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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

Tuition fees demand from current University

41 replies

Titterofwit · 10/02/2021 11:42

My Dd started University with a foundation course in a subject which she passed and then began a 4 year course in the same subject. On starting the course she and some other student realised that it wasnt set to go in the direction they thought and applied to change courses . This was agreed by the university so she didnt attend after october 2019 . She then started a 3 year course which she is getting on well with.
She has now had all of her access to online study blocked as the university want full tuition fees for the year she didnt attend.
She has been sensible and tried to manage this by contacting the student finance department who have only asked if she had a good reason(possibly sickness /family circs we think) for changing the course. She hasnt ,except misdirection from her course leader.
She has been worried sick before approaching me as I have no money to help her and she only has a 7 hour contract at work so the thought of trying to raise £9000.00 as a 20 year old is daunting to say the least.
Has anyone any thoughts or avenues we can use to try to resolve this .
If she needs to pay there is no question that she will try to wriggle out of it but it seems unfair for her to have to pay for unattended courses.

OP posts:

SeasonFinale · 10/02/2021 12:27

It sounds like she didn't withdraw from the course she was on. When you say this was agreed with the university does she have copies of the emails/other correspondence where they confirm that she can withdraw and change to the new course. This will be the evidence she needs.

MarchingFrogs · 10/02/2021 12:28

The rule is, finance is available for the length of the current course, plus one year, minus any previous years of study. So in this case, 3 years, plus one year, minus two years: the foundation year and the year started but not completed, unfortunately. This would be the case, even if the abandoned year had been paid for without a loan.

This leaves her with only two years of entitlement and the year or years which must be financed by some means other than the loan are always at the beginning of a subsequent course at the same level, hence the current problem.

If the reason for not completing the year was something like documented poor mental or physical health / bereavement or similar, then the year would probably be discounted for loan entitlement purposes. Unfortunately, 'received poor advice' probably won't be enough. It would be worth her contacting the original department, though.

Has she tried speaking to the relevant officer in the SU at her university? Or Citizens Advice?

Original poster

Titterofwit · 10/02/2021 12:35

She does have emails from her course leader about the change . Its so bewildering. They have paid for the last 2 years (foundation and part year ) and the next 2 years but not this one.
How can she pay it herself?
Im in no position to help her financially .Its already costing me extra money having her here all of the time.
She is in despair and wants to throw it all away now. She was already stressed to the max with online learning and now this. Its too much for her to deal with.

OP posts:

SeasonFinale · 10/02/2021 12:38

Sorry I hadn't appreciated she was in her final year. That will be the issue. She has used her 4 years worth of finance.

Original poster

Titterofwit · 10/02/2021 12:56

No sorry . She is actually only in the first year of the course . The one she changed from was th first year of a 4 year course. This one is a 3 year course.
They have paid tuition fees for the foundation year and the one she stopped. They WILL pay for the next 2 years . But the university are demanding payment now for this years fees. All access blocked to course contact and libraries so she is getting behind in her work.
Nobody seems to want to help - they just say pay up .

OP posts:

Original poster

Titterofwit · 10/02/2021 13:05

Sorry MarchingFrogs I didnt see your response when I posted again.
If she does have to ay the full amount they are wanting it before May this year. Is there any way to have the payment deferred/available by instalments or in some way a student with a very small income can cope with.

OP posts:

titchy · 10/02/2021 13:17

Ok bit of clarity over timelines please.

Did she stay at the same uni as the foundation year for the 4 year course? Was the foundation year an integrated part of that course? What course originally went on her student finance form? How many weeks was she on the 4 year course for - less than 2? Exact number of days needed. Did she then have a year out or simply change to the 3 year course to start a few weeks late? Is she now at the same uni or a different one?

MarchingFrogs · 10/02/2021 13:19

I would suggest she contact the finance department again and ask if they will agree to an instalment plan and at the same time contact CA and the SU to ask about the legal position re this (if it were a 'normal' debt, there would be a way of doing this, I think?).

zzzebra · 10/02/2021 13:19

She would have been entitled to 4 years of funding.

She started this new 3year course and they think she only has 2 years funding left. So they are asking for her to pay the first year herself (to save you doing the first two years for free and then dropping out because you can't pay for the final year).

When I was at uni and changed courses I had 6-8weeks to change courses or drop out before they charged student finance. So if I'd had done the same as your daughter i would not have used that 2nd years funding, and would have had the 3 years left to cover the new course (i had also done a foundation year before changing courses).

Did she officially unregister from the uni? Is she at the same uni now? And do you know their terms?

LolaSmiles · 10/02/2021 13:27

I'm not sure 'misdirection' from the course leader would be worth much in this situation as she's an adult who would be expected to get a range of advice to inform their own choice.

A lot will depend on the exact timescales and whether she properly withdrew from the university course

The one she changed from was th first year of a 4 year course. This one is a 3 year course.
They have paid tuition fees for the foundation year and the one she stopped. They WILL pay for the next 2 years
It sounds like she has used 2 years of student finance and only has 2 years of student finance available.

It's usually possible to arrange for direct debit payments for tuition fees, though my experience here is postgraduate, by speaking to the finance office.

PastaAndPizzaPlease · 10/02/2021 13:28

Has she got formal notification of dropping out of Y1? When in the year did she drop out?

If she left before a certain date, and did so properly, she wouldn’t have needed to pay any tuition fees. If she left after that date, the first installment of her tuition fees would have been paid, using up a year of finance.

