Advice with uni chasing course fees??

croboy

Hi,

A friend of mine is having real issues with her university in that she fell behind on paying her course fees and they have set a completely unrealsitic repayment schedule or threatened to boot her off the course. They are asking for over £300 a month and she only works a few hours and gets no help from parents but the finance dept seem really unco-operative and are putting her under real pressure.

Has anyone got any advice or people she could turn to (has applied for hardship fund but was rejected so has applied again) in order to get them to be more reasonable????

AddieH

Has she applied for a tuition fee loan from the Student Loans Company?

croboy

Im not 100% sure but i think she said she was ineligible as she was on another course previously and got them then?

djhworld

Tell her to go to her 'student services' office or something. You know, like student welfare or something, somewhere that helps with advice and things.

Also there's a thread on here about ALF (Access to Learning) she could apply to that to get some funds for her course

Morn

croboy wrote:

Im not 100% sure but i think she said she was ineligible as she was on another course previously and got them then?

This is incorrect. You can get a tuition fee loan, regardless of previous courses. I suggest she get on to her LEA.

pinkskittles

How long was she on her first course? The only way she would be ineligable for anything is if she's finished a 3-year course and already has a degree.

AddieH

Morn wrote:

This is incorrect. You can get a tuition fee loan, regardless of previous courses. I suggest she get on to her LEA.

It would depend on whether she completed the course and received the qualification, if she already has a first degree or equivalent she would not be eligible for a tuition fee loan.

direct.gov.uk wrote:

If you have previously studied in higher education, you may be eligible to apply for a loan for general maintenance but not to cover tuition fees for your course. Your local authority will tell you if you are eligible to apply for a loan again.

croboy

yeh, she's done a degree previously.

Any other suggestions?

Crispy_Ambulance

The Access to Learning Fund cannot be used to pay fees.

Unfortunately, she isn't in a good situation. If she can't pay her fees, then the uni will most likely exclude her. She may be better to take a leave of absence and work and save, or to consider switching to part time study.

there is charities and trusts funding, but it is highly unlikely she would receive anything like enough to pay her fees.

Oldernotwiser

croboy wrote:

Hi,

A friend of mine is having real issues with her university in that she fell behind on paying her course fees and they have set a completely unrealsitic repayment schedule or threatened to boot her off the course. They are asking for over £300 a month and she only works a few hours and gets no help from parents but the finance dept seem really unco-operative and are putting her under real pressure.

Has anyone got any advice or people she could turn to (has applied for hardship fund but was rejected so has applied again) in order to get them to be more reasonable????

I suppose it depends on your idea of "reasonable". As course fees are £3,000 pa. £300 per month isn't unreasonable, particularly if she's run up some arrears. If she doesn't pay it this academic year she'll be unlikely to be able to progress to the next as then the fees for that year will start. How was she planning to pay her fees when she started the course?