Author: Jessica Buckland

Repayments Continued…
If employed, deductions will be made direct from your salary at the same time as Tax and National Insurance; your payslips will show how much has been deducted. There is no penalty if you make extra repayments to pay some or all of your loan of early. If you’re self-employed, HMRC will calculate how much you pay from your tax return and you would pay this at the same time as you pay your Tax. You can check your repayments and outstanding balance amounts in your annual statements from the SLC or via your online account. If your contact details change, you must update them in your online account.
*Any outstanding loan balance will be written off 30 years after initially entering repayment.*
For further information and support for Student Finance, please go direct to the Student Loans Company or Student Finance England.
Website: https://www.gov.uk/student-finance. Telephone Number: 0300 100 0607
Higher Education Progression Bursary
When studying at Gloucestershire College, if you progress from a Further Education course onto a Full-time Higher Education course, you may be eligible for a bursary of up to £1000* in your 1st year and up to £500* in your 2nd year. This is a grant that you DO NOT have to repay and can be used to help towards costs occurred whilst at college. Letters are sent to eligible students after enrolment onto your Higher Education course. Please speak to Student Services directly if you are identified as eligible for this bursary.
*In some cases, these bursary payments will need to fund course materials/trips or equipment.
Higher Education Opportunities Fund
The HE Opportunities Fund* is available to students who are experiencing hardship; you will need to have applied for a Student Loan prior to your application for additional support. These funds are limited and therefore eligibility and payment amounts are assessed on a person’s individual circumstances. Please visit Student Services to find out more and to collect an application form!
*Courses that are provided by partner universities will not be eligible
Council Tax Exemption
If you’re a student or student nurse, you’re not counted when calculating Council Tax and may get a discount or pay nothing at all. You‘re a full-time student for Council Tax purposes if you’re studying at a ‘prescribed place of education’; this will include established Universities and most Colleges —Gloucestershire College being one of them!
TOTUM Student Discount Card
For more information on purchasing a student discount card with TOTUM, please visit www.totum.com.

Financial Assistance Available @ Gloucestershire College

Extra Assistance

Student Support Guide
Higher Education 2022/2023

What is Student Finance?
Student Finance is an available method of payment for University or College Tuition fees and can help towards living costs accrued during your Higher Education (HE) programme of study @ Gloucestershire College. This finance is administered by Student Finance England (SFE) and the Student Loans Company (SLC).
How do I apply?
The best way to apply is online at www.gov.uk/student-finance. You do not need a confirmed place at College to apply; however, if you apply with your preferred choice, you can change details later, if needed. Make sure any evidence/information needed to support the application is supplied ‘right first time’. Before starting an application, you must have a Passport, Birth Certificate or other identity and residency evidence documents. You must also have your University and course details as well as UK bank account details and a UK National Insurance number.
Types of Loan
Tuition Fees are set by Gloucestershire College and the loan for this would be paid directly to us. If you are a full-time student, this would be up to £9,250 per year; if you are a part-time student this would be up to £6,935 per year in-line with Government guidelines.
For Maintenance Loans, amounts are determined by household income and would be paid directly into your bank account at the start of each term. Amounts awarded could be as follows:
You may not get the full amount, so may have to find other ways to fund the rest of your living costs. This could include part-time work, Local Authority assistance, bursaries, scholarships, or family contributions.
Part-time students can also apply for Maintenance if they have a ‘course intensity’ of 25% or more; ‘course intensity’ measures how much of your course you complete each year compared to an equivalent full-time course.
Independent Students
If you’re not being supported by your parents or partner, then you might be classed as an ‘Independent Student’ when SFE calculate your loan entitlement. To be classed as independent, students need to be aged 25 or over on the first day of the academic year or meet one of the other criteria including:
Having care of a person under the age of 18.
Have been married/in a civil partnership (even if you’re now divorced or separated).
Supported yourself for at least 3 years before start of course.
Have no contact with or are estranged from your parents or have no living parents.
Are a care leaver or looked after by a local authority.
EU Students
You may be able to get a Tuition Fee Loan and help towards living costs if you’re from an EU country plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. For tuition fees, amounts are as above for both Full-time and Part-time courses; for Maintenance, you need to have lived in the UK for 3+ years before the first day of the first academic year of your course and have Settled Status. Academic years start on 1st September, 1st January, 1st April or 1st July, so make sure to ask which applies to your course.
Extra Help
You may be able to get extra money on top your loans, for example if you’re on a low income, are disabled or have children.
Students on a low income
These students can apply for Universal Credit or extra help direct from their University or College if experiencing financial hardship.
Students with children or dependent adults
These students can apply for the Childcare Grant, Parent’s Learning Allowance or Adult’s Dependent Grant (all for full-time students only). They can also apply for Universal Credit or extra help direct from their University or College.
Disabled students
If you have a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty you can apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance or extra help direct from their University or College.
Repaying your Loan
You will only need to repay your Student Finance Loans and not any grants you may have been awarded by Student Finance England or your University or College. When you start repaying your loan and how much you pay depends on which repayment plan you’re on; SFE can confirm which plan is relevant to your specific loan.
You will only repay your student loan when your income is over the threshold amount for your repayment plan; these amounts change annually in line with the start of the new Tax year. The earliest you will start repaying your finance is either the April after you leave your course or the April 4 years after your course started if your course is longer than 4 years. Repayments will stop if either you stop working or your income goes below the threshold amounts; for courses starting in 22/23, students won’t make repayments until their future gross income is over £27,295 a year (£524 weekly or £2,274 per month).
The exact amounts you will repay are determined by 9% of any income earnt over the maximum threshold amount. You do not pay anything back if your income is under the threshold and Interest starts being added to your loan from when you receive your first payment.

Student Finance

Circumstances	2022/2023 academic year
Living with your parents	Up to £8,171
Living away from your parents (outside London)	Up to £9,706