The Student Room Group

SFE refusing tuition fee after university transfer

I've just completed a foundation degree year, which went well, so I transferred through clearing to a better university to start a 3-year BA. I told SFE I was doing this at the time and all seemed fine. However after a full 3 months and maybe 20 different conversations with them, they have just told me that they are refusing the tuition fee because transferring after the start of the semester means this year counts as two years (one for each university I attended in the academic year), even though the transfer went though after only a few days. They say this means I'm 'repeating the year'. It will be impossible to raise that tuition fee money, I would have to drop out and my degree would be over.

This was never even raised as a possibility before by SFE - obviously I would not have transferred if I'd known this was the case. However they can't point me at the relevant DfE rules and SFE officers have made mistakes when talking to me before (I raised a complaint on another matter which was upheld and I received an apology). Is there anything I can do? Apparently an appeal is a possibility. I'm incredibly stressed out by this. It seems crazy unreasonable and unfair, plus I can't seem to find other similar cases online. Grateful for any suggestions.

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Original post by Devseven
I've just completed a foundation degree year, which went well, so I transferred through clearing to a better university to start a 3-year BA. I told SFE I was doing this at the time and all seemed fine. However after a full 3 months and maybe 20 different conversations with them, they have just told me that they are refusing the tuition fee because transferring after the start of the semester means this year counts as two years (one for each university I attended in the academic year), even though the transfer went though after only a few days. They say this means I'm 'repeating the year'. It will be impossible to raise that tuition fee money, I would have to drop out and my degree would be over.
This was never even raised as a possibility before by SFE - obviously I would not have transferred if I'd known this was the case. However they can't point me at the relevant DfE rules and SFE officers have made mistakes when talking to me before (I raised a complaint on another matter which was upheld and I received an apology). Is there anything I can do? Apparently an appeal is a possibility. I'm incredibly stressed out by this. It seems crazy unreasonable and unfair, plus I can't seem to find other similar cases online. Grateful for any suggestions.

Hi Devseven,

We would need to access your account in order to look into this query. If you want to contact us, either via the live chat in your account or on 0300 100 0607. Regarding the appeal process, I've enclosed further information on this below

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/appeals-procedure

Thanks, Jason
Reply 2
Original post by SFE Jason
Hi Devseven,
We would need to access your account in order to look into this query. If you want to contact us, either via the live chat in your account or on 0300 100 0607. Regarding the appeal process, I've enclosed further information on this below
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/appeals-procedure
Thanks, Jason

Thanks Jason, yes I will do that, but the officer involved was quite clear so I'm hoping for a different answer when I re-engage with somebody else. And I was hoping I could go back with some evidence from the DfE rules. But I can't find them anywhere, presumably they're available somewhere?
Thank you for your response. So if you transfer to a new course within the same academic year with a different start date then you'd be classed as a Multi Academic Year student.

Students are eligible to receive funding for both courses, but this will be classed as 2 years funding when calculating their future entitlement. This is because your previous university would have advised us you were in attendance and enrolled on the course.

If you had to change due to reasons outwith your control or previously had to withdraw or suspend a year prior, you may be eligible to claim back a year of fees. I've enclosed further information below: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/going-back-to-uni-or-repeating-a-year

Just to also advise we are shortly closing until the 27th - should you respond to this message. We will respond when we reopen on the 27th. Thanks, Jason
Reply 4
Original post by SFE Jason
Thank you for your response. So if you transfer to a new course within the same academic year with a different start date then you'd be classed as a Multi Academic Year student.
Students are eligible to receive funding for both courses, but this will be classed as 2 years funding when calculating their future entitlement. This is because your previous university would have advised us you were in attendance and enrolled on the course.
If you had to change due to reasons outwith your control or previously had to withdraw or suspend a year prior, you may be eligible to claim back a year of fees. I've enclosed further information below: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/going-back-to-uni-or-repeating-a-year
Just to also advise we are shortly closing until the 27th - should you respond to this message. We will respond when we reopen on the 27th. Thanks, Jason

Thanks for your response. So it looks like the year started on 23/9, I verbally accepted an offer via clearing from my new uni on 25/9 and then emailed my old uni very shortly after that. And stopped attending of course. However the old uni believe they weren't told I was transferring out until 11/10, which is their admin error. I can't tell or prove exactly when it was I told them yet because I no longer have access to my old uni account but presumably I can get access to that information in the new year. So a couple questions then, is it true what people elsewhere have said, that SFE gives a cutoff of two weeks after the start of the year? And presumably admin errors by universities that are outside of my control are solid grounds for appeal?
Hi there,

It is not us that have a cut off it is the university they may have a liability timescale. You would need to speak to your old university to see if they if they would be charging you for a Tuition Fee Loan.

