PART 4FEE SUPPORT

CHAPTER 3FEE LOANS FOR CURRENT SYSTEM STUDENTS

Availability of fee loans to current system students - generalI120

1

A current system student does not qualify for a fee loan F1or relevant institution charge loan in respect of a designated course if—

a

the designated course leads to an equivalent or lower qualification, the exemptions in regulation 14(1) to (4) do not apply and the student begins the course on or after 1st September 2009;

b

the student has an honours degree from an institution in the United Kingdom, the exemptions in regulation 14(1), (2) or (5) do not apply;

c

the student has an honours degree from an institution in the Republic of Ireland for which he received financial support under previous regulations and the exemptions in regulation 14(1), (2) or (5) do not apply; or

d

the designated course is an old flexible postgraduate course for the initial training of teachers.

2

Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(a) to (c), a current system student qualifies for fee support in respect of a course leading to a degree in social work at an educational institution in Northern Ireland.

3

A current system student does not qualify for a fee loan F1or relevant institution charge loan in respect of—

a

an academic year of a designated course that is F2—

i

a bursary year;

ii

an Erasmus year of a course provided by an institution in Northern Ireland F11...; or

iii

an Erasmus year of a course provided by an institution in England F12, Wales or Scotland where the course began before 1st September 2012; or

b

a year for which he is in receipt of funding from the Department to participate in a management development programme known as F3Study USA.

4

When assessing an application for support in respect of an academic year of a designated course, the Department must determine the “standard entitlement”.

5

The standard entitlement is calculated in accordance with regulation 21, 22, 23 or 24.

6

When assessing an application for support in respect of an academic year of a designated course, the Department must allocate a fee loan F1or relevant institution charge loan from the standard entitlement first to the final standard academic year of the course and then to each preceding standard academic year in turn until the standard entitlement is exhausted or a fee loan F1or student contribution charge has been allocated to each standard academic year of the course.

7

A current system student qualifies for a fee loan F1or relevant institution charge loan in respect of a standard academic year of the designated course if the Department allocates a fee loan F1or relevant institution charge loan to that year when assessing the application for support for that year.

F48

In addition to the standard entitlement, a current system student who falls within regulation 23 and has failed to complete the most recent previous course because of compelling personal reasons qualifies for a fee loan in respect of the first academic year that the student takes of the designated course that is not—

a

a bursary year;

b

an Erasmus year of a course provided by an institution in Northern Ireland F13...; or

c

an Erasmus year of a course provided by an institution in England F14, Wales or Scotland where the course began before 1st September 2012;

F78A

In addition to the standard entitlement, a current system student to whom regulation 24(2) applies qualifies for a fee loan or relevant institution charge loan in respect of the first academic year that the student takes of the designated course that is not a bursary year or an Erasmus year of a course provided by an institution in Northern Ireland F15... where—

a

the current course begins on or after 1st September 2014; and

b

the preliminary course was a part-time course.

9

Where a current system student qualifies for a fee loan F1or relevant institution charge loan under paragraph (8), the Department must not allocate a fee loan F1or relevant institution charge loan under paragraph (6) to the first academic year that the student takes of the designated course that is not F5—

a

a bursary year;

b

an Erasmus year of a course provided by an institution in Northern Ireland F16...; or

c

an Erasmus year of a course provided by an institution in England F17, Wales or Scotland where the course began before 1st September 2012;.

F89A

Where a current system student qualifies for a fee loan or relevant institution charge loan under paragraph (8A), the Department must not allocate a fee loan or relevant institution charge loan under paragraph (6) to the first academic year that the student takes of the designated course that is not a bursary year or an Erasmus year of a course provided by an institution in Northern Ireland F18....

10

In addition to the standard entitlement, if the Department determines that the student is repeating an academic year of the designated course because of compelling personal reasons, a current system student qualifies for a fee loan F1and student contribution charge in respect of the year of repeat study provided that the academic year that the student is repeating was a qualifying year of study and the year of repeat study is not a bursary year.

11

A current system student qualifies for a fee loan F1and student contribution charge in respect of an academic year of a designated course that is a year of repeat study which the student is taking other than for compelling personal reasons if—

a

the academic year which the student is repeating was a qualifying year of study;

b

the academic year of repeat study is not a bursary year; and

c

when the academic year of repeat study is added to the number of any other academic years of repeat study that the student has already taken on the current course other than for compelling personal reasons, it does not exceed the number of additional years of support.

12

In this regulation, the “number of additional years of support” is the number of years which make up the standard entitlement less the number of standard academic years (plus one where the student qualifies for a fee loan F1or relevant institution charge loan under paragraph (8) F9(or 8A)).

13

The amount of the fee loan F10... in respect of an academic year is determined in accordance with regulation 25 and may be nil.

F614

The amount of the relevant institution charge loan in respect of an academic year is determined in accordance with regulation 25A and may be nil.