PART 6TUITION FEE LOANS
Tuition fee loan
38. A tuition fee loan is a loan made available by the Welsh Ministers to an eligible student for the payment of tuition fees in respect of an academic year.
Qualifying conditions for tuition fee loan
39. An eligible student qualifies for a tuition fee loan in respect of an academic year of the present course unless one of the following exceptions applies—
Exception 1
Where the present course is not an accelerated graduate entry course, the academic year is an Erasmus year of a course provided by an institution in Northern Ireland.
Exception 2
Where the present course is not an accelerated graduate entry course, the academic year is a year in respect of which a student is eligible to apply for—
(a)a healthcare bursary, or
(b)a Scottish healthcare allowance,
calculated by reference to the student’s income (whether or not the calculation results in a nil amount).
Exception 3
Where the present course is a part-time course or an accelerated graduate entry course, the academic year is an Erasmus year of the course provided by an institution anywhere in the United Kingdom.
Exception 4
The present course is a distance learning course and the student is not in Wales on the first day of the first academic year of the course.
But this Exception does not apply where—
(a)the student (“S”) or a close relative of S is a member of the armed forces,
(b)S is not in Wales on the first day of the first academic year, and
(c)S is not in Wales on that day because S or the close relative is serving as a member of the armed forces outside Wales.
Amount of tuition fee loan
40.—(1) An amount of tuition fee loan in respect of an academic year may not exceed the lower of—
(a)the tuition fees payable by the eligible student in respect of that year, or
(b)the maximum loan amount.
(2) The maximum loan amount is calculated in accordance with Table 2 where—
(a)Column 1 specifies the academic year in relation to which the maximum loan amounts in Column 5 are payable;
(b)Column 2 specifies the category of student to whom the maximum loan amounts in Column 5 apply (see paragraph (3));
(c)Column 3 specifies the type of course provider, where—
(i)“ordinary provider” means a provider falling within Condition 4 of Regulation 6(1);
(ii)“private institution” means an institution, which is not a recognised educational institution, providing a course specified as a designated course by the Welsh Ministers under regulation 8;
(d)Column 4 specifies the location of the institution providing the course;
(e)Column 5 specifies the maximum loan amount applicable in respect of the corresponding entries in Columns 1, 2, 3 and 4.
(3) The categories of students set out in Column 2 are—
Category 1
An eligible student undertaking a designated course who does not fall within Category 2, 3, 4 or 5.
Category 2
An eligible student undertaking the final academic year of a full-time course which ordinarily requires attendance of less than 15 weeks in order to be completed.
Category 3
An eligible student undertaking an academic year of a sandwich course provided by an institution in the United Kingdom where—
(a)the periods of full-time study undertaken at the institution during that academic year are in aggregate less than 10 weeks, or
(b)the periods spent undertaking the course during that academic year and any previous academic years (which are not periods of full-time study at the institution), disregarding intervening vacations, are in aggregate more than 30 weeks.
Category 4
An eligible student undertaking an academic year of a course provided by an institution in the United Kingdom in conjunction with an institution which is outside the United Kingdom where—
(a)the periods of full-time study undertaken at the institution in the United Kingdom during that academic year are in aggregate less than 10 weeks, or
(b)the periods spent undertaking the course during that academic year and any previous academic years (which are not periods of full-time study at the institution in the United Kingdom), disregarding intervening vacations, are in aggregate more than 30 weeks,
including an eligible student undertaking an Erasmus year of a full-time course provided by an institution in England, Scotland or Wales.
Category 5
An eligible student undertaking an accelerated graduate entry course.
Table 2
Column 1 Academic year | Column 2 Category of student | Column 3 Course provider type | Column 4 Location of course provider | Column 5 Maximum loan amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginning on or after 1 September2018 | 1 | Ordinary provider | Wales | £9,000 for a full-time course £2,625 for a part-time course |
| Elsewhere in UK | £9250 for a full-time course £6,935 for a part-time course | |||
| Private institution | Wales | £6,165 for a full-time course £2,625 for a part-time course | ||
| Elsewhere in UK | £6,165 for a full-time course £4,625 for a part-time course | |||
| 2 | Ordinary provider | Wales | £4,500 | |
| Elsewhere in UK | £4,625 | |||
| Private institution | Wales and Elsewhere in UK | £3,080 | ||
| 3 | Ordinary provider | Wales | £1,800 | |
| England | £1,850 | |||
| Scotland and Northern Ireland | £4,625 | |||
| Private institution | Wales and England | £1,230 | ||
| Scotland and Northern Ireland | £3,080 | |||
| 4 | Ordinary provider | Wales | £1,350 | |
| England and Scotland | £1,385 | |||
| Northern Ireland | £4,625 | |||
| Private institution | Wales, England and Scotland | £920 | ||
| Northern Ireland | £3,080 | |||
| 5 | Ordinary provider | Wales and Elsewhere in UK | £5,535 |
Applying for a fee loan for less than the maximum amount
41. An eligible student may apply under regulation 32 to borrow part of the tuition fee loan available in respect of an academic year.
Further application for tuition fee loan up to maximum amount
42. Where—
(a)an eligible student applies for part of the tuition fee loan under regulation 41, or
(b)an additional amount of tuition fee loan is made available to an eligible student following a transfer and reassessment made under Section 5 of Chapter 2 of Part 4,
the student may make a further application under regulation 32 for the remaining balance of the tuition fee loan available in respect of that academic year.