Refused eligibility for Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Grant ~ previous education

marukhalid

Hi,
My brother is going into second year of his course in sep 2015-2016 in uk university.SFE refused his eligibility to tuition fee loan and maintenance grant for 2015-2016.He is only getting maintenance loan of £5740 for 2015-2016 session.SFE state that he has done three years of previous study and is eligible for only 1 year of full funding in 2016-2017.However,my brother did a foundation course from Nov 2010-Oct 2011 on self finance in home country and First year of BA in 2013-2014 as international student in uk.SFE says that the foundation course from Nov 2010 to Oct 2011 spans two academic years according to uk so this combined with one year as international student makes three years of previous study making him eligible for only one year fundin.This clause is wrong.SFE advisor said the course

SFE ADVISOR:

''Hi,

As I have explained in my two previous emails, the UK academic year runs from September to August, therefore November to October falls after the start of the UK academic year and finishes after the start of teh next academic year, giving two years of study.

I cannot give you any further information''

Processing Tier 2 Team
sfe


We have appealed the decision on 10 Aug and waiting for an outcome of appeal.In the appeal we stated that surely the total sum of academic months of the academic year of foundation course should be considered and not the start and end date of the foundation course.FINGERS CROSSED.We are going to complain on the decision as well.
Please help if you have any suggestions of what I can/should do ahead.

Section from part of the appeal:

''The reason of appeal was due to refusal of Sibtay’s eligibility for Tuition fee Loan and Maintenance Grant for academic year 2015/2016
I wanted to add into the appeal that it should be noted in other countries, courses can start earlier or later in the year when compared to UK educational institutes. Surely, it is the sum total of academic months that make up an academic year and not when a course starts or finishes. I strongly believe the academic term i.e. the portion of the academic year in which a foundation course is completed is important for calculating the years of previous study and not the start and end period of the foundation course.
A foundation course is basically a one year preparation course designed for international students which leads to undergraduate programmes in the UK. Normally, it is for those who have studied a non-British curriculum but wish to peruse a degree at UK university.
Please find attached above the response of advisor of SFE Processing Tier Two Team when I requested him to clarify how exactly the foundation course spans two years.
I look forward with great interest to the outcome of the appeal.''

Mariam khalid

Ed-1

marukhalid wrote: »

Hi,
My brother is going into second year of his course in sep 2015-2016 in uk university.SFE refused his eligibility to tuition fee loan and maintenance grant for 2015-2016.He is only getting maintenance loan of £5740 for 2015-2016 session.SFE state that he has done three years of previous study and is eligible for only 1 year of full funding in 2016-2017.However,my brother did a foundation course from Nov 2010-Oct 2011 on self finance in home country and First year of BA in 2013-2014 as international student in uk.SFE says that the foundation course from Nov 2010 to Oct 2011 spans two academic years according to uk so this combined with one year as international student makes three years of previous study making him eligible for only one year fundin.This clause is wrong.SFE advisor said the course

SFE ADVISOR:

''Hi,

As I have explained in my two previous emails, the UK academic year runs from September to August, therefore November to October falls after the start of the UK academic year and finishes after the start of teh next academic year, giving two years of study.

I cannot give you any further information''

Processing Tier 2 Team
sfe


We have appealed the decision on 10 Aug and waiting for an outcome of appeal.In the appeal we stated that surely the total sum of academic months of the academic year of foundation course should be considered and not the start and end date of the foundation course.FINGERS CROSSED.We are going to complain on the decision as well.
Please help if you have any suggestions of what I can/should do ahead.

Section from part of the appeal:

''The reason of appeal was due to refusal of Sibtay’s eligibility for Tuition fee Loan and Maintenance Grant for academic year 2015/2016
I wanted to add into the appeal that it should be noted in other countries, courses can start earlier or later in the year when compared to UK educational institutes. Surely, it is the sum total of academic months that make up an academic year and not when a course starts or finishes. I strongly believe the academic term i.e. the portion of the academic year in which a foundation course is completed is important for calculating the years of previous study and not the start and end period of the foundation course.
A foundation course is basically a one year preparation course designed for international students which leads to undergraduate programmes in the UK. Normally, it is for those who have studied a non-British curriculum but wish to peruse a degree at UK university.
Please find attached above the response of advisor of SFE Processing Tier Two Team when I requested him to clarify how exactly the foundation course spans two years.
I look forward with great interest to the outcome of the appeal.''

