The Student Loans Company administers the following Tuition Fee Support:
Tuition fee loan
The tuition fee loan is a non-financially assessed loan to meet the cost of tuition fees. It is payable to the HE provider if the student is in attendance on the 90th day after the academic year start. The maximum amount of tuition fee loan available is always the amount of tuition fees charged by the institution or £3,070 (2007/08 figure), whichever is less. A student may request some, but not all, of the loan available, and in this case the student is responsible for paying to the institution any fees which are not covered by the loan. The loan is repayable through Income Contingent Repayment. Tuition fee loans accrue interest at the same rate as maintenance loans.
Tuition fee grant
The tuition fee grant is the income-assessed Government contribution towards a student's tuition fees. It is payable to the Higher Education (HE) provider if the student is in attendance on the 90th day after the academic year start. It is only available to students who started their courses in 2005/06 or before, or who entered in 2006/07 following a gap year. These students are charged a maximum fee of £1,225 (2007/08 figure), unless they attend a private institution. They can now also receive tuition fee loans to cover their own contributions, so that they need pay nothing up front (unless they attend private institutions that are charging more than £1,225, in which case they have to fund the difference between £1,225 and the actual fee charged themselves).
Part-time Fee Grant
This is a financially-assessed public contribution to tuition fees for part-time students. A course is designated for part-time grants if it lasts at least one year, it leads to an HE qualification, and it requires no longer than twice the time required to study the course full time. The fee amount paid is subject to income and intensity of study.
Scottish Graduate Endowment
The Scottish Graduate Endowment is a fixed amount that some graduates will have to pay at the end of their degree. It applies to Scottish domiciled students and EU students who started their first full-time degree course at a Scottish institution on or after 1st August 2001. Students who returned to higher education in 2001/02 or later after a break of study may also be liable. If the student has to pay the endowment, he/she may take a further student loan from the Student Loans Company, which will not appear on their loan balance until April 1st following graduation.
It has been announced that the Scottish Graduate Endowment will be abolished for all students who graduate in April 2007 or later.
Oxbridge College fee loan
Students who have Honours degrees already but are entering Oxbridge courses to gain entry to specified professions will be charged a College fee as well as the ordinary tuition fee. They are liable to pay the latter themselves, but are entitled to a loan to cover the cost of the College fee. Payment of College fee loans is conditional on the student being in attendance on the 90th day after the academic year start, and the payment is made directly to the institution.