Should this calculation be used for part time students?

SuperCat007

Note: THIS IS ONLY FOR PEOPLE WANTING TO GO FROM PART TIME TO FULL TIME STUDY. However, if this doesn't apply to you I would still appreciate your opinion. I just don't want to panic anybody unnecessarily.

As I'm sure you all know SFE use the calculation: (Length of new course + 1) - (years already spent in higher education) = entitlement at time of application

This means that if you're a part time student as the calculation doesn't state "qualification gained in H.E." EVERY YEAR YOU SPENT IN H.E. WILL BE COUNTED TOWARDS YOUR ENTITLEMENT regardless of how many equivalent university years you completed.

e.g. you study at 50% rate and take 2 years to complete year 1 of a degree. If you then want to go into full time study the calculation will be: (length of new course + 1) - 2 = entitlement. So if your course is 3 years and you have to start from year 1 your calculation is: (3+1) - (2) = 2 years full time funding. So you will have to self fund year 1. However, to study part time you will still be entitled to 16 years - 2 years = 14 years part time funding for tuition fees at £6750 per academic year. Remember there are no maintenance loans for living costs for part time students.

I do not believe that this is fair, I do not think that such a rigid calculation should be used to assess part time study. Especially considering part time and full time study are considered separate by SFE. I think that they should take the qualification you gained from your entitlement. So if you took 4 years studying for a level 1 qualification rather than having (3+1) - (4) = 0 years funding you should have (3+1) - (1) = 3 years funding available to you for your 3 year degree, depending upon equivalent qualifications etc.

I just wanted to gauge a response to this and see if other people felt the same, I feel we need to fight this because it is very unfair, but obviously I cannot do it alone.

Thanks for reading.