Tuition Fee Policy 2023/24

16-18 ESFA Funded Provision (Includes 19-24-year-olds with EHCP)

Learners who are/will be 16, 17 or 18 on the 31^st August in the calendar year when they begin a programme of study, will NOT pay tuition fees, registration fees or examination fees.

Where clothing or equipment is necessary for the student’s health or safety, a charge may be made for clothing and equipment that the student retains, but only if the student also has the option of borrowing the clothing or equipment free of charge.

In certain areas students will be encouraged to purchase their own kit, which they can take with them when they leave.

The College may charge for examinations and re-sits when funding criteria are met.  A full set of charges rules in relation to 16-18-year-old learners can be found in the ESFA Funding Guidance for Young People here

Adult Education Provision – Classroom based

The devolution of adult education functions to specified combined authorities and the Mayor of London will apply in relation to the academic year from 1 August 2019. The following Combined Authorities will exercise, in relation to their area, certain adult education functions of the Secretary of State under the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.

• The Greater Manchester Combined Authority
• The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
• The West of England Combined Authority
• The West Midlands Combined Authority
• The Tees Valley Combined Authority
• The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority

The College will be subject to different Adult Education Budget funding rules dependent on the residency of the learner.

EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals will no longer be eligible for ESFA funded adult education budget funding in England for courses starting in academic year 2021 to 2022. This will not affect students starting courses in academic year 2020 to 2021.  It will also not apply to Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland whose right to study and to access benefits and services will be preserved on a reciprocal basis for UK and Irish nationals under the Common Travel Area arrangement.

Adult Education Provision – resident of LCR (funded by LCRCA)

Learners unless otherwise agreed in writing with the Combined Authority. Learner postcodes can be checked for eligibility at https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council

https://api.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/LCRCA-AEB-funding-rules-2023-to-2024-June-2023.pdf

The following is an extract from the Adult Education Budget performance – management rules funded by the LCRCA:

LCR AEB Contribution Table 1: Learners aged 19 to 23 year

LCR AEB Contribution Table 2: Learners aged 24+

Exam fees

No exam fee to be charged as tuition fee is set at the maximum loan/weighted fee available. Fees may be charged for re-sits and/or retakes.

Kits and Uniforms

Basic kit and uniforms will be made available where applicable. In certain areas students will be encouraged to purchase their own kit, which they can take with them when they leave.

Unemployed status 

For funding purposes, we define a Learner as unemployed if one or more of the following apply:

• They receive Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), including those receiving National Insurance credits only
• They receive Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• They receive Universal Credit, and their take-home pay as recorded on their Universal Credit statement (disregarding Universal Credit payments and other benefits) is less than £494 a month (learner is sole adult in their benefit claim) or £782 a month (learner has a joint benefit claim with their partner)
• They are released on temporary licence, studying outside a prison environment, and not funded by the Ministry of Justice

Low wage flexibility referred to must be eligible for co-funding and earns less than £31,600.40 annual gross salary.

Adult Education Provision – resident of non-devolved area (funded by ESFA)

The following is an extract from the Adult Education Budget performance – management rules funded by the ESFA:

Government contribution table 1: 19 to 23-years

Government contribution table 2: 24+ 

A full set of funding rules in relation to 19+ learners can be found in the ESFA funding guidance for Adult Education Budget: draft funding and performance- management rules here

Low wage flexibility referred to must be eligible for co-funding and earns less than £20,319 annual gross salary.

Exam fees

No exam fee to be charged as tuition fee is set at the maximum loan/weighted fee available. Fees may be charged for re-sits and/or retakes.

Kits and Uniforms

Basic kit and uniforms will be made available where applicable. In certain areas students will be encouraged to purchase their own kit, which they can take with them when they leave.

Unemployed status

For funding purposes, ESFA define a learner as unemployed if one or more of the following apply, they:

• receive Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), including those receiving National Insurance credits only
• receive Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• receive Universal Credit (UC), and their take-home pay as recorded on their UC statement (disregarding UC payments and other benefits) is less than £617 a month (learner is sole adult in their benefit claim) or £988 a month (learner has a joint benefit claim with their partner)
• are released on temporary licence, studying outside a prison environment, and not funded by the Ministry of Justice

Adult Education Provision – resident of another devolved area

The College does not have a funding allocation for any other devolved area and therefore any adult learner from a devolved area would be unfunded and subject to a tuition fee.

The LCRCA has an arrangement for AEB Cross Border Learners with Greater Manchester Combined Authority however, this will be included in the main AEB allocation.  This reciprocal arrangement does not apply to the National Skills Fund Level 3 Adult offer.

Higher Education fees

The Consumer Protection guidance for HEIs require that fees must be set and published in good time for the marketing cycle therefore fees for 2024/25 are:

* C&E is Construction and Engineering. The higher rate applies to all programmes in these subject areas only.

HE bursaries are offered subject to eligibility criteria.

In future years we anticipate increasing the fees in line with the annual inflation level (capped at RPI All Items Excluding Mortgage Interest (RPIX)).

For EU students with settled or pre-settled status and Irish citizens, the rate is the same as the Home Fees. The College does not currently offer courses for international students, including those from Europe, who require a visa to study in the UK.

The College does not currently offer courses for international students outside the EU.  For students from within the EU, the rate is the same as the Home Fee.

Apprenticeship Provision

Managing Agents (Indirect Apprenticeships)

Schools Provision

Other Charges

Instalment arrangements for students paying their own fees

ESFA Funded courses, Income Generation and HE:

Instalment offer is subject to students meeting the terms and conditions.

For enrolments taking place in September on a 1-year course, up to 8 instalments and up to 15 instalments for 2-year courses. The number of instalments decreases depending on the date of enrolment and length of course.

First instalment is due at enrolment. See “Student Payment of Course Fees” document for further details.

NB: For learners experiencing financial difficulties, it may be possible to make payment arrangements with Financial Services via automated collection from learner’s debit / credit cards.

In certain circumstances, the College may remove the option to pay by instalments when there is a risk that non-recovery of fees may result in the course not being financially viable.  The Deputy Chief Executive is delegated to approve an amendment where it makes commercial sense to do so.

Apprenticeship fees

Employers should be encouraged to pay the full amount up front. Where instalments are requested, the following will apply:

• For apprenticeships up to 2 years’ duration, employer contributions will be taking in two instalments with 50% upfront and 50% at three months.
• For apprenticeships of 2 years or more, employer contributions will be taken in multiple instalments with 50% upfront and the balance of the remaining 50% split into equal parts and taken at the beginning of each remaining year.

If a learner withdraws, the college will retain the first 50% of the employer contribution.  The employer will be refunded the remaining 50% contribution pro rata over the duration of the framework.

The Deputy Chief Executive is delegated to approve an amended payment schedule where it makes commercial sense to do so.

Fee reassessment/refund

Fees are refundable in full if the College cancel the course.

In certain circumstances, students may be eligible for a refund/reassessment of the fee which is documented in the College Fee Reassessment / Refund. The student must complete the Student Application Form and in line with the policy, the College may authorise a refund for a proportionate amount of the tuition fee applicable to the remaining classes of the course which the student will be unable to attend.

A copy of the College Fee Reassessment / Refund procedure is available upon request from the Finance Department.

Download Tuition Fee Policy 2023/24 HERE