Open uni confused please help

Taragon

I have been accepted onto an open university course worth 90points (Law) and they have agreed to pay all my course fees (£820) but havent mentioned anything about the course grant (i believe is £280). Does anyone know if i will receive this

Also do i have to pay back any of the Course fees £820 that they have agreed to pay? some people told me that you have to pay back when you earn 22k but it has not been mentioned whatsoever on the website or forms i have filled in. Is this a loan or is open university free to me?

I understand that all the fees have gone up and changed but as i am an exisiting student it says it wont effect me? as long as the next course i do is still towards the law degree.

I just find the whole financial side of this very complicated.

Id apprecaite any feedback on this.

Thanks
:beer:

moose1982

I'm assuming you are claiming a qualifying benefit such as JSA, ESA, HB to name a few. If so, then you will never need to pay the money back, this is only changing next September I believe. I am in my second year with the Open Uni and have both years received the full course fee payments and the additional grant.

My advice would be to give the finance department a call quick to make absolutley certain though, just in case the rules have changed since I started.

heretolearn_2

you won't have to pay anything back.

From next year for new students the system will be the same as any other uni, no grants at all, just loans whether for fees or anything else. But as an existing student you can continue your degree under the current arrangement.

Oldernotwiser

moose1982 wrote: »

I'm assuming you are claiming a qualifying benefit such as JSA, ESA, HB to name a few. If so, then you will never need to pay the money back, this is only changing next September I believe. I am in my second year with the Open Uni and have both years received the full course fee payments and the additional grant.

My advice would be to give the finance department a call quick to make absolutley certain though, just in case the rules have changed since I started.

You don't have to be receiving a qualifying benefit to get financial help from the OU at present, you need just to be on a low household income.

juno

If your course fees are paid because of low income then you won't have to pay it back. You only pay it back if you took out a loan with OUSBA - if you're unsure, give them a call.

And if your fees are paid because of low income then you will get the course grant. The first time I got mine they didn't say anything about it and it just appeared in my bank account (you gave them the details on the form for fees). This time I got a letter from the Student Loans Company confirming it, although the grant had already appeared in my bank account before I got the letter.

RedSoleShoes

You normally get the course grant (£265) within 5 weeks of the course starting, usually much sooner than this. I got mine less than a week after the course start date.

GotToChange

I would say to CHECK again. Although you are starting this year, I am not sure that there isn't some loophole about"existing" meaning that you had to have done a course that ended/starts between a certain date.... Please check with them again as, if this is your first course, you may come under some strange rules.
Although I would add that it is highly unlikely that you are signed up to pay something back in the dim and distant future without being aware. Key question would be - have you applied for Financial Support for this course/signed a form/provided evidence?

Oldernotwiser

GotToChange wrote: »

I would say to CHECK again. Although you are starting this year, I am not sure that there isn't some loophole about"existing" meaning that you had to have done a course that ended/starts between a certain date.... Please check with them again as, if this is your first course, you may come under some strange rules.
Although I would add that it is highly unlikely that you are signed up to pay something back in the dim and distant future without being aware. Key question would be - have you applied for Financial Support for this course/signed a form/provided evidence?

Fee changes start from September 2012 for new OU students, so courses starting in Jan/Feb 2012 will be on the existing funding arrangements.

http://www8.open.ac.uk/study/explained/fees-2012

Taragon

Thank you all for your posts.

All your answers has helped me greatly!

This was my first thread and I shall use this site again for any other problems