Student Finance Appeal for Second HND – Cybersecurity vs Songwriting

psychekiro

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get advice or hear from others who’ve been through a similar situation.

I recently started an HND in Cybersecurity, but Student Finance England rejected my application for tuition and maintenance loans because I previously completed an HND in Songwriting at BIMM. I’ve submitted an appeal explaining that the new course is in a completely different subject area, with no overlap in content or career outcomes.

Cybersecurity is a high-demand field with national importance, and I plan to progress from this HND to a master’s and eventually a doctorate. I’ve included course modules, career plans, and references to the UK’s National Cyber Strategy in my appeal.

Has anyone successfully appealed a second qualification decision based on subject difference or career progression? What kind of supporting evidence helped your case? Also, if the appeal is rejected, what options did you explore for funding or continuing the course?

Any advice, experience, or encouragement would be hugely appreciated.


I have contacted BIMM to clarify the course details because I took the course in 2008 and they have changed their course structure a lot since then but here is details I can remember so far:
Foundation Diploma in Professional Musicianship – Guitar - Full Time - 1 year course - pass grade

New course - HND Cybersecurity - 2 year course - Any universities that I can apply for studying online only - Full Time course - I started the course this September.

marcia_

psychekiro said:

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get advice or hear from others who’ve been through a similar situation.

I recently started an HND in Cybersecurity, but Student Finance England rejected my application for tuition and maintenance loans because I previously completed an HND in Songwriting at BIMM. I’ve submitted an appeal explaining that the new course is in a completely different subject area, with no overlap in content or career outcomes.

Cybersecurity is a high-demand field with national importance, and I plan to progress from this HND to a master’s and eventually a doctorate. I’ve included course modules, career plans, and references to the UK’s National Cyber Strategy in my appeal.

Has anyone successfully appealed a second qualification decision based on subject difference or career progression? What kind of supporting evidence helped your case? Also, if the appeal is rejected, what options did you explore for funding or continuing the course?

Any advice, experience, or encouragement would be hugely appreciated.


I have contacted BIMM to clarify the course details because I took the course in 2008 and they have changed their course structure a lot since then but here is details I can remember so far:
Foundation Diploma in Professional Musicianship – Guitar - Full Time - 1 year course - pass grade

New course - HND Cybersecurity - 2 year course - Any universities that I can apply for studying online only - Full Time course - I started the course this September.

 I don't see how it's relevant that the course subject is different. They won't pay for you to do another qualification at the same level 

silvercar

You need to be on a course that leads to a higher level qualification than the one you already have. 

psychekiro

Damn, one option I was advised was ask the educational provider to study the course at a degree level which could then include a foundation level for the cybersecurity course. I want to get to doctorate level as a long term goal and maybe, if I can explain to the assessor that it is a completely different industry and that the course will provide a service on a national level for UK which will be high in demand in the foreseeable future with current shortages, I may get lucky for an exception. If I can get the tuition loan and not a maintenance loan, that would still be a great win but I respect that the policy does state only 1 loan per qualification. 

I can always provide practical achievements on my CV such as bug bounties, CTF project and other app development themed cybersecurity instead to try and qualify for a degree course that way so I guess I can use this as a backup plan instead if I cannot go down the HND route.