How previous assistance affects tuition fees
We will not usually pay your tuition fees if you have previously been on a full-time higher education course at HNC, HND, degree or equivalent level, and had help from public funds to do so.
If you are studying in Scotland , and you are returning after a break in study of one year or more, you may be eligible to apply for some of your fees. If your college or university are charging you more than the standard £1,255 fee you can apply to us to pay the difference between the normal standard tuition fee of £1,255 and the higher tuition fee of £1,775 (£2,825 for medicine).
The rules relating to support are complicated. If you are in any doubt about your entitlement, you should contact us to confirm whether we can pay your tuition fees for your new course.
The main points to remember are as follows.
- If you have received support for a HNC but did not gain a qualification, we will not pay your fees for another HNC.
- We will not support you for an HNC course if you already hold a qualification at HNC or HND level (or above), for which you received support from public funds.
- If you have completed a course leading to an HND, a Diploma in Higher Education, or certain other two-year full-time courses of higher education, you may qualify for support for the second and any following years of a degree course.
- If you change course or institution after receiving tuition fees for more than one year, your entitlement to more payments will be limited. We will pay standard tuition fee for the minimum length of your new course or the minimum length of your old course, whichever is longer, less the period of support you have already received.
- If you have received support for an ordinary degree and you are not qualified with a profession, you may still qualify for support for an honours year.
If your entitlement is not enough to cover the full length of your new course, the support will be available for the later years of the course. For example, if you have had support for two years of a five-year course, you are entitled to another three years' support. If you then transfer to year one of a new four-year course, you will receive support for the last three years of your new course only, so you will not receive the standard tuition fees during the first year of your new course.
The rules relating to support are complicated. If you are in any doubt about your entitlement, you should contact us as soon as possible for advice. We strongly advise you to contact us before you change your course if you already hold a qualification at HNC, HND, degree or equivalent level, which you gained without support from public funds. You may qualify for support to take a second full-time course at the same level.
^ Return to the top of the page.
How previous assistance affects the student loan, supplementary grants, young students bursary, students outside Scotland bursary and Additional Loan
Previous study does not affect your entitlement to a student loan or to appropriate supplementary grants. You can apply for this help even if you have received previous support for a full-time higher education course.
Previous study does affect your entitlement to the Bursary and Additional Loan. You may not receive the Bursary or the Additional Loan during any session when we do not pay the standard rate of your tuition fees.
^ Return to the top of the page.
Allied Health Profession students
If you have completed a degree course with support from public funds and would like to study one of the Allied Health Professions, you may qualify for the current Scottish Government Health Department support package for the first two years from the time you enter the course.
^ Return to the top of the page.
How previous assistance affects Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) and Postgraduate Diplomas in Community Education (PGDipCE) students
If you begin a PGCE, PGDE or PGDipCE course in Scotland in 2006-2007, immediately after completing your degree, you will be liable for the new higher fee of £1,775. We will pay your tuition fees direct to your college or university if you are eligible
If you are studying in a UK institution outside Scotland , you will be entitled to apply for the non income-assessed loan for tuition fees and the £2,095 Students' Outside Scotland Bursary
If you have previously taken a postgraduate course, including teacher training, with or without support from UK public funds, or if your first degree, funded from UK public funds, has qualified you for a profession (for example, accountancy, architecture, engineering, medicine, nursing, ministers of religion and priests, physiotherapy or podiatry), we will not normally give you full funding for a second postgraduate course. This is not a full list, if you want to know if your first degree qualifies you with a profession, please contact us.
Your entitlement to tuition fees and (if these apply) the Bursary or Additional Loan may be affected. However, you can apply for the student loan and supplementary grants (if these apply).
But the following applies.
- If you have taken a course which qualified for an advanced research-level postgraduate award, you can still apply for support for a vocational postgraduate award.
- There is an exception in the case of teacher training for certain priority secondary school subjects in Scotland . Students taking PGDE courses in these subjects may receive an award no matter what their previous postgraduate or undergraduate study. This concession is available once only. The subjects covered are mathematics, English, Gaelic, modern languages (French, German, Italian and Spanish), physics, technological education, biology, business education, history, geography, physical education, religious education, home economics and primary .
^ Return to the top of the page.
How previous assistance affects postgraduate students except those doing a PGDE or PGDipCE
If you have previously taken a postgraduate course, including teacher training, with support from UK public funds, we will not normally give you funding for a second postgraduate course. However, if you have taken a course which qualified for an advanced research-level postgraduate award, such as a PhD, you can still apply for support for a vocational postgraduate award.