Assessing Eligibility Guidance
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2015/16 HE Student Finance Student Finance Wales Assessing Eligibility Guidance Assessing Eligibility Guidance Higher Education Student Finance in Wales 2015/16 Academic Year TO Student Finance Wales February 2015 Dear Colleague, HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENT SUPPORT IN WALES IN 2015/16: ASSESSING ELIGIBILITY Attached is the Guidance for Student Finance Wales (SFW)on the administration of Student Support 2015/16’. The chapter contains guidance on assessing eligibility for support for students in 2015/16. References to the Regulations have been updated to refer to The Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2015. This guidance document makes note of some changes, which are subject to that legislation. The Regulations may be subject to further amendment. Email Higher Education Division, Welsh [email protected] Government This guidance does not cover every aspect of student support. The full details are contained in The Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations 2015 are the legal basis of the student support arrangements for the academic year 2015/16. Nothing in this guidance can replace the Regulations and if there is any difference between this guidance and the Regulations, the Regulations prevail. This guidance is based on the Regulations as they stand at the time of publication and may change in future. Please note this guidance is for Welsh domiciled students only. Contact details for English, Scottish and Northern Ireland Authorities can be found at Annex 6.Please note that the following changes have been made: References to the support package payable to old system students have been removed from this chapter as of 2014/15. For information on that scheme, please refer to the AY 2013/14 version of this document. References to the support package payable to ITT courses starting prior to 2010 have been removed from this chapter as of 2015/16. Please refer to the prior guidance for the relevant information about the ITT packages available prior 2010 AY. From AY 2014/15 the Assembly Learning Grant has been renamed as the ‘Welsh Government Learning Grant’. This change applies to both new and continuing students. Final Version 1.1 February 2015 1 2015/16 HE Student Finance Student Finance Wales Assessing Eligibility Guidance Universal Credit (UC) was introduced in Wales from 2014 which is gradually replacing some existing benefits, including Working Tax Credit (WTC). References to Universal Credit have been added to the chapter where relevant. Refer to the ‘Assessing Financial Entitlement’ guidance chapter for further information. This document has been updated with guidance on the provisions of the category described in paragraph 73. Final Version 1.1 February 2015 2 2015/16 HE Student Finance Student Finance Wales Assessing Eligibility Guidance Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................ 5 Gap year students .......................................................................................... 7 Policy ....................................................................................................................... 8 General exclusions......................................................................................... 8 NHS bursaries ................................................................................................ 9 Applicants who breach any obligation to repay any previous student loan or who have reached the age of 18 and have not ratified a previous student loan made after they have been assessed under the age of 18 .................. 10 Applicants who breach any obligations to repay any previous student loan after they have been assessed .................................................................... 10 Ineligibility on grounds of unfitness to receive support ................................ 10 Devolution of student support to Wales ....................................................... 11 Personal eligibility ........................................................................................ 12 Students attending more than one course ................................................... 12 Time limit for applying for student support ................................................... 12 Documentation requirements ....................................................................... 13 Residence and other eligibility conditions .................................................... 14 Definitions: Regulation 2 – Interpretation ..................................................... 15 Ordinary Residence ..................................................................................... 15 Students who move to Wales from elsewhere in the UK and Islands in order to attend a course ........................................................................................ 16 Workers, employed persons, self-employed persons and their family members (Paragraph 6 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Regulations) ........... 29 Students who cease work before starting the course .................................. 32 Remuneration for work ................................................................................. 32 Effective and genuine / marginal and ancillary employment ....................... 33 Family members of EEA migrant workers, EEA frontier workers, EEA frontier self-employed persons, EEA self-employed and Swiss employed persons, Swiss frontier employed persons, Swiss frontier self-employed persons or Swiss self-employed persons .................................................... 34 Children of EEA migrant workers ................................................................. 34 Persons who are settled in the United Kingdom and have exercised a right of residence elsewhere (Paragraph 8 of Part 2 of Schedule 1) ................... 35 EU nationals and their family members(Paragraph 9 of Part 2 of Schedule 1) .................................................................................................................. 37 Children of Turkish Workers (Paragraph 12 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Regulations) ................................................................................................. 39 EU Member States ....................................................................................... 39 Eligibility for fee and living costs support and determination of entitlement 40 Definition of a ‘previous course’ ................................................................... 44 Years of previous study ............................................................................... 45 1 Year stand alone (‘top-up’) course: ........................................................... 50 Students transferring courses ...................................................................... 50 Eligibility for support for living costs ............................................................. 51 General ........................................................................................................ 51 Students aged 60 and over .......................................................................... 51 Designated courses ..................................................................................... 52 General criteria for automatic designation of courses ................................. 53 Schedule 2 courses...................................................................................... 53 Interpretation of provisions on automatically designated courses ............... 54 Courses in Schedule 2 ................................................................................. 54 PGDE Courses in Scotland Only ................................................................. 56 Further Education (FE) ITE/ITT courses ...................................................... 57 Final Version 1.1 February 2015 3 2015/16 HE Student Finance Student Finance Wales Assessing Eligibility Guidance the new level 5 Diploma in Education and Training (DET). 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Courses falling under Paragraphs 7 & 8 of Schedule 2 ............................... 60 Definition of full-time course ......................................................................... 60 Distance learning courses ............................................................................ 61 Learning in the workplace ............................................................................ 64 Sandwich courses ........................................................................................ 64 Architecture courses .................................................................................... 66 Intercalated study ......................................................................................... 68 Foundation years as part of an extended course ........................................ 68 Free standing foundation and conversion courses ...................................... 69 Access courses ............................................................................................ 69 Twin-track access courses ........................................................................... 69 Franchising arrangements ........................................................................... 69 Part-time courses ......................................................................................... 70 60 credit courses .......................................................................................... 70 Specific designation ....................................................................................