Thanks, Drew
Reply 6
Hi. Thanks, that's interesting. I've not spoken to them yet as they don't open until the new year, but their policy is clear. There is a two week grace period, so hopefully they'll agree I fall in that bracket because they took a while to process my transfer. But even if they don't, they would only charge for the weeks I attended if transferring. So a maximum of 3 weeks. So if I could clear away that debt privately, would my 4-year entitlement for a loan for tuition fees from SFE still stand?
Hi there, not if you previously were classed as being 'enrolled' during your time on the previous course. If you were 'in attendance' even for a short time this would still be classed as a year of study. Thanks, Jason
Reply 8
Original post by SFE Jason
Hi there, not if you previously were classed as being 'enrolled' during your time on the previous course. If you were 'in attendance' even for a short time this would still be classed as a year of study. Thanks, Jason

Hi. Sorry but I don't understand. Enrollment would negate the entitlement to a student loan even if no loan had taken place? The SFE rules would blow up my education and force me to drop just because my university failed to complete my transfer quickly enough, and having not actually loaned me anything at all for the year in question? Really? And leave me owing for the utterly wasted foundation year? When I've done nothing wrong, made no mistake, checked with the SFE and checked with two university admission departments, none of whom have let me know about this despite, for example, making 20+ calls to the sfe on this subject over 3 months?
Reply 9
Again, if anyone could please point me at the relevant legislation, I'd be grateful. It will be a matter of public record, I just need to know the name of it
Reply 10
It also really seems as if the two preceding comments from official reps contradict each other and I would be incredibly grateful if someone could please take the time to give me a clear answer
Hi Devseven,

If you attend a course for any period, it is considered a year of previous study for SFE purposes. If the university confirms to us that you attended, then we will count this. If there is an individual case where you are unsure if you were considered to be in attendance, you would need to discuss this with the university, as that will be their regulations, rather than SFE.

Thanks, Clare
Reply 12
Original post by SFE Clare
Hi Devseven,
If you attend a course for any period, it is considered a year of previous study for SFE purposes. If the university confirms to us that you attended, then we will count this. If there is an individual case where you are unsure if you were considered to be in attendance, you would need to discuss this with the university, as that will be their regulations, rather than SFE.
Thanks, Clare

Thanks for your response. According to the SFE website, I'd owe 25% of the tuition fee for dropping out in the first few weeks, so by 'SFE purposes' you mean the 3+1 entitlement?
Reply 13
I do wonder if anyone could please please take the time to clarify this system to me, is there any way round this? How about if I borrowed enough to pay off outstanding tuition fees - a much lower sum - from my foundation year instead, could that work? Obviously I'll appeal, but I wonder if anyone had any advice for what is good grounds for appeal?
Reply 14
I've found a document for practitioners called 'SFE Assessing Eligibility Guidance'. It is from 2022 but it includes this paragraph in 5.3 Years of Previous Study. Has this changed then?

where the student transfers from one course (first course) to another before completing the academic year from which they are transferring, the time spent on the first course during that academic year is not counted as a year spent on a previous course (regulation 12(11)), and
Reply 15
It really does look as though every single SFE advisor who's looked at this has treated this as a dropout, rather than a transfer, and that transfers are covered under the regulations and guidance in a very clear way. Am I missing something perhaps?
Reply 16
I've found this year's document and it has the same paragraph
Reply 17
Here is the relevant SFE guidance document for practitioners:

https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/2028/sfe-assessing-eligibility-guidance-ay-2425-v50.pdf

And I've finally found the relevant legislation, which also appears to treat transfers quite clearly, but again perhaps I'm missing something, I would be grateful for clarity from the experts:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1986/regulation/7
Reply 18
Here is the .gov page which implies a transfer would only affect tuition fee funding for other courses in the future:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/student-finance-how-youre-assessed-and-paid/student-finance-how-youre-assessed-and-paid-2024-to-2025
Reply 19
Here is what The Student Room Transfers FAQ sticky states and this is exactly what I've done:

If you apply to continue your degree elsewhere without repeating or restarting a year then your finance eligibility should not be affected.

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