Somerset College

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Course Fee Policy

Further Education Courses

• All course fees must be paid at enrolment to secure a place on a course.
• There are some courses where ALL learners have to pay full fees.  For more information about this, please contact College Information on 01823 366331
• In all other cases, if you are aged between 16 - 18 years you do not have to pay tuition fees.
• There are some courses where additional fees such as Material Fee, Studio Fee and Vocational Resource Fees are charged, these have to be paid by all students, in full, at enrolment.
• In addition to these, some courses require students to attend Educational Visits. Details of the visit costs and dates will be given by your tutor. Payment of these fees must be made before attendance on the visit is permitted.
• If you are aged 19 or over, you will have to pay all course fees shown, unless you are eligible for free Tuition fees. Please refer to Free Tuition Fees section below.
• For 2 year courses, the fees shown are for the first year only. There will be a separate fee when you enrol for the second year of your course.

Click here for further education courses financial terms and conditions.

Payment Options

If tuition fees total £300 or more and you are unable to pay your course fees in one sum, approval may be given to pay fees in instalments by Direct Debit.

There is a £30 non refundable administration cost for this method of payment.

If approved, a Direct Debit form must be completed and signed at enrolment and the first instalment paid.

You will need to bring with you the following Bank account/Building Society details that you wish us to take payments from:

• Account Number
• Sort Code
• Account Holding Branch Address

Courses with tuition fees of £300.00 or over can be paid in 3 instalments 50% at enrolment, 25% on the 2 November 2010 and 25% on 1 February 2011.

Payment Options are not available to Employers paying student fees. Overseas learners are required to pay 50% of their fees at application, with the remainder being paid at enrolment. Please contact Finance Office on 01823 366598 for further details.

Employer Paying Fees

If your employer wishes to pay your Course fees, when you enrol you will need to provide either;

• A formal letter/purchase order on headed paper detailing the costs covered or
• A completed Employer Agreement Form (contact finance@somerset.ac.uk for a copy of this form or refer to Finance Office Forms)

Click here to download the Employer Agreement Form.

Click here for Employer financial terms and conditions. Fees are payable in full on receipt of an invoice.

Fees are payable in full on receipt of an invoice.

Direct Debit Instalments are not available to employers paying student fees.

Free Tuition Fees

Income-based benefits

You may be eligible for free Tuition fees on some courses if you are in receipt of one or more of the following income-based benefits.

• Jobseekers Allowance - Only available if the course you wish to study is less than 16 hours per week.
• Income Support
• Housing Benefit
• ESA - Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Working Tax Credit - Annual household income must be less than £15,276
• Council Tax Benefit - Not including Council Tax Discounts, e.g. Only one Adult living in a home.
• Guarantee Pensions Credits - Savings Credit element not included.
• If you are an Unwaged Dependant of someone claiming one of these benefits

You must provide written evidence of these benefits at the time of enrolment. This evidence must be dated within 3 months of the date of enrolment and will waive the tuition fee element of the course only. All other additional fees are due in full.

Level 2 Entitlement

If you are aged 19 or over and do not already hold any of the following qualifications or higher, you will be able to enrol on your first Full Level 2 qualification without paying Tuition fees:

• 5 full GCSEs (including VGCSEs) grades A* to C
• 10 short GCSEs grades A* to C
• 1 full intermediate GNVQ plus 1 full GCSE grades A* to C
• 2 AS levels (including VCEs) grades A - E
• 1 A/A2 level (including VCEs) grades A - E
• 1 Advanced GNVQ
• 1 NVQ Level 2 pass or higher
• 1 full VRQ Level 2 pass or higher
• 1 First Diploma
• 1 Intermediate Certificate
• 1 Progression Award

This entitlement covers tuition fees for the First Full Level 2 qualification only; it does not cover additional fees such as Exam, Materials or Books. It also does not cover any additional qualification Course fees that you may wish to study.

Level 3 Entitlement

If you are aged between 19 and 24 and do not already hold any of the following qualifications or higher, you will be able to enrol on your first Full Level 3 qualification without paying Tuition fees:

• 4 AS levels (including VCEs) grades A - E
• 2 A/A2 levels (including VCEs) grades A - E
• 1 Advanced GNVQ pass or higher
• 1 NVQ Level 3 pass or higher
• 1 full VRQ Level 3 pass or higher
• 1 Access to HE course
• 1 Advanced Certificate
• 1 National Certificate

This entitlement covers tuition fees for the First Full Level 3 qualification only; it does not cover additional fees such as Exam, Materials or Books. It also does not cover any additional qualification Course fees that you may wish to study.

