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?