Mariam khalid

Eligibility is determined in accordance with The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011.

In these regulations, “academic year” means the period of twelve months beginning on 1st January, 1st April, 1st July or 1st September of the calendar year in which the academic year of the course in question begins according to whether that academic year begins on or after 1st January and before 1st April, on or after 1st April and before 1st July, on or after 1st July and before 1st August or on or after 1st August and on or before 31st December, respectively.

Your brother's foundation degree started after 1st August but before 31st December so his academic year started on 1st September 2010 and ended on 31st August 2011. However he continued to study beyond 31st August 2011 into a second academic year.

Regulation 12 paragraph 8 provides us with the necessary information on how this is treated:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1986/regulation/12/made

12.(8) Subject to paragraphs (9), (10) and (11), for the purpose of determining PC in the formulae in regulations 21 and 29—

(a)each academic year that the student completed on a previous course is counted; and
(b)an academic year of a previous course that the student began or ceased to attend part of the way through the year is counted as one academic year on a previous course.

(This applies regardless of whether previous study was self-funded.)

12(8)(a) is the period of your brother's foundation degree from November 2010 to 31st August 2011. This is counted as one year studied on a previous course.

12(8)(b) is the period on your brother's foundation degree from 1st September 2011 to October 2011. This is counted as a second year studied on a previous course (as it falls within a 2nd academic year regardless of the fact the course is 1 year).

You say your bother studied the first year of a BA in academic year 2013/14 and is going into the second year of a course in 2015/16 - is this the same BA course?

The standard entitlement is worked out as OD - PC + 1 where OD is the ordinary duration of the course being studied and PC is the number of years studied on previous courses.

If your brother is continuing on the same BA course that he studied the first year of in 2013/14, assuming the course is 3 years duration, he is entitled to 3 - 2 + 1 = 2 years of funding for the BA course which is applied backwards from the final year - so he should only be eligible for full funding for years 2 and 3 of the BA course (he shouldn't have got full funding in the first year). As the BA isn't an equivalent or lower level qualification to one he already holds, he would be eligible for a maintenance loan only in the first year of the BA course.

So assuming he is continuing on the BA course in 2015/16, it appears that Student Finance England have realised their mistake in awarding full funding for the first year of the course in 2013/14 and are correcting it by only awarding the maintenance loan for the second year.

If he is going into the second year of a different course to the BA which he studied the first year of in 2013/14 (you don't say) and is skipping the first year then assuming the ordinary duration of the course is 3 years his standard entitlement is calculated as 3 - 3 + 1 = 1 year of funding left which is applied to the final year. So he would only be eligible for full funding in 2016/17 for his final year and maintenance loan only for any other years.

Hope that helps explain where Student Finance England are coming from (they appear to have made the correct entitlement). They are bound to follow these regulations and have no discretion except for cases of compelling personal reasons etc.

marukhalid

Hi,
Thank you so much for your detailed reply.I really appreciate that.
Yes the course was 3 years.
Actually he changed his course and university because student finance advisors asked him to change it due to some other complications and said he should start on a brand new course in a new university.
However,recently his prospective university told him they will give offer for BA Fine Art second year same course as he studied in 2013-2014..but not in second year of BA Fine Art and Film Studies...Therefore he has decided that he will go into second year of SAME COURSE as he studied in 2013-2014 but in a different univeristy.He had withdrawn from his previous university long ago which was asked to do by the student finance advisors themselves.
Anyway,does this mean that if he notifies the SFE that he has changed his course from combined hons to single one (he did single in 2013-2014) and going into new univeristy,he will get full funding with loans and grants for two remaining years of his study i.e 2015-2017?

marukhalid

To clarify you that he studied in 2013-2014 as an international student (he had not met the eligibility requirements for student finance as home student).Therefore he stuied on self finance and parent's help,Did you mean he will not be able to get maintenance loan and/or grant in two coming years?Or does it depend on tution fee loan entitlement.At the moment he is entitled to £0.0 tuition fee loan and £5740 maintenance loan in second year 2015-2016.

