Should i choose a certificate of HE or a diploma of higher education funding and time
So i was studying a certificate of higher education in psycology. I had some personal issues that unfortunately meant differing 1 year. SFE funded my course and im now reapplying so i can get funding and my DSA disabled studant allowence filled out for help with funding for a laptop. Ive had a reat chat with student services. I plan on continue to study to a masters. But im not sure how realistic this is given my current stage and situation. Im 32 and trying to finally make something of my self especially since the adhd diagnosis.i read we only get so much funding. But my issue is my highest qualifications at the moment are gcses. Thats why i was doing a certHE. However im concerned i wont even have enough funding to get a full degree let alone of the bonus dream of a masters. I wasnt aware before that certHE was 1/3rd basically 1st year of a degree. And diploma 2/3rd or 3
2yrs of degree. Should i apply for the the certHE again or skip straight to diploma? Considering ive wasted 1 full year of funding. Stendent services have saidi will get 50% refund and a 25% discount on this next course. Im not sure this is relevent. I need to get on and finalise ny dexisions but i got an unsuspected adhd diagnoais which made so much sense once i learned about it that i get stuck on these decisions. I really need to confirm my decision so i can make a start with the other things to do before febuary start. Apparently the laptop thing will take about 4months start to finish and of coure will require for the start. Im just stuck in undecisivness right now and could really benifit for some advice from anybody please.
Also im stuck o. Which module to choose. The same as before or one of thw other two and which. Does it matter in the grand scheme of it. Im noy 100% what i want to do yet . Always change my mind but they are always psycology based. But there are so many directions. I will know more as i study more areas of course. But that doesnt help choosing which way. There are parts of all i would like to look deeper in. Urghhh
*Yes plrase help
*Also written by internal monolouge. It facinates me not everyone has one. Mine makes me bore everyone with long essays. As demonstrated above. I hppe some 1 replys because i have to decide soon and submit but i dont know diploma or certificate. Ill study part time to beguin with so 2 or 4 years. But after 1 year i could wish to change to full time unsure if this is possible so maybe certificate would be better? And then study a full degree after complition of the certificate and re choose how many hrs a week?. Will tunding cover a certificate and a diploma after difuring a year? Or can i only get it for the 1st course i complete? Arghhh please help before i make all the wrong choices and make another bad life decision.
2yrs of degree. Should i apply for the the certHE again or skip straight to diploma? Considering ive wasted 1 full year of funding. Stendent services have saidi will get 50% refund and a 25% discount on this next course. Im not sure this is relevent. I need to get on and finalise ny dexisions but i got an unsuspected adhd diagnoais which made so much sense once i learned about it that i get stuck on these decisions. I really need to confirm my decision so i can make a start with the other things to do before febuary start. Apparently the laptop thing will take about 4months start to finish and of coure will require for the start. Im just stuck in undecisivness right now and could really benifit for some advice from anybody please.
Also im stuck o. Which module to choose. The same as before or one of thw other two and which. Does it matter in the grand scheme of it. Im noy 100% what i want to do yet . Always change my mind but they are always psycology based. But there are so many directions. I will know more as i study more areas of course. But that doesnt help choosing which way. There are parts of all i would like to look deeper in. Urghhh
*Yes plrase help
*Also written by internal monolouge. It facinates me not everyone has one. Mine makes me bore everyone with long essays. As demonstrated above. I hppe some 1 replys because i have to decide soon and submit but i dont know diploma or certificate. Ill study part time to beguin with so 2 or 4 years. But after 1 year i could wish to change to full time unsure if this is possible so maybe certificate would be better? And then study a full degree after complition of the certificate and re choose how many hrs a week?. Will tunding cover a certificate and a diploma after difuring a year? Or can i only get it for the 1st course i complete? Arghhh please help before i make all the wrong choices and make another bad life decision.
Hi, I've moved your thread to the university life forum 
The Ask SFE forum is just for questions about applying to student loans - SFE can't provide advice/recommendations on your study!
