Part time study - help with fees?

kittycatsam

Hi

I am thinking of applying for a part time degree to start in a few weeks, it is a BA in social policy. They do have places left and the course is 4 hours a week for 5 years. Fees are about £800 a year.

I have recently been made redundant and have just qualified for JSA. I wanted to do a part time degree so that I am still eligible for my JSA and insurance payments while I am looking for a job which I would then fit around studying when I become employed again.

In the meantime as the job situation is very bleak in my area I was wondering if I will be eligible for any help with fees etc while I am on JSA. I don't receive any other benefits and my partners gross wages are 27k. I have checked the direct gov site and it just gives me the message that I have to ring student finance to find out as I'm doing a part time course. I've been trying for days and I just get a recorded message that they are busy and I should try later or visit the website.

Much appreciated

annie-c

The sort of help you can get will depend on all sorts of factors including where you live, where you want to study, previous qualification, your financial situation etc. If you are having no luck with the national student finance line (it IS a very busy time of year!) then the college/uni at which you hope to study should be able to help. Many unis/colleges have discretionary funds that they can give to students who don't meet the criteria for nationally available grants so it is worth asking. Look up 'Student Services' as a sarting point and they will re-direct ou as necessary.

Good luck!

student_advisor

Check out this page on direct.gov

kittycatsam

Thank you very much, I hadn't seen that table of entitlements. Trying to print out the app forms and it's breaking the printer for some reason...

In the meantime, do you know if my JSA counts towards household income or will it just be my partners earnings minus 2k? Also, i this like tax credits were you get the income based on the last tax year or is it actually based on the current household income at the time of starting the course.

Thanks so much!

student_advisor

They take into account your household income from the previous tax year for the part-time assessment. This means your income and your partner's income for 2008/09.

You can ask for an in-year assessment if: "the student’s income (taking into account the income of his spouse, civil partner, or co-habiting partner, where appropriate) [is] at least £1,000 less in the current financial year than the previous financial year" (taken from the assessment guidance)