She needs to provide evidence to student finance that either she left before the cut off date, with relevant paperwork or that the uni have cocked up in not letting SFE know she’d left

titchy · 10/02/2021 13:45

Thing is if she dropped out in October she isn't liable for a full years fees for that year. Her liability is either 25% for one term, or zero if she left within 14 days of the start date.

If the foundation year led onto the 4 year course (ie she was originally expecting to be there for five years) then she hasn't run out of time at all.

We need more information to determine exactly what she should and should be paying for.

And what maintenance has she received from SLC?

lyingwanker · 10/02/2021 13:50

I'm a bit confused by your dates but this might be relevant....

I did a part time 2 year course through open uni with tuition fee funding from student finance. This school year (Sept 2020) I started a 3 year full time degree at a brick uni. I only have 2 years of funding remaining and they make you pay for the FIRST year of your new course. There are very few exceptions to this rule, I even wrote to my MP about it but had no success. I am having to self fund this 1st year.

Original poster

Titterofwit · 10/02/2021 16:15

The foundation year and the first (4 year) course were the same course title.
She spoke to her tutor within the first 2 weeks but stupidly didnt do anything until October. She isnt clear on dates but probably school half term time.
She effectively took the rest of the year out and started the new course (3 year) in the new Academic year.
Tuition fees were paid for the first term only. She has now been told that part year = full year for tuition fees. That wasnt mentioned to her before this recent development.

This is all the same University.

I think its clear that although its terribly unfair to pay such a lot of money for nothing she has no option but to pay. So if she wants to improve her chances she has to find a way to pay this huge sum . I cant help her and her dad isnt on the scene. Has anyone got any ideas of how she does this. She has a job but its only a few contracted hours and they cant offer her any more just now.

They say University is a great way to learn but boy, this lesson is a hard one.

OP posts:

DelphiniumBlue · 10/02/2021 16:23

Doesn't sound right to me - if she formally left the course in October, they might legitimately charge to the end of that that term but not the following 2 terms.
Go back to the university office and ask them to explain why they have charged the full year. Did they actually receive her withdrawal, did she follow correct procedures? Did they?
Might be worth invoking MH issues.

DelphiniumBlue · 10/02/2021 16:30

I meant to say, the university does have obligations towards it's students, if she was leaving/changing course they should have been talking to her about it, maybe providing support , certainly spelling out financial consequences. Student welfare is considered important, and it may be that they won't pursue fees if it can be pointed out that their own guidelines haven't been followed.
Don't just accept this, check the policies, contact the Students Union and the Welfare office for that university.

burnoutbabe · 10/02/2021 16:30

i assume the dropped out year, she will only have 1/3 of that on her student loan account.

However, using up a bit of one year, does mean the whole year counts for this other purpose.

So she needs to pay for the new year 1 now/herself, and years 2 and 3 can go onto the student loan.

Original poster

Titterofwit · 10/02/2021 16:40

Ive suggested to her that she contacts student finance to see if they will accept a small down payment so that she can regain her access first of all.
Hopefully she can come to some sort of arrangement with them and then tackle the whys and wherefores of having to pay for something not received at a later stage.
I know shes an adult but the whole student finance palaver isnt easy to fathom out. Its a necessary evil I know but like most other teenagers she just applied and assumed it would sort itself out. Which in normal year it would . She isnt the expert here and I have no experience so we allowed it to happen without question. But I do know that ignorance of a fact isnt an excuse.
I think its also the unfairness of paying a full year in place of a part year used. So if she had to pay for 2 terms that would be hard but more fair.

It has been hard on her mental health and I advised her to alert the University of this fact . They should be safeguarding students not making things worse .

OP posts:

bibliomania · 10/02/2021 16:47

She needs to talk to the SU or a University officer - might be worth contacting the complaints officer. Someone needs to go through the actual paperwork with her. If she genuinely withdrew or suspended early in the academic year, she shouldn't be charged a year's fees. I have come across a few cases where students stayed enrolled while privately considering themselves suspended so they could keep getting the student loan. If they stay enrolled, obviously tuition fees apply. Did she keep getting a student loan during the year? Not saying this definitely happened, but to my point is that someone will have to look at her specific record - nobody on here will be able to say what happened.

titchy · 10/02/2021 16:49

She has now been told that part year = full year for tuition fees. That wasnt mentioned to her before this recent development.

No that's wrong. SLC have paid for that first terms fees but no more (I hope - she should check). That means she has lost one terms entitlement to a fee loan, not one full year. Who told her part year is the same as a full year?

titchy · 10/02/2021 16:51

I have come across a few cases where students stayed enrolled while privately considering themselves suspended so they could keep getting the student loan. If they stay enrolled, obviously tuition fees apply

Same here (hence why I asked about how much maintenance loan she had for that year) Is this possible OP?

burnoutbabe · 10/02/2021 16:52

she is paying a full year FOR THIS YEAR,

the other part year, will go onto her student loan (and should just be 1/3 of the full year)

it doesn't appear she is being charged for something she has not had. She just can't get a loan for this year, but overall, she won't pay more - just some is payable now and most paid via the loan.

titchy · 10/02/2021 16:54

she is paying a full year FOR THIS YEAR,

She shouldn't be paying for a full year this year though. SLC should pay two terms and she should pay term 1 only.

Assuming she formally withdrew last year and told SLC that....

If she didn't btw and has received maintenance for the year she took off she can ask for her uni to send off a change in circumstance to SLC although she will have to repay the maintenance loan.

bibliomania · 10/02/2021 16:58

Agree with you itchy.

bibliomania · 10/02/2021 16:59

Titchy!

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