In any event, to answer some of the implicit questions:
You are correct, there is a maximum limit of funding you can get from SFE for undergraduate study. This differs depending if studying full time or part time (including distance learning up to full time intensity with the Open Uni). However these are funded in separate "pots" so one doesn't necessarily limit you from the other.
So you can do a CertHE to go onto a degree, but for full time undergraduate study as above this will use up your "gift year" which means if you had to repeat a year, or if you changed your mind and wanted to change your course, you'd end up having to self fund for at least a year. As you've deferred for a year, if you already started the course and past the tuition liability date (i.e. student finance paid at least part of the tuition fees) this will have used up one of your years of study (the gift year) so if you go on to complete the CertHE you will have 2 years of prior study in HE and thus need to self fund tuition fees for your first year back if studying full time unless you make a successful application for Compelling Personal Reasons (CPR)
If you had to take time out or repeat a year due to circumstances outside your control (e.g. health issues, bereavement, etc) you can apply for an additional year of funding under CPR. This basically adds an extra year to your entitlement if approved - the key to applying successfully for CPR is to provide as much evidence as you can and a covering letter explaining the situation and how it affected you that year.
So depending on the cause so evidence such as in the case of bereavements making sure you have the death certificate, for health issues any doctors notes, discharge letters, diagnosis letters, supporting documentation from any other health professions personnel you are seeing e.g. physios, counsellors, therapists, etc.
If you were planning to progress into a part-time degree though then you the CertHE if done full-time shouldn't affect your entitlement if applying to do a full degree as your part-time course.
----------------------------------------
However there is another option potentially, which is to leave your current course to complete an Access to HE course instead. These have some differences:
a) they are further education (FE) courses and not HE courses, so the year you are doing your Access course doesn't count against your SFE funding entitlement!
b) they are funded separately as a result, in person Access courses can be entitled to an Advanced Learner Loan (ALL) If you don't have a level 3 qualification (such as A-levels) already (and in some other circumstances). This covers only the tuition fees for the course, however if you go on to complete the degree the ALL gets written off and you don't need to pay it back
So that might also be something to explore as an option!
The Ask SFE forum is just for questions about applying to student loans - SFE can't provide advice/recommendations on your study!In any event, to answer some of the implicit questions:
You are correct, there is a maximum limit of funding you can get from SFE for undergraduate study. This differs depending if studying full time or part time (including distance learning up to full time intensity with the Open Uni). However these are funded in separate "pots" so one doesn't necessarily limit you from the other.
•
For full time undergraduate study the funding is: length of degree + 1 year (the "gift year") - number of years of prior study in higher education (HE i.e. at uni level). This means for e.g. a 3 year BA degree you will have 4 years of funding if you haven't previously studied at uni. However this is reduced for each year of uni study on a separate course, for example a CertHE will use up the "gift year". Prior part-time study can be taken into account for this and reduce your entitlement. This is for a tuition fee loan - you should in principle still be able to get a maintenance loan even if you have to self fund tuition fees for a year due to e.g. prior study.
•
For part-time undergraduate study funding the maximum entitlement is 16 years. Prior full-time study is not taken into account for this though. You can't get a maintenance loan normally for distance learning unless you have a disability and can prove there are no universities in your region that are able to accommodate your disability (this is quite difficult to prove and the student needs to gather the proof from the unis so in practice few are able to arrange this). For in-person study you can get a maintenance loan but it is pro-rated depending on your study intensity (e.g. if studying half the number of credits as a typical full time student, you get half the maintenance loan as your maximum).
•
Postgraduate masters courses are funded under a separate scheme with separate requirements and limits. You normally get a fixed amount (I think about ~£10k currently) which is pro-rated over the duration of the degree split into chunks, which is for use for both tuition fees and "maintenance" costs.
