Fees and Funding

Specific course information about fees and funding can be found on the individual course webpage. If you have any questions, please contact us at adulted@collyers.ac.uk  or call on 01403 216597.

We offer various funding options for our qualification courses. For recreational and non-qualification courses, there is no funding available.

For courses where the fee is below £250, this needs to be paid in full at the time of booking.

We can offer instalment payments for some courses and have access to government funding for many of our qualification courses.

It is important to note you are liable for the advertised course fee from the start date.

Once you have submitted your application, we will send you information about how to secure your place on the course as well as providing details of the payment and funding options available to you.

For courses with fees exceeding £250, you can pay in full at the point of booking or apply for the following payment options via:

Funding options

Some of our qualification courses are part-funded or fully-funded by the Government, including the Free Level 3 Courses for Jobs offer. You may be eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan (see below). Individual course pages contain relevant funding details, and you will receive up-to-date information about funding options open to you once you have applied.

Please note that there is no funding available for:

Recreational and non-qualification courses

Qualification courses where you have achieved the same or equivalent qualification

Students under 19 years of age

Anyone undertaking any apprenticeship

To be eligible for funding you must:

• Be over the age of 19
• Be a UK national or an EEA national with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and have been ordinarily resident in the UK or EEA for 3 years prior to the start date
• Be an Irish National and have been ordinarily resident in the UK and / or Republic of Ireland for at least 3 years prior to the start date
• Be a non-UK national citizen who has permission to live in the UK for non-educational purposes; or has pre-settled or settled status
• Have refugee status or be supported through the Ukraine Family Scheme / Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and can show immigration permissions / a residence permit

The above list is not exhaustive so please contact us at adulted@collyers.ac.uk or call 01403 216597 if you believe that your personal circumstances may mean you are eligible for Government funding.

You will need to provide us with:

• Proof of identity – we will need to see a valid Passport or valid photo card driving licence
• Proof of address – this must be less than three months old. Acceptable proof includes bank statements, utility bills, letters from government departments
• Proof of (pre) settled-status or ‘permission to live in the UK’
• National Insurance number

Where learners are wishing to apply for full funding on the grounds of qualifying benefits for a low wage or unemployment, you will also need to provide:

•  Evidence of benefits (JSA, ESA or Universal Credit) if annual income is less than £25,000.
•  Last three month’s payslips (or SA03 statement or accountant’s letter if self-employed) if you earn less than £25,000 gross annual salary.

All documentation / evidence must be seen and recorded before the start of the course. Please be advised that insufficient evidence will result in you being liable to pay the full course fees.

Government Funding and the Free Level 3 Courses for Jobs offer.

All adults can access courses for free through their legal entitlement.

The legal entitlements allow learners aged:

• 19-23 to be fully-funded if they study for a first qualification at level 2 and/or level 3
• 19 and over, who have not previously attained a GCSE grade C/grade 4 or higher, to be fully-funded if they study for a qualification in English or Maths, up to and including level 2

The Free Level 3 Courses for Jobs offer applies to any adult aged 19+ who is on a low wage or is unemployed (see above for eligibility) or any adult aged 19-23 with no full Level 3. Either will enable them to access these Level 3 courses for free:

• Early Years Educator Level 3
• Advanced Diploma in Accounting Level 3
• Certificate in Bookkeeping Level 3
• Certificate in Counselling Skills Level 3

Advanced Learner Loans

If you are aged 19+ and studying for an eligible Level 3 or Level 4 course, you can apply for a Advanced Loaner Loan to cover all or part of the cost of the course if you are not able to claim full funding through the Government.

If you wish to fund the course via an Advanced Learner Loan, we will issue a loan letter containing the information required to make your loan application when the loan system opens for applications. You must apply for your loan within two weeks following receipt of the loan letter.

Please note that there is a limited amount of loan funding available and students who are unable to access this funding will be liable for the full course fee. The funding is allocated by the Student Loans Company in order of approved application.

Access to HE Diploma loans are written off upon graduation from university.

If you are unable to complete your course, you will be liable for a proportion of your loan according to the date you formally withdrew from the college.

Your loan becomes repayable from the April after you finish college. You will begin to pay it back at a percentage of your salary once you earn over the threshold which is set by the government. This threshold figure is subject to change, so please ensure you check the details with the Student Loans Company when applying for an Advanced Learner Loan.

Cancellations and Refunds

If a course is cancelled by the College (e.g., due to insufficient numbers) before its start date, we will notify you as soon as possible and issue a full refund to you.

If you wish to cancel your booking prior to the course start date, we will refund you subject to deduction of a £50 or 20% administration fee, whichever is the lesser.

If you do not pay a course fee at the agreed time this will be treated as a cancellation or withdrawal from your course.

Once a course starts, we are unable to offer refunds and you are liable for the full course fee if you decide to withdraw. All textbooks included in the cost of the course should be returned.

We cannot transfer credit to any future courses.

Prior to enrolling on any qualification course, please consider carefully if you have the time to commit to this course.

If you start a course and do not complete it, or if your attendance rate is low, this might affect your eligibility to join funded courses in the future.

Our qualification courses are government-funded, and it is our responsibility to ensure that the funding is used effectively to help learners progress and develop. We will work with you to ensure that you achieve your personal goals and those of the course.

Exam and Resit Fees

If your course includes an examination or formal assessment, your course fee includes your exam entry fee.

If you need to resit a timetabled exam or an assessment whilst you are a student on the course (including those missed due to illness or for other circumstances) then you will need to pay a resit fee that includes the exam entry fee and invigilation costs (please see individual course page for further details).

For GCSE exams, resit dates are set by the Awarding Organisation. Resit fees and entry are the responsibility of the student.