Previous study-equivalent level qualifications

Hi Mark
My son has been refused his tuition fee loan for the first year of his degree (and therefore his maintenance grant) because of the previous study rules.
He completed a HNC part-time at night classes over 2 years in July, without any loans while working full time.
He now wants to progress to a degree, so has used the advice on the gov.uk website under "Eligibility" and the SF "Guide to financial support", he has applied to "top up" to a honours degree. Unfortunately, the SFE are now saying that the HNC is equivalent to the first year of his degree so won't provide him with a loan. This actually contradicts their guidance and came as a total surprise to us.
I have been doing a bit of research and according to the HE qualifications framework, the HNC is a level 4 qualification. It is the HND and the Foundation degree which are the same at level 5 and the BEng that he has been accepted onto is a level 6, so they are obviously not the same level. I have looked at the actual modules in the first year of his degree and some of them he hasn't even studied at all. They are nearly all at level 5, where his HNC units are level 4, so he would not be able to skip the first year of his degree as they are totally different. Can you please explain how the level 4 HNC can be classed as equivalent to a level 5 foundation degree and/or a level 6 BEng? This totally contradicts both the gov.uk guidance and the SF guidance about "topping up" to a degree.

Alos, using the previous study formula (3+1-2=2), why do they count his previous study as 2 years? As it was part-time (6 hours a week), should it not just be one year. In all other guidance about part-time funding it refers to the "full time equivalent", so in this case it would just be the one year it would have taken him to do his HNC full time. This is how Student Finance NI work it out and I would have thought they are using the same regulations as SF England.
PLEASE help us as he has resigned from his full time job in order to study, but now finds he can't get a loan. Many thanks.

Reply 1

Mark Lee - SFE Official Adviser

Official Rep

Hello,

We appreciate that you and your son wish to get a swift resolution to the funding available to him for the upcoming academic year.

The best way forward would be for your son to call us on 0300 100 0607. This will allow us to access his account and review the details he has supplied in his 2014/15 application for funding.

Also, if your son has not already done so, he can set up 'Consent to Share' when he calls. This will allow you to call and access your son's account information. To set up this Consent, your son will need to register:

*Your Name
*Your Date of Birth
*Your Relationship to him
*Your Address
*A password of your son's choosing
*Expiry Date for the consent

Thanks

Reply 2

Jude1011

Original post by Mark Lee - SFE Official Adviser

Hi Mark

I have spoken to Student Finance about this issue on more than one occasion. When I asked if my son could appeal we were told "NO" and the gentleman in question just kept repeating that this was government legislation and the previous study formula over and over again. I hung up and rang back and was told that I could appeal and how to do it, but again this adviser was adamant about the rules of an equivalent level qualification.

We have already done a "Consent to share" form for the university to check, as they agree it is a bit harsh when he paid for the HNC himself, but I thought I would contact you via this site before we appeal.

My main issue is how the 2 years part-time of just 6 hours a week is counted as full time in the previous study fromula. This is grossly unfair and I have sent you a private message about it. Is there anything in the regulations that could help with the appeal, or does the adviser/assessor have any discretion about how they treat the length of time of the previous study? It makes no sense that 6 hrs a week is classed as full-time.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Jude 1011

Reply 3

Mark Lee - SFE Official Adviser

Official Rep

Hi there.

There is no discretion involved when it comes to previous study and equivalent level qualifications, the rules are firmly set in place. If your son had studied a Part-time course over two years and gained a qualification from it then this would count as two years of study, regardless of intensity.

We take into consideration 'previous-study' when making assessments, not 'previous funding.' So how any previous course were funded does not matter, they are still taken into consideration.

When it comes to 'Top-ups,' the course students are topping up to has to be a directly linked and agreed top up course to the one previously studied. a 'Top-up' is not simply going from an HND to a Degree.

One example would be a student who had studied an HND in Advertising would then be able to top-up to an agreed BA in Marketing as they would be directly linked and this route would have been previously confirmed. A student with an HND in Advertising could not then proceed onto a degree in Geography as they are not linked. In the latter case, the previous study rule would be used, and the student would not be entitled to full funding.

When it comes to applying, when the student advises us of previous qualifications earned, they simply select from a drop down box what the qualification was. Is there a possibility he may have incorrectly chosen the wrong qualification? This can result in an incorrect assessment as the qualification he actually has may be different.

Thanks.

Reply 4

Jude1011

Hi Mark

He did a HNC in Mechanical Engineering and has applied to do a BEng in Mechanical Engineering. Does this count as a "top up"? Would the previous study rules still apply?

Jude 1011

Previous study-equivalent level qualifications

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