Part-time study

Fees and funding

Kent’s part-time students may be eligible for funding from either their Student Finance England or the University. The financial support is designed to help you with your tuition fees or with other studying costs, such as books and travel.

Tuition fees

Fees in 2012

Please note: fees may vary substantially in 2012 due to changes in central government funding. Please read the information regarding Equivalent or Lower Level Qualification (ELQ) fees.

Your university tuition fees are due at the start of each academic year and vary according to your programme of study. For a general explanation of how your credits build up into a certificate, diploma or degree see our information on choosing your course.

Most of our part-time programmes are based on 60 credits per year (50% of a full-time programme). However this rate of study can vary,so please check your specific programme entry for details.

The tuition fees listed in the pages below and on the course pages are for the academic year 2011/12 and may be subject to an increase in subsequent years of study.

To gain a certificate, you need 120 credits. You can then study 120 credits at diploma level and a further 120 credits at degree level.

Financial support

Kent’s part-time students may be eligible for funding from either Student Finance England or the University. The financial support is designed to help you with your tuition fees or with other studying costs, such as books and travel.

To qualify for any of the available sources of funding, you need to be a home fee-paying student. Please note that if you already have a Higher Education qualification you may not be eligible for funding. (See ELQ information, right.) Before making an application for funding, you need to be accepted and registered on to a specific programme of part-time study.

Your household income

Most of the funding available is dependent on your household income after certain deductions are made. As a rough guide, take the total gross income of your household, and deduct £2,000 if you have a partner. Then deduct £2,000 for your eldest dependent child and £1,000 for every other dependent child in the household.

The amount you are left with will, in most cases, be the household income that your funding is assessed on. However, please bear in mind that other deductions may be possible.

Student Finance England (SFE)

SFE may be able to contribute towards the cost of your fees and study costs. Please refer to the DirectGov website for more information.

University of Kent

The University of Kent may also be able to contribute towards the cost of your studies. The following criteria will help you to decide whether you are eligible for University funding.

  • Students taking less than 60 credits a year are not entitled to funding from the SFE. However, if your household income after deductions is less than £20,100*, you may apply for University funding for your tuition fees.
  • If you are eligible to receive a SFE fees grant, but this does not cover the full cost of your tuition fees, the University of Kent may waive the remaining fees. Further support for the difference may be available from the Additional Fee Support Scheme.
  • Another possible source of financial support towards your living costs is the Access to Learning Fund, if you are studying at least 60 credits a year and can demonstrate that you are in financial difficulties.

* 2010/11 figures

Equivalent or Lower Level Qualifications (ELQ)

The Government no longer provides funding for students who wish to study a higher education qualification that is equivalent to, or at a lower level than one they have already achieved. The University will therefore charge a different (higher) rate of tuition fees to students who already have such qualifications.

The University continues to welcome applicants who wish to return to university for a further university level qualification, either to enhance their skills or improve their employment prospects, as we believe that re-skilling is important both to individuals, as part of their personal and professional development, and to the economic growth of the country.

However, in response to the Government’s decision to change the funding model for higher education, the University is required to charge a higher-rate fee to all students, whether part-time or full-time, who hold an equivalent or higher level qualification and, therefore, are not eligible for Government funding. The ELQ fee will be the same as that currently charged to students from the Channel Islands (pro-rata for part-time students).

Applicants are required to disclose details of all qualifications they hold at the point of application in order that a proper assessment of fee status can be made. The University will take action to reclaim fees retrospectively from registered students who are undercharged, if such undercharging was the result of the applicant failing to provide complete or accurate qualifications data on which their fee status was based, or as a result of a failure of the applicant to disclose their ELQ status when asked to do so.

Please visit www.kent.ac.uk/elq

Further information

University of Kent

E: financialaid@kent.ac.uk
W:www.kent.ac.uk/courses/funding
T: 01227 823488/824876

Student Finance England

For an application form, help and advice, call 0800 300 5090. The pack will also be available from the DirectGov website.

Publishing Office - © University of Kent

The University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ, T: +44 (0)1227 764000

Last Updated: 01/06/2011