So you can do a CertHE to go onto a degree, but for full time undergraduate study as above this will use up your "gift year" which means if you had to repeat a year, or if you changed your mind and wanted to change your course, you'd end up having to self fund for at least a year. As you've deferred for a year, if you already started the course and past the tuition liability date (i.e. student finance paid at least part of the tuition fees) this will have used up one of your years of study (the gift year) so if you go on to complete the CertHE you will have 2 years of prior study in HE and thus need to self fund tuition fees for your first year back if studying full time unless you make a successful application for Compelling Personal Reasons (CPR)
If you had to take time out or repeat a year due to circumstances outside your control (e.g. health issues, bereavement, etc) you can apply for an additional year of funding under CPR. This basically adds an extra year to your entitlement if approved - the key to applying successfully for CPR is to provide as much evidence as you can and a covering letter explaining the situation and how it affected you that year.
So depending on the cause so evidence such as in the case of bereavements making sure you have the death certificate, for health issues any doctors notes, discharge letters, diagnosis letters, supporting documentation from any other health professions personnel you are seeing e.g. physios, counsellors, therapists, etc.
If you were planning to progress into a part-time degree though then you the CertHE if done full-time shouldn't affect your entitlement if applying to do a full degree as your part-time course.
----------------------------------------
However there is another option potentially, which is to leave your current course to complete an Access to HE course instead. These have some differences:
a) they are further education (FE) courses and not HE courses, so the year you are doing your Access course doesn't count against your SFE funding entitlement!
b) they are funded separately as a result, in person Access courses can be entitled to an Advanced Learner Loan (ALL) If you don't have a level 3 qualification (such as A-levels) already (and in some other circumstances). This covers only the tuition fees for the course, however if you go on to complete the degree the ALL gets written off and you don't need to pay it back
So that might also be something to explore as an option!
Original post by artful_lounger
Hi, I've moved your thread to the university life forum The Ask SFE forum is just for questions about applying to student loans - SFE can't provide advice/recommendations on your study!
In any event, to answer some of the implicit questions:
You are correct, there is a maximum limit of funding you can get from SFE for undergraduate study. This differs depending if studying full time or part time (including distance learning up to full time intensity with the Open Uni). However these are funded in separate "pots" so one doesn't necessarily limit you from the other.
So you can do a CertHE to go onto a degree, but for full time undergraduate study as above this will use up your "gift year" which means if you had to repeat a year, or if you changed your mind and wanted to change your course, you'd end up having to self fund for at least a year. As you've deferred for a year, if you already started the course and past the tuition liability date (i.e. student finance paid at least part of the tuition fees) this will have used up one of your years of study (the gift year) so if you go on to complete the CertHE you will have 2 years of prior study in HE and thus need to self fund tuition fees for your first year back if studying full time unless you make a successful application for Compelling Personal Reasons (CPR)
If you had to take time out or repeat a year due to circumstances outside your control (e.g. health issues, bereavement, etc) you can apply for an additional year of funding under CPR. This basically adds an extra year to your entitlement if approved - the key to applying successfully for CPR is to provide as much evidence as you can and a covering letter explaining the situation and how it affected you that year.
So depending on the cause so evidence such as in the case of bereavements making sure you have the death certificate, for health issues any doctors notes, discharge letters, diagnosis letters, supporting documentation from any other health professions personnel you are seeing e.g. physios, counsellors, therapists, etc.
If you were planning to progress into a part-time degree though then you the CertHE if done full-time shouldn't affect your entitlement if applying to do a full degree as your part-time course.
----------------------------------------
However there is another option potentially, which is to leave your current course to complete an Access to HE course instead. These have some differences:
a) they are further education (FE) courses and not HE courses, so the year you are doing your Access course doesn't count against your SFE funding entitlement!
b) they are funded separately as a result, in person Access courses can be entitled to an Advanced Learner Loan (ALL) If you don't have a level 3 qualification (such as A-levels) already (and in some other circumstances). This covers only the tuition fees for the course, however if you go on to complete the degree the ALL gets written off and you don't need to pay it back
So that might also be something to explore as an option!
