, partner + 2 children.
Partner’s gross taxable income is £20,000
1. Childcare allowance
2 £175 per week each = £350
@ 85% = £297…..maximum award is £266 x 40 = £10,640
2. Parents Learners Allowance £1,573
3. Adult Dependants Grant £2,757
Maximum award £14,970 Non repayable funding
Step 1. Add together the maximum grants and allowance you could receive. This means working out how much of the CCG you qualify for and adding that amount to the £1,573 PLA (and £2,757 ADG if you have a partner).

35. Step 2 Calculating income of partner/children
Student, partner + 2 children
Partner’s income from 2014/15: £20,000 gross taxable
Deduct set amount for family: £9,627 2 children, 2 adults
Residual income: £10,373
Maximum award £14,970 - £10,373 = Actual Award £4,597
Step 2.
Identify your dependants' income. The income used to work out your funding is the gross taxable income from all sources for the prior financial year (2014/15 for 2016 entry, which is the same income that is used to work out your main funding), minus certain allowable disregards. If your child has income such as maintenance, this is added to the gross taxable income of your partner.
Compare the figure from step 1 with your income (after deductions) from step 2.
If your income (after deductions) is more than the maximum grants (from Step 1), you will not qualify for any extra support.
If your income is less than the maximum grants (from step 1) you will receive the balance between the two amounts.
If your dependants have no income, you will receive the maximum amount. The calculation is a complex one and you may want to talk to a Money Adviser for a detailed assessment.
Student's family
Amount to deduct from dependent's income
Student has partner (no children)
£6,159
Student, partner and one child
£8,473
Student, partner and more than one child
£9,627
Student is a lone parent with one child
Student is a lone parent with more than one dependent child
£10,792