If you require further information as to what level qualification you already have and therefore unsure of your eligibility for these concessions, please contact 01823 366403.

Refund Policy

If the College cancels a course it will contact the learner and refund the full costs paid by the learner. If a learner withdraws from a course BEFORE the start date of the course the learner will be entitled to a refund of all amounts paid.

If a learner withdraws from the course after the course start date or does not attend the course they have enrolled on there will be no refund of payments made (including tuition, material, registration and exam fees) unless the learner has withdrawn due to a serious medical condition (medical certificate required as evidence).  A proportionate refund of tuition fees will then be made (based on the proportion of the course attended), on application to the Vice Principle of Finance and Resources.

In the event of a refund being authorised, exam fees will only be refunded if they have not already been paid to the relevant Examinations Board.

Refunds will normally be paid by cheque within 28 days of authorisation of refund.

Please note that Refunds will only be granted if they adhere to the College Refund Policy.

Higher Education Courses

Somerset College Higher Education tuition fee for the 2010/11 Academic Year will be as follows:

• £3,290.00 for BA Honours Courses
• £2,203.00 for Foundation Degree Courses

These fees relate to both new and existing students commencing/ continuing their studies in September 2010.

Please contact College Information on 01823 366331 for information on part time Higher Education course fees.

Please refer to the fees quoted above when completing application forms for Tuition Fee Loans or Grants from the Student Loan Company.

These fees relate to the 2010/11 academic year only, there will be an increase for future academic years, of which notification will be given accordingly.

Tuition fees payment terms and methods

Students who are in receipt of funding towards their tuition fees

Students receiving any form of funding towards their tuition fees should bring a letter of confirmation to enrolment. You will receive an assessment letter from the Student Loan Company, showing details of any grants or tuition fee loans you have applied for and been successfully awarded, this document needs to be seen at enrolment.

If you are part-funded you will need to pay a minimum of 50% of your total contribution at or before enrolment.

Students who need to pay all or part of their tuition fees

Fees must be paid either:

• In full at, or before, enrolment or
• Tuition fees can be paid in three installments: ? 50% of at enrolment, 25% 2 November 2010 and 25% 1 February 2011.
• If there are any extra fees, such as Studio Fees, Exhibition Fees etc, these must be paid in full at enrolment.

Payment methods

Fees being paid in full may be paid by any of the following methods:

• Cash
• Cheque or Bankers Draft ? payable to ?Somerset College?
• Credit or Debit Card

If tuition fees total £300 or more and you are unable to pay your course fees in one sum, approval may be given to pay fees in instalments by Direct Debit.

There is a £30 non refundable administration cost for this method of payment.

If approved, a Direct Debit form must be completed and signed at enrolment and the first instalment paid.

You will need to bring with you the following Bank account/Building Society details that you wish us to take payments from:

• Account Number
• Sort Code
• Account Holding Branch Address

Payment Options are not available to Employers paying student fees. Overseas learners are required to pay 50% of their fees at application, with the remainder being paid at enrolment. Please contact Finance Office on 01823 366598 for further details.

Refund Policy

If the College cancels a course it will contact the learner and refund the full costs paid by the learner. If a learner withdraws from a course BEFORE the start date of the course the learner will be entitled to a refund of all amounts paid.

If a learner withdraws from the course after the course start date or does not attend the course they have enrolled on there will be no refund of payments made (including tuition, material, registration and exam fees) unless the learner has withdrawn due to a serious medical condition (medical certificate required as evidence).  A proportionate refund of tuition fees will then be made (based on the proportion of the course attended), on application to the Vice Principle of Finance and Resources.

In the event of a refund being authorised, exam fees will only be refunded if they have not already been paid to the relevant Examinations Board.

Refunds will normally be paid by cheque within 28 days of authorisation of refund.

Please note that Refunds will only be granted if they adhere to the College Refund Policy.

Click here for degree level courses financial terms and conditions.