The Ask SFE forum is just for questions about applying to student loans - SFE can't provide advice/recommendations on your study!In any event, to answer some of the implicit questions:
You are correct, there is a maximum limit of funding you can get from SFE for undergraduate study. This differs depending if studying full time or part time (including distance learning up to full time intensity with the Open Uni). However these are funded in separate "pots" so one doesn't necessarily limit you from the other.
•
For full time undergraduate study the funding is: length of degree + 1 year (the "gift year") - number of years of prior study in higher education (HE i.e. at uni level). This means for e.g. a 3 year BA degree you will have 4 years of funding if you haven't previously studied at uni. However this is reduced for each year of uni study on a separate course, for example a CertHE will use up the "gift year". Prior part-time study can be taken into account for this and reduce your entitlement. This is for a tuition fee loan - you should in principle still be able to get a maintenance loan even if you have to self fund tuition fees for a year due to e.g. prior study.
•
For part-time undergraduate study funding the maximum entitlement is 16 years. Prior full-time study is not taken into account for this though. You can't get a maintenance loan normally for distance learning unless you have a disability and can prove there are no universities in your region that are able to accommodate your disability (this is quite difficult to prove and the student needs to gather the proof from the unis so in practice few are able to arrange this). For in-person study you can get a maintenance loan but it is pro-rated depending on your study intensity (e.g. if studying half the number of credits as a typical full time student, you get half the maintenance loan as your maximum).
•
Postgraduate masters courses are funded under a separate scheme with separate requirements and limits. You normally get a fixed amount (I think about ~£10k currently) which is pro-rated over the duration of the degree split into chunks, which is for use for both tuition fees and "maintenance" costs.
So you can do a CertHE to go onto a degree, but for full time undergraduate study as above this will use up your "gift year" which means if you had to repeat a year, or if you changed your mind and wanted to change your course, you'd end up having to self fund for at least a year. As you've deferred for a year, if you already started the course and past the tuition liability date (i.e. student finance paid at least part of the tuition fees) this will have used up one of your years of study (the gift year) so if you go on to complete the CertHE you will have 2 years of prior study in HE and thus need to self fund tuition fees for your first year back if studying full time unless you make a successful application for Compelling Personal Reasons (CPR)
If you had to take time out or repeat a year due to circumstances outside your control (e.g. health issues, bereavement, etc) you can apply for an additional year of funding under CPR. This basically adds an extra year to your entitlement if approved - the key to applying successfully for CPR is to provide as much evidence as you can and a covering letter explaining the situation and how it affected you that year.
So depending on the cause so evidence such as in the case of bereavements making sure you have the death certificate, for health issues any doctors notes, discharge letters, diagnosis letters, supporting documentation from any other health professions personnel you are seeing e.g. physios, counsellors, therapists, etc.
If you were planning to progress into a part-time degree though then you the CertHE if done full-time shouldn't affect your entitlement if applying to do a full degree as your part-time course.
----------------------------------------
However there is another option potentially, which is to leave your current course to complete an Access to HE course instead. These have some differences:
a) they are further education (FE) courses and not HE courses, so the year you are doing your Access course doesn't count against your SFE funding entitlement!
b) they are funded separately as a result, in person Access courses can be entitled to an Advanced Learner Loan (ALL) If you don't have a level 3 qualification (such as A-levels) already (and in some other circumstances). This covers only the tuition fees for the course, however if you go on to complete the degree the ALL gets written off and you don't need to pay it back
So that might also be something to explore as an option!
So if i did certHE part time after using the gift year. If i continue on to the degree am i correct in understanding if i did full time id self fund 1year but if i study part time qould SFE fund the whole course ? The wording on that part of rhe reply confused me slightly sorry.
I did wonder about an access course. So with an access course i 'should' be able to study free and the. Go straight to degree?
Would i need to first complete either a certificateor access course to be able to do a degree (i know there is other options like alevels but these two are the only 2 that would work for me)
Im guessing going straight to a degree would not be an option.
• Would you rule out the diploma and choose instead the access or certHE ?
