Letter to the Chair of the Committee from
the Rt Hon David Willetts MP, Minister for Universities and Science,
Business, Innovation and Skills
HIGHER EDUCATION
I am writing to provide details of the student finance
arrangements for higher education students undertaking a course
of study in England in the academic year beginning September 2012.
I intend to lay regulations implementing the 2012-13 support packages
for new and continuing students before Parliament later this year,
and we will also set out further details of our planned regulatory
reform in the forthcoming Higher Education White paper.
SUPPORT FOR
NEW STUDENTS
IN 2012-13
As part of our support package for new students attending
higher education institutions full-time from September 2012, we
announced a loan of up to £5,500 to help meet the costs of
students living away from home and studying outside London. I
can confirm that the equivalent maintenance loan rates for students
living away from home and studying in London will be up to £7,675;
for those living in the parental home during their studies up
to £4,375; and for those studying at an overseas higher education
institution as part of their UK course, up to £6,535. Students
whose courses demand a longer study period than is standard in
an academic year may also qualify for an additional amount of
loan to reflect this.
I can confirm that new students starting full-time
distance learning courses from September 2012 onwards which are
offered by publicly-funded higher education providers and designated
for support purposes will be subject to the tuition caps regulated
by the Basic and Higher amounts regulations passed by Parliament
in December. Students on these courses will not qualify for the
maintenance support elements of the full-time package, with the
exception of Disabled Students Allowances mentioned below, but
they will, like other full-time students, be able to access loans
to cover tuition costs up to £6,000 or, in certain circumstances,
up to the £9,000 maximum their institutions can charge.
I can also confirm that we will maintain the current
levels of targeted support for both new and continuing students
in 2012-13. This additional non-repayable support is available
to those students who face additional costs in studying because
of disabilities or caring responsibilities. Levels of Disabled
Students' Allowances, Adult Dependants' Grant, Childcare Grant
and Parents' Learning Allowance will be held at 2011-12 amounts.
SUPPORT FOR
CONTINUING STUDENTS
I can also confirm the student support package we
plan to offer in 2012-13 to those students to whom the new arrangements
will not apply. This group of students includes all those whose
courses begin before 1 September 2012, as well as students who
start courses after 1 September 2012 in two specific sets of circumstances.
Firstly, it includes students who have begun a course
before 1 September 2012 but then transfer after that date (in
2012-13 or subsequent academic years) to a different course at
the same or a different institution, as long as their mode of
study remains the same. Secondly, it includes students who begin
an Honours Degree course on or after 1 September 2012 that they
are taking "end on" - that is, immediately (disregarding
any vacation) after completing a lower level course such as an
HND or Foundation Degree that started before 1 September 2012.
Like transferring students, end-on students will only stay on
the existing student support package if their mode of study remains
the same.
Those who change their mode of study in 2012-13 and
subsequent years, for example from full-time to part-time, are
not included in this group and will become eligible for the new
student support package on the course they have moved to.
For continuing full-time students, we propose to
increase the maximum non-repayable maintenance grant level from
£2,906 to £2,984, to provide an uplift in support to
students from the lowest income households. We will hold maintenance
loan support for 2012-13 at the cash amounts announced for 2011-12.
We will maintain 2011-12 cash amounts of non-repayable grant support
for students continuing on designated distance learning courses
in 2012-13. We will also maintain 2011-12 grant support amounts
for continuing part-time students, whose fees will remain unregulated
in 2012-13.
We also intend to adjust by inflation the maximum
tuition loan for 2012-13 to £3,465, to cover corresponding
maximum charges institutions may make to these students.
ALTERNATIVE PROVIDERS
We plan to encourage a more open, dynamic and diverse
higher education (HE) system with a level playing field for providers
of all types. This is an important part of the overall approach
to higher education funding as students gain from a wider choice,
including new providers and new forms of Higher Education provision.
Providers not receiving direct HEFCE grant funding
can already apply to have individual courses designated for student
support purposes, subject to them meeting certain criteria. Students
on these courses can access the same package of student support
as other students, including the maximum loan for tuition.
We plan to increase to £6000 the maximum loan
for tuition available to new students on full time courses wholly
provided by these alternative providers for 2012-13. The equivalent
maximum for part time courses will be £4,500. This level
of limit reflects the fact that these providers are not currently
subject to the same regulatory conditions as publicly funded institutions,
such as access agreements and student number controls.
This will only apply to new students starting courses
at these institutions on or after 1 September 2012 and in all
other respects these students will be eligible for the new 2012-13
package. Full-time students will get maintenance support on the
same basis as other 2012-13 students and all students whether
full-time, part-time or distance learning will repay on the same
basis as other 2012-13 students.
This is an interim measure and will apply until we
are able to introduce legislation to creating a single regulatory
regime for all providers of higher education.
This letter has also gone to Opposition spokespersons
John Denham and Lord Young of Norwood Green, and to Simon Hughes.
I have also written to Steve Smith, President of Universities
UK, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of
the House.
13 April 2011
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