Taiko

Do you mean a foundation degree or a foundation year? Both are different things.

marukhalid

It none of them.Instead its only one Year 'Art and Design Foundation Course' taken before an undergraduate course (mostly neccassary before undergraduate courses).

Also his first year of undergraduate course i.e. BA (hons) Fine Art was at Art Univeristy Bournemouth (2013-2014) as as international student where he paid the tution fees himself and did not get any funding at all from SFE.

Ps,as he was advised by his Oxford Brookes University,he has changed his course for second year 2015-2016 at Oxford Brookes Univeristy from BA (combined hons) Fine Art and Film Studies to BA (single hons) Fine Art.So basically he will start the same course from second year entry in sep 2015 in which he completed his first year in 2013-2014 i,e BA Fine Arts (single hons).

He will update this change now on online sfe account.

Its been more than 20 working days and we have not heard back about the appeal (sent on 10 AUG) so I have filed a complaint today to SFE complaints.

Thanks

Ed-1

marukhalid wrote: »

Also his first year of undergraduate course i.e. BA (hons) Fine Art was at Art Univeristy Bournemouth (2013-2014) as as international student where he paid the tution fees himself and did not get any funding at all from SFE.

The fact that he self-financed/was not eligible for funding as a home student does not change anything. The issue here is previous study and any years or part-years studied on an academic year as defined in the regulations regardless of how it was funded counts against future years funding entitlement.

marukhalid wrote: »

Anyway,does this mean that if he notifies the SFE that he has changed his course from combined hons to single one (he did single in 2013-2014) and going into new univeristy,he will get full funding with loans and grants for two remaining years of his study i.e 2015-2017?

No because it does't alter the fact that he has 2 years of previous study on the foundation course in 2010-11 + 1 year of previous study on the BA course from 2013-14. i.e. 3 years of previous study in total.

If he is now qualifying for living cost support as a home student his entitlement for a tuition fee loan (maintenance grant is conditional on being eligible for a tuition fee loan) is the ordinary duration of the course (3 years) + 1 year - number of years previous study (3 years) = 1 year of tuition fee/maintenance grant funding left which is applied to the final year of the course (2016/17).

He is only entitled to a maintenance loan for any other years (as a home student/EU student with 3 years residency you are entitled to a maintenance loan if you do not hold an equivalent or lower level qualification to the course you're studying).

Taiko

Shouldn't be denied support at all, as Art foundation years are FE courses.

SFE should realise this mistake, as those free standing foundations are designated as FE, not HE. The only way to get SFE funding for a foundation diploma in Art, which is what you're describing, is if they are in integral part of the BA course.

The type of course I'm referring to is along these lines:

http://www.kingston.ac.uk/undergraduate-course/art-design-foundation-diploma/student-achievements.html

Can you post up a link to the course from the home country, or something similar? I'll translate it if isn't in English.

marukhalid

Hello,

Thank you for your responses.
I understand your point now,Unfortunately,on his foundation course instituition website,there is no specific link or similar thing to the pre BA foundation course which I could forward you as the webiste doesnt seem much updated.
However,I just went back and checked old records.I viewed with my brother his sfe account.Also he has given me consent to do that.He had made 3 applications to sfe in total.The first one he made was in 2012-2013 whilst he didnt know that he wouldnt get any funding being an international student.In that application,on the question of previous study,he had put yes to HE course.He obviously didnt understand these terms then and filled his application by himself...This thing is saved in his sfe record and even if it can be amended,I DO NOT know a way how to convince SFE this thing that it was a mistake on his part.I looked up for clarifications/definations of further education and higher education courses and now I am able to understand where all this difference is coming from and how sfe is assessing his application and his appeal.I am not sure what can be done now,

Do you think,if SIbtay calls up and confirms this or writes a letter,it shall be considered? Sibtay has not yet amended his previous sfe applications online for this purpose although i think it can be done.I am not sure if they still are able to view any changes made to applications that long ago.Ps,sibtay did send once a letter requesting all previous applications to be cancelled.He never changed that mistake though since he didnt know until now.

Regards

Taiko

It can all be amended, so write it in the appeal. Evidence it, and post back with the response.

marukhalid

Thanks.I will write it to appeal via email and post too and also send a separate one by post to general darlington office if they dont amend it on phone.

I will update you soon.