If studying part time for a certificate and then part time for a degree would allow full funding (including the gift year ive used) i think this will be my preferred option. However if i miss understood and still wpuld be required to fund 1 year my self i think acess course then a degree parttime should cover me full time ?
Thank you for your time and making sence of my badly written esaay
Original post by Lottielou7
Thank you for your thorough response. Its cleared alot up. Ive just a couple more questions to help me decide if you dont mind.? (Sorry)
So if i did certHE part time after using the gift year. If i continue on to the degree am i correct in understanding if i did full time id self fund 1year but if i study part time qould SFE fund the whole course ? The wording on that part of rhe reply confused me slightly sorry.
I did wonder about an access course. So with an access course i 'should' be able to study free and the. Go straight to degree?
Would i need to first complete either a certificateor access course to be able to do a degree (i know there is other options like alevels but these two are the only 2 that would work for me)
Im guessing going straight to a degree would not be an option.
• Would you rule out the diploma and choose instead the access or certHE ?
If studying part time for a certificate and then part time for a degree would allow full funding (including the gift year ive used) i think this will be my preferred option. However if i miss understood and still wpuld be required to fund 1 year my self i think acess course then a degree parttime should cover me full time ?
Thank you for your time and making sence of my badly written esaay
So if i did certHE part time after using the gift year. If i continue on to the degree am i correct in understanding if i did full time id self fund 1year but if i study part time qould SFE fund the whole course ? The wording on that part of rhe reply confused me slightly sorry.
I did wonder about an access course. So with an access course i 'should' be able to study free and the. Go straight to degree?
Would i need to first complete either a certificateor access course to be able to do a degree (i know there is other options like alevels but these two are the only 2 that would work for me)
Im guessing going straight to a degree would not be an option.
• Would you rule out the diploma and choose instead the access or certHE ?
If studying part time for a certificate and then part time for a degree would allow full funding (including the gift year ive used) i think this will be my preferred option. However if i miss understood and still wpuld be required to fund 1 year my self i think acess course then a degree parttime should cover me full time ?
Thank you for your time and making sence of my badly written esaay
I'm slightly confused about whether you're doing the CertHE part or full time currently, but based on my understanding:
If currently doing the CertHE full time, but have deferred for a year and will go back to start it part-time, if you progress to a part-time degree the full time year of the CertHE I don't believe should affect your entitlement (and since you have a maximum 16 years entitlement as part-time I think it's unlikely to make a difference even if it is?). So my understanding is you would get full funding for the part-time degree (and CertHE) that way.
If you did that but wanted to do a full time undergrad degree after the CertHE, both the full time and part-time years for the CertHE may affect your entitlement and you would likely need to self fund one or more years.
Generally going from full time to part-time is straightforward for SFE entitlements and usually works out ok (although of course, do check with SFE - preferably with their permanent staff by asking them on the official forum here for example). Going from part-time to full time (or back and forth) gets complicated.
With the access course, you can get the tuition fees covered by the Advanced Learner Loan if it is an eligible course for it (you would need to check this first though!). If you then finish a degree and graduate with your undergrad degree after doing the ALL, then the ALL is written off and there's no cost to you. However bear in mind you don't get a maintenance loan so would need to cover your personal living costs for that year!
Also something else I forgot but that is important: you can't get a maintenance loan for a part-time CertHE, so would need to self fund your living costs while doing this also.
I don't think the diploma route really adds anything for you and just means you have even fewer years of funding for the degree itself, unless you do a top-up course.
Original post by artful_lounger
I'm slightly confused about whether you're doing the CertHE part or full time currently, but based on my understanding:
If currently doing the CertHE full time, but have deferred for a year and will go back to start it part-time, if you progress to a part-time degree the full time year of the CertHE I don't believe should affect your entitlement (and since you have a maximum 16 years entitlement as part-time I think it's unlikely to make a difference even if it is?). So my understanding is you would get full funding for the part-time degree (and CertHE) that way.
