Refused Student Finance

Hi Everyone, I have just been refused student finance despite the time and energy invested in and the reason they gave isn't sensible to me in anyway:

"We can’t approve your application for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan. Based on the information
you’ve given us, you’re not eligible because:
• you already have a:
• Higher doctorate (e.g. DLitt, DSc, DTech, LLD, DD, DMus, DMedSc); or
• Doctoral degree (e.g. PhD/DPhil, EdD, DBA, DClinPsy).
You cannot receive a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan if you’ve already been awarded any of the
above Postgraduate Doctoral qualifications or equivalent overseas qualification"

However I have never received or obtained such degree before, in my application I only said I have obtained an overseas masters degree which is equivalent to level 7 in the uk after which they emailed me to obtain a comparability statement from ENIC which I did even paid about gbp 180 for priority and I posted to SFE which they acknowledged so its just so funny when they decided that I am not eligible for funding for this obsolete reason.

below is my highest level of qualification as reported by ENIC

Qualification title: Master of Science in Economics (Development Economics)
Year: 2021
Awarded by: Ambrose Alli University
Comparison
UK Framework levels: RQF Level 7 / SCQF Level 11 / CQFW Level 7
Comparable UK qualifications: Master's degree

However SFE said I already hold a level 8 doctoral degree PHD and I do not solely understand where they get that from? isn't this absurd?

Please I need help as I am very angry and at same time confused on what to do next?

Hi Patrick,

It would be best to access your account so we can check this. We'd recommend calling our Postgraduate team on 0300 100 0031 and one of our team will be able to help.

Thanks, Graeme

Hi Graeme, thanks for your response . I did put a call through to your team yesterday immediately I received this letter however the only information I got was that I should fill an appeal form and state what went wrong and why and I should send to the appeal official email or post which I did send to the email yesterday with a thorough explanation as the decision is obviously for the wrong person and not myself as it is so weird to me.

Hi Jason, thanks for your prompt response however I already did that but I’m not just happy that I have to go through appeal process for an error which was intentionally made by an assessor , it shouldn’t be.
what is the essence of SFE requesting for ENIC compatibility statement from me when they won’t make use of it or even consider it to see my level of qualification before making a random decision.

This shouldn’t happen to anyone else and not just myself , less than 10% of UK resident wants to study at a doctorate level and I believe it out of the few who has made the decision to further like myself to study this doctoral degree , we deserve a smoother , less stressful process as well as much support to get funding to achieve a doctoral degree which is the highest level of education one can attain in this country which will then encourage more scholars and researchers like myself to go out of their way to helping the society and having great positive impact in the country as well.

Thanks, appreciate the feedback my Customer Reference Number: 60350433302.

A case referral has been done as well as I have just spoken to the SFE postgraduate team and they apologised for this error and that the case will be reffered immediately to the right team and that I will get feedback in 5 working days.

Thank you

Thanks I am checking regularly as advised with no single update yet, I am really anxious as to next steps as my doctoral degree fate solely depends on this funding/loan.

I have never obtained such degree before, all I have is an MSC as details don my ENIC statement provided which is my overall highest qualification, Please do help to chase this internally. Thank you

Thanks I am checking regularly as advised with no single update yet, I am really anxious as to next steps as my doctoral degree fate solely depends on this funding/loan.

I have never obtained such degree before, all I have is an MSC as details don my ENIC statement provided which is my overall highest qualification, Please do help to chase this internally. Thank you

Hi Everyone, I have just been refused student finance despite the time and energy invested in and the reason they gave isn't sensible to me in anyway:

"We can’t approve your application for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan. Based on the information
you’ve given us, you’re not eligible because:
• you already have a:
• Higher doctorate (e.g. DLitt, DSc, DTech, LLD, DD, DMus, DMedSc); or
• Doctoral degree (e.g. PhD/DPhil, EdD, DBA, DClinPsy).
You cannot receive a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan if you’ve already been awarded any of the
above Postgraduate Doctoral qualifications or equivalent overseas qualification"

However I have never received or obtained such degree before, in my application I only said I have obtained an overseas masters degree which is equivalent to level 7 in the uk after which they emailed me to obtain a comparability statement from ENIC which I did even paid about gbp 180 for priority and I posted to SFE which they acknowledged so its just so funny when they decided that I am not eligible for funding for this obsolete reason.

below is my highest level of qualification as reported by ENIC

Qualification title: Master of Science in Economics (Development Economics)
Year: 2021
Awarded by: Ambrose Alli University
Comparison
UK Framework levels: RQF Level 7 / SCQF Level 11 / CQFW Level 7
Comparable UK qualifications: Master's degree

However SFE said I already hold a level 8 doctoral degree PHD and I do not solely understand where they get that from? isn't this absurd?

Please I need help as I am very angry and at same time confused on what to do next?

Thanks all for your support, just a quick update that the issue is now resolved and my application approved after reviewing the case .