Living Together Claim - Can I Go To College?

he6rt6gr6m

Well, its a HND Course at College, and Im pretty sure its covered by the LSC. Ive been told that my Income Support would stop, because the Loans are a form of income.

The conversations Ive had with a financial advisor at the College described all that I could get, after naming the course I wanted to go on, and its everything thats described as above.

Not sure if Housing Benefit is a permissable benefit, or whether it will continue as I study, but I know that the Income Support wont.

briona

Can I ask what qualifications you already have, e.g., have you got any GCSEs or A levels? The reason I ask is that to be eligible to study an HNC/HND, you generally need to have some previous qualifications, in the case of an HND you need at least one A Level.

Since the free tuition only applies to people with limited or no qualifications, it makes sense that you've been told that you'd lose your benefits if you studied for an HND – the assumption being that you already had some qualifications.

Going back to the LSC-funded courses, these are mostly lower-level qualifications (GCSEs, A Levels, NVQs and BTECs), which, once you'd completed would enable you to study for an HND, or in some cases, apply to University. If the type of course you want to do can be started off via this route, I would recommend that.

From the links I posted earlier, comes the following:
You can get free tuition for a wider range of courses if you’re getting certain types of benefit or financial support.
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) provides funding for a wide range of courses, from healthcare to computer skills and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). If your course is funded by the LSC, you’ll qualify for free tuition if you’re getting:

• Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Council Tax Benefit
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• the ‘Guarantee Credit’ element of Pension Credit
• Working Tax Credit (as long as your household income is less than £15,050 a year)

This suggests to me that as long as you can prove that you're receiving the relevant benefits, you could study for free without it affecting the monies you're getting.

briona

he6rt6gr6m wrote: »

Well, its a HND Course at College, and Im pretty sure its covered by the LSC. Ive been told that my Income Support would stop, because the Loans are a form of income.

I assume by "loans" you mean monies from the Student Loans Company? You are right in that this is treated as income, so were you applying to University, you would indeed lose your benefits. However, as Chika pointed out earlier you cannot apply for funding from SLC for further education courses (NVQs, BTECs etc), so in your case there is no funding available to you that in turn would affect your benefits.

he6rt6gr6m

I only have GCSE's in 11 Subjects. The course page states that I would have to have an aptitude test of sorts to see if I have the required knowledge and determination to succeed in the course.

I previously attended a course at GNVQ level which was similar to the course I am applying for now, however when it came time to take my exams, I missed them due to a family grievance.

You will need to satisfy one of the following criteria

Have a minimum of 80 UCAS points

Not have formal academic qualifications but have industrial experience and a strong desire to retrain for a career in computing

All candidates will be given a short aptitude test to assess their suitability for this course

I did find the calculator for the UCAS Points, but I couldnt input the grades I recall getting from my GCSE's, because there is no GCSE option. This is possibly a major road block I seem to have overlooked in my haste of wanting to apply for this course. There is GCE A Level, and I was always of the assumption that GCE and GCSE were the same, but now I have seen the A Level bit, Im not so sure...

I know the above quote states 'having a strong desire' and I feel I have that, but its whether they will allow it.

The course page is here: http://www.blackburn.ac.uk/HND_ComputingGamesTechnology.html

It does say if I dont have the necessary qualifications, then they offer top-up courses, but if GCSE's dont help here, then thats going to be useless, I think.

briona

I'm pretty sure that in most cases you would have to have at least one A Level to do an HNC/HND course. The obvious exceptions to the rule are people who never took A Levels but still meet the criteria by having gained work experience in the field in which they want to study.

Most colleges are happy to interview you for the course you want to do, but if you don't meet the entry criteria, they will more than likely recommend that you start at a lower level, for example a BTEC (for which you only need a few GCSEs).

*********
BTEC qualifications are available at various levels on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). OCR Nationals are offered at levels 1 to 3. The NQF shows how different types of qualifications compare, in terms of the demands they place on learners.

Within each level, the qualifications are available in a range of sizes, taking different amounts of time to complete.
Qualifications at different levels can have different entry requirements.

For example, if you want to study for a level 2 qualification, you will generally need GCSEs grades D-G, or a level 1 qualification in a similar subject.
To study a level 3 qualification, you will normally need GCSEs grades A*-C, or a level 2 qualification in a related subject.