If you did that but wanted to do a full time undergrad degree after the CertHE, both the full time and part-time years for the CertHE may affect your entitlement and you would likely need to self fund one or more years.
Generally going from full time to part-time is straightforward for SFE entitlements and usually works out ok (although of course, do check with SFE - preferably with their permanent staff by asking them on the official forum here for example). Going from part-time to full time (or back and forth) gets complicated.
With the access course, you can get the tuition fees covered by the Advanced Learner Loan if it is an eligible course for it (you would need to check this first though!). If you then finish a degree and graduate with your undergrad degree after doing the ALL, then the ALL is written off and there's no cost to you. However bear in mind you don't get a maintenance loan so would need to cover your personal living costs for that year!
Also something else I forgot but that is important: you can't get a maintenance loan for a part-time CertHE, so would need to self fund your living costs while doing this also.
I don't think the diploma route really adds anything for you and just means you have even fewer years of funding for the degree itself, unless you do a top-up course.
If currently doing the CertHE full time, but have deferred for a year and will go back to start it part-time, if you progress to a part-time degree the full time year of the CertHE I don't believe should affect your entitlement (and since you have a maximum 16 years entitlement as part-time I think it's unlikely to make a difference even if it is?). So my understanding is you would get full funding for the part-time degree (and CertHE) that way.
If you did that but wanted to do a full time undergrad degree after the CertHE, both the full time and part-time years for the CertHE may affect your entitlement and you would likely need to self fund one or more years.
Generally going from full time to part-time is straightforward for SFE entitlements and usually works out ok (although of course, do check with SFE - preferably with their permanent staff by asking them on the official forum here for example). Going from part-time to full time (or back and forth) gets complicated.
With the access course, you can get the tuition fees covered by the Advanced Learner Loan if it is an eligible course for it (you would need to check this first though!). If you then finish a degree and graduate with your undergrad degree after doing the ALL, then the ALL is written off and there's no cost to you. However bear in mind you don't get a maintenance loan so would need to cover your personal living costs for that year!
Also something else I forgot but that is important: you can't get a maintenance loan for a part-time CertHE, so would need to self fund your living costs while doing this also.
I don't think the diploma route really adds anything for you and just means you have even fewer years of funding for the degree itself, unless you do a top-up course.
I think ill do certHE then degree rather than access as then ill only have 2 levels (4 years part time) instead of 3 levels and 6 years PT for the actual degrees im considering.
The only reason i considered the diploma is because it is equivalent to the 1st 2 stages of degree so i would be able to merge over straight to stage 3 pf the degree. Either way i study 6years part time. I think it just depends where one ends and the other starts 2stages then 1 or 1stage then 2. But doing 1 then 2 is a much smaller commitment to evaluate after completion of certHE especially considering ive used my gift year so no room for messing up. Ive got adhd and getting organised time management self motivation are all things im working on but have been bombs in the past in all areas of my life. So the shorter option to keep my self in check is more realistic and sensible for me at the moment. Thats even if im correct with the working of starting points of the degree depending on the previous study.
Thank you for your message
Original post by Lottielou7
Thank you for your reply. Ive only studied part time and will be studying certHE part time too. It was the degree i comsidered going full time. But like you mentioned id have to cover a year of funding if i did. From the asvice ive been given i think its correct i will get full funding for both if i study only part time for everything. So ill try that. Thank you.
I think ill do certHE then degree rather than access as then ill only have 2 levels (4 years part time) instead of 3 levels and 6 years PT for the actual degrees im considering.
The only reason i considered the diploma is because it is equivalent to the 1st 2 stages of degree so i would be able to merge over straight to stage 3 pf the degree. Either way i study 6years part time. I think it just depends where one ends and the other starts 2stages then 1 or 1stage then 2. But doing 1 then 2 is a much smaller commitment to evaluate after completion of certHE especially considering ive used my gift year so no room for messing up. Ive got adhd and getting organised time management self motivation are all things im working on but have been bombs in the past in all areas of my life. So the shorter option to keep my self in check is more realistic and sensible for me at the moment. Thats even if im correct with the working of starting points of the degree depending on the previous study.
