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Online learning

Online learning funding

Paying for your course fees can be a significant outlay so it's important you make the right decisions about financing your studies.

Our students use a variety of ways to finance their study; some take advantage of our flexible pay-per-module scheme, others are funded by their employer. If you're based in the UK, you may be eligible to apply for a tuition fee loan or a postgraduate student loan.


Pay-as-you-go

Our pay-as-you-go payment plan has no monthly obligations. You simply make a payment when you are ready to start the next stage of your course.


Undergraduate tuition fee loans

Students in England
Students living in England may be eligible for a part-time tuition fee loan to cover the cost of your course fees. This is a non-income based loan and you only start making repayments when your income is above the repayment threshold.

The total number of credits studied in any year must be worth a minimum of 25% (30 credits) of a full-time course (120 credits) - this depends on how many modules you choose and the credit value of each module - see the relevant course page for more information.

Students in Wales
Our online courses are registered with the Welsh Assembly. If you are resident in Wales you may be eligible for grant funding from Student Finance Wales (SFW).

Students in Northern Ireland
If you are resident in Northern Ireland you may be eligible for grant funding from Student Finance Northern Ireland (SFNI).

Students in Scotland
All distance learning is considered part-time by Students Award Agency Scotland (SAAS), unfortunately SAAS does not fund part-time courses outside of Scotland. If you are a Scottish resident applying for one of our online courses, you are unable to claim funding.


Postgraduate student loans

Postgraduate loans of up to £12,471* are available for master's degrees in all subjects as a contribution towards your course and living costs.

If you're studying for 2, 3 or 4 academic years, the loan will be divided equally across each year of your course. If your study runs into another academic year (a 12-month period from when you start) your loan is divided in the subsequent year evenly over the additional months, for example if you are on a 16 month course, four months fall within a second academic year, so you receive 50% of the loan in year 1 and 50% of the loan in the final four months.

*Subject to change.

Eligibility

  • You must be a UK national ordinarily resident in England. Or an EU, EEA or Swiss national with EU settled status.
  • You must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of your course, without an existing qualification at master's-level or above.
  • You must be taking a full stand-alone master's course (180 credits), not a partial master's course requiring a lesser number of credits as a result of being awarded recognition of prior learning (RPL) from previous study or experience.

Enhanced Learning Credits (ELC) scheme

The Ministry of Defence's Enhanced Learning Credits (ELC) scheme promotes lifelong learning among members of the British Armed Forces. The scheme provides financial support in each of a maximum of three separate financial years for higher level learning of a nationally recognised qualification at Level 3 or above.

Please contact us on 01642 335018 to discuss your eligibility to apply for ELC funding.

More about the Enhanced Learning Credits (ELC) scheme


Other funding sources

Disabled students' allowances are available to help cover some of the extra costs you have because of a mental health problem, long-term illness or any other disability.

The Ministry of Defence's Enhanced Learning Credits Scheme (ELC) is available to members of the Armed Forces wishing to undertake higher education with approved ELC learning partners. Our provider number is 1716.


Sponsorship

If you're working and studying, your employer or another sponsor may fund your course or make a contribution to your fees. They need to write to us on headed paper to confirm their intention to fund, or part fund, your studies or complete our sponsor letter template. We invoice them for the full academic year, part-contribution or on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Your sponsor will need to write to us again in the September of each academic year in which they will be sponsoring your studies (the start of the academic year is always in September, regardless of when you start your course.)


For employers and sponsors

Our online courses enable ambitious employees to balance their commitment to work with online study. Our work-related courses are accredited by professional bodies so you can be sure that our course content is relevant. Our specialist online tutors are experts in their respective fields so you'll benefit from the insight they share with your employee.

You may wish to sponsor an employee who is:

  • studying to support an application for promotion
  • acquiring the skills needed in a new role
  • refreshing his or her knowledge after a career break.

Find out more


Courses

We offer a broad range of flexible, online and open learning courses.

View our courses

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