*********

Have you got your heart set on doing a specific course at a specific college, or do you have options for what and where to study? For example one college may only offer a computing course as an HND but someone else might offer it as an NVQ or a BTEC as well... If there are other colleges local (ish) to you, it might be worth talking to one of their advisors as well.

he6rt6gr6m

The only college in distance is the Blackburn College, which is something like 10 Mins walk. The other is St. Mary's College, which, I think, is within walking distance too, but im not 100% where it actually is.The only other ones I can think of around Blackburn are out of town, thus fairly hard to get to.

Ive never had WORK experience in the field Im looking at, but a more personal experience. Ive always had a thing for for the software side of PCs and my brother has always been on the hardware side of things. Having already 99% completed the GNVQ ICT Intermediate (which I now understand to be a complete joke of a qualification anyway) course, I am very confident when it comes to a computer and knowing what to do with it, if need be.

Again, though, I dont think that is what will get me into a course to further myself officially, so a BTEC might be the way to go. In my situation, Im not in a position to start being picky about the courses I want to go on, so if I was able to stay in the same field, then possibly go on further to do the HND course after Im more qualified to do so, then thats just as good.

Im trying to look at the courses on the official website of Blackburn College, but all the computing ones seem to be down, so all I really have to go on is the type of course it is, and the qualification.

2 Years of studying A Level ICT, which is the A Level equivilant of the GNVQ I studied previous, should allow me to go for the HND in discussion here once qualified. Is that correct?

I would fall into an A Level 2 qualification, given all my grades were D or E in GCSE. I think the main ones, English Lit, English Lan, Maths were all D, but again, off the top of my head, I dont know. I will have to get that info tomorrow from the local Newspaper offices.

briona

I've had a look at Blackburn College's website, and as you said much of it's not working very well tonight! Can you get the college to send you a prospectus? That way you'd have all the info to hand... They probably won't be back in work till Jan 5 though, so you may have to wait another week or so.

The link below explains the different levels of qualifications. If you scroll to the bottom you'll see there's a table showing what qualifications fall into what level. As you already meet Level 1 (by virtue of having GCSEs Grades D-G), you can apply to study at Level 2 (BTECs, OCR Nationals and NVQs being the most useful). As you'll see HNCs/HNDs are Level 5 so you would more than likely need to study something first to get you to that level.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/QualificationsExplained/DG_10039017

Have you mentioned your GNVQ to any careers advisors you've seen? Even though you didn't take the exams, it may count for something. As long as you learned something from it, I don't think it matters that you haven't got the piece of paper, and as you said, you had a valid reason for not taking the exams.

I think not having A Levels will be the real stumbling block but if you are allowed to study anything at Level 3 (which is the equivalent of an A Level), you should be able to apply for the HND the following year. And studying everything at the same college will go in your favour as well since they will know what you've been taught, what your attendance is like etc.

Don't give up! There's always a way to get around things!

he6rt6gr6m

I didnt mention my previous course to the lady on the phone, but then she was only really a financial advisor for the college. I think, as you have said, to get a prospectus from them, and once that comes, read it, and organise some sort of appointment to see someone in person. Given applications start in February, I should have enough time to get everything in perspective.

Its definitely something I want to do, so if it takes three years instead of two to succeed, I believe it will all be worth it.

If I get to speak to someone, though, and mention my previous course at the place, could it be possible that they might take that as my 'work experience' along with the attendance and such that you mentioned before? If they do, then there is a chance that I could just slip into the HND course. its a slim chance, but its a chance.

EDIT: Not sure why the site is down, though. Weird.

briona

he6rt6gr6m wrote: »

Its definitely something I want to do, so if it takes three years instead of two to succeed, I believe it will all be worth it.

If I get to speak to someone, though, and mention my previous course at the place, could it be possible that they might take that as my 'work experience' along with the attendance and such that you mentioned before? If they do, then there is a chance that I could just slip into the HND course. its a slim chance, but its a chance.

The prospectus should give details of whom you need to contact, in this case a careers advisor or someone who deals with applications.

How long ago did you do the GNVQ and did you take it at Blackburn College?

Regardless of the answers, I DEFINITELY think it's worth mentioning your previous course because you may find that the first year of a BTEC course for example covers pretty much the same thing. There's little point in you doing the same thing again so they may allow you to pass off the GNVQ as "work experience", thereby qualifying you for the HND.

You've got nothing to lose by trying!

he6rt6gr6m

I did the course in 2002/3 and Ive even still got all the booklets, coursework and notes from it too. All official, with the Edexcel logos and stuff on them. Networking, spreadsheets, letters, invoices, leaflets, adverts, and all kinds of stuff we did in the 'class room' are here. And it was a 1 Year course.