Thank you for your message
I think ill do certHE then degree rather than access as then ill only have 2 levels (4 years part time) instead of 3 levels and 6 years PT for the actual degrees im considering.
The only reason i considered the diploma is because it is equivalent to the 1st 2 stages of degree so i would be able to merge over straight to stage 3 pf the degree. Either way i study 6years part time. I think it just depends where one ends and the other starts 2stages then 1 or 1stage then 2. But doing 1 then 2 is a much smaller commitment to evaluate after completion of certHE especially considering ive used my gift year so no room for messing up. Ive got adhd and getting organised time management self motivation are all things im working on but have been bombs in the past in all areas of my life. So the shorter option to keep my self in check is more realistic and sensible for me at the moment. Thats even if im correct with the working of starting points of the degree depending on the previous study.
Thank you for your message
Bear in mind also - many degrees won't necessarily allow for entry into higher years of the course directly so you may well need to start in first year after your CertHE (or DipHE) regardless. So the CertHE might be a more pragmatic choice in that event too
For part-time I think you should be fine on the funding side with either route though
Good luck and hope it goes well!
Original post by artful_lounger
I'm slightly confused about whether you're doing the CertHE part or full time currently, but based on my understanding:
If currently doing the CertHE full time, but have deferred for a year and will go back to start it part-time, if you progress to a part-time degree the full time year of the CertHE I don't believe should affect your entitlement (and since you have a maximum 16 years entitlement as part-time I think it's unlikely to make a difference even if it is?). So my understanding is you would get full funding for the part-time degree (and CertHE) that way.
If you did that but wanted to do a full time undergrad degree after the CertHE, both the full time and part-time years for the CertHE may affect your entitlement and you would likely need to self fund one or more years.
Generally going from full time to part-time is straightforward for SFE entitlements and usually works out ok (although of course, do check with SFE - preferably with their permanent staff by asking them on the official forum here for example). Going from part-time to full time (or back and forth) gets complicated.
With the access course, you can get the tuition fees covered by the Advanced Learner Loan if it is an eligible course for it (you would need to check this first though!). If you then finish a degree and graduate with your undergrad degree after doing the ALL, then the ALL is written off and there's no cost to you. However bear in mind you don't get a maintenance loan so would need to cover your personal living costs for that year!
Also something else I forgot but that is important: you can't get a maintenance loan for a part-time CertHE, so would need to self fund your living costs while doing this also.
I don't think the diploma route really adds anything for you and just means you have even fewer years of funding for the degree itself, unless you do a top-up course.
If currently doing the CertHE full time, but have deferred for a year and will go back to start it part-time, if you progress to a part-time degree the full time year of the CertHE I don't believe should affect your entitlement (and since you have a maximum 16 years entitlement as part-time I think it's unlikely to make a difference even if it is?). So my understanding is you would get full funding for the part-time degree (and CertHE) that way.
If you did that but wanted to do a full time undergrad degree after the CertHE, both the full time and part-time years for the CertHE may affect your entitlement and you would likely need to self fund one or more years.
Generally going from full time to part-time is straightforward for SFE entitlements and usually works out ok (although of course, do check with SFE - preferably with their permanent staff by asking them on the official forum here for example). Going from part-time to full time (or back and forth) gets complicated.
With the access course, you can get the tuition fees covered by the Advanced Learner Loan if it is an eligible course for it (you would need to check this first though!). If you then finish a degree and graduate with your undergrad degree after doing the ALL, then the ALL is written off and there's no cost to you. However bear in mind you don't get a maintenance loan so would need to cover your personal living costs for that year!
Also something else I forgot but that is important: you can't get a maintenance loan for a part-time CertHE, so would need to self fund your living costs while doing this also.
I don't think the diploma route really adds anything for you and just means you have even fewer years of funding for the degree itself, unless you do a top-up course.
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