Higher Education: Part Time Tuition Fee Policy 2024 - 2025

If you are enrolling as a part time student, you should read and understand the terms of enrolment outlined below before signing the enrolment form. It is particularly important that you understand your liability and our policy concerning payment and refunds.

A full list of the College’s tuition fees can be found at Appendix 1. Students that do not secure support from Student Finance Wales or their employer will be personally liable for the payment of all tuition fees.

NEW PART TIME STUDENTS

Please note: the fees listed are reflective of 23 - 24. Student Finance Wales are yet to release the increase confirmation for 24 - 25. As soon as the small increase is confirmed, this document will be updated.

Part time students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £2,625 to cover the cost of their tuition fees. This will be subject to eligibility criteria. You must be studying at a course intensity of at least 25% to get a grant and loan.

Part time students may also get financial support for living costs. The support takes the form of a combination of grants and loans (depending on eligibility). These include:

• A maintenance loan of up to £5,929 (dependent on household income and study intensity)
• A Welsh Government Learning Grant (WGLG) of at least £250 and up to £4,500 (dependent on household income and study intensity)

Students can also apply for the College hardship fund (Appendix 2) and may be eligible for a range of additional support if they have children, dependent adults, a disability or health condition.

STUDENT FINANCE WALES

All applications for loans and grants will be handled by Student Finance Wales. Detailed information regarding how to claim and what support is available can be found at studentfinancewales.co.uk / Tel: 0300 200 4050

Full time students ordinarily resident in England should apply for support via Student Finance England as different fee support is available Tel: 0845 300 5090.

PAYMENT OF FEES AND LIABILITY

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have adequate funding in place before you commence your studies and incur fees. Part-time students will be asked to confirm when enrolling if they are:

1. paying their own fees
2. being supported by their employer or
3. have claimed support from Student Finance Wales

If you are paying your own fees a maximum of 3 staged payments are permitted if fees exceed £400, whereby a Direct Debit (DD) mandate should be completed at enrolment or returned to Registry no later than the 30th October 2024. The DD payment profile will be as follows:

You will be sent an invoice that will confirm the collection dates and the amounts that will be debited at least 14 days prior to the first direct debit payment. The invoice will be marked ‘For Information Only’. We regret staged payments are only permitted via Direct Debit.

If your employer is intending to pay your fees then you must obtain proof of support from them on your employer’s letterhead, stating to whom an invoice should be addressed and detailing any order numbers/references etc they wish to be quoted on the invoice. Alternatively, prior to enrolment you can request a college ‘Authority to Invoice Employer/Sponsor for Course fees’ form from the Registry Department or any Campus Office for you and your employers to complete. Once completed please either return to your nearest Campus Office or upload on your online account.

If you are claiming support from Student Finance Wales, it is essential you advise Student Finance Wales that you are attending the correct College. Coleg Sir Gar, Coleg Ceredigion and Carmarthen School of Art are all part of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David Group. For fee purposes you must quote: University of Wales Trinity Saint David on all your forms when selecting your institution and Coleg Sir Gar or Coleg Ceredigion when selecting your location of study. Students will be asked to upload proof of funding at enrolment. If you are still in the process of claiming support you will be asked to provide the information required within the following 28 days. If this information is still not provided you will be invoiced in full for your fees to ensure you are aware of your fee liability to the College.

WITHDRAWALS AND REFUNDS

If you are thinking of leaving your course it is important that you seek advice at the earliest opportunity to ensure you are making your decision knowing all the implications. You must formally notify your tutor and the Registry Department immediately of your decision to withdraw or suspend your studies, confirming your last date of attendance. If claiming support, you should also contact Student Finance Wales as your withdrawal may jeopardise your future entitlement to financial support.

A two-week grace period from the start of your course will be given when no fees are charged. Following the two-week grace period, the following payment terms will apply in line with the Student Loans terms and conditions, which are:

NON-PAYMENT OF FEES 

If at any time you are experiencing problems with fee payment, please speak to your tutor or seek the assistance of the Wellbeing Officer located on your campus. 

Any student completing an academic year of study with any unpaid fees will not be permitted to reenrol in the next academic year until all fees outstanding are paid in full. Failure to pay any charges made to you by the College for any goods or services provided, will result in County Court action being taken to recover the sum(s) outstanding. Third party Debt Recovery Agencies may also be used in an attempt to collect any outstanding fees, the cost of which will be added to your debt. If any of this action becomes necessary, we may use Personal information provided by you in order to conduct appropriate anti-fraud checks. Personal Information that you provide may be disclosed to a credit reference or fraud prevention agency, which may keep a record of that information.

APPENDIX 1

HE Part Time Tuition Fees - Home Students only

APPENDIX 2 - HIGHER EDUCATION HARDSHIP FUND: FULL AND PART TIME STUDENTS 

This is an additional source of financial support for any student who has taken out a Student Loan (if eligible) and is suffering financial hardship. An applicant also has to prove that she/he has exhausted all other funding sources, including their overdraft provision before an application can be considered. 

Financial support is available to any UK student studying at least 50% equivalent to a full-time course. A student can apply for funding at any time during the course and can re-apply if in financial difficulties. Usually, funds are not repayable. 

Further information contact: 

• a) financialsupport@colegsirgar.ac.uk or 
• b) financialsupport@ceredigion.ac.uk