Funding is available to eligible students who are on a full-time HNC, HND or equivalent level course.

You must tell SAAS if you change course or institution, or if your circumstances change at any time, as this might affect the funding you are entitled to.

General residence conditions

To qualify for funding (tuition fees, student loan, bursary and living-costs grants), you must be:

• be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three years immediately before the relevant date. For the majority of students, who start their course between 1 August and 31 December, the relevant date is 1 August, and

• have ‘settled status’ in the UK (as set out in the Immigration Act 1971) on the relevant date, and
• be ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date.

Ordinary Resident

Ordinarily Resident means to have 'habitual and normal residence in one place'.

The Scottish Government expects someone who is ordinarily resident in Scotland to have made their home in Scotland with the intention of staying and living here, and not just to undertake a course of study.

Students who do not meet the general residence conditions 

You may still be eligible for funding in certain circumstances.  Further information is available in SAAS’s residence eligibility conditions documents;

• full residence conditions for UK, EU, EEA and Swiss nationals.
• full residence conditions for nationals from outside the UK, EU, EEA and Switzerland.

The residence eligibility conditions are complicated and SAAS may have to ask you for more information to establish your circumstances. If you are in any doubt about your eligibility, please contact SAAS for advice.

Your age will not affect your ability to access tuition fee support or bursary and living costs grants.  But, in order to receive a student loan for living costs you must be under 61 on the first day of the first academic year of your course.

If you’re under 16 when you start your course, SAAS cannot assess your entitlement to a student loan.  You can apply for your loan at the same time as other support you’re getting, such as tuition fees or student bursary.  When you turn 16, they will assess your loan entitlement.

Dependent (Young) Students

Most school leavers will be classed as 'dependent'.

Under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985, parents have a general obligation to support their children, depending on the particular circumstances of the case. This obligation extends to children over 18 and up to 25 who are in further or higher education or training.

Independent Students

To be classed as an independent student you must meet one or more of the following conditions:

• You have reached the age of 25 before the 1 August of the academic year they are assessing you for.
• You have supported yourself from earnings or benefits outside of full-time education for any three years before the first day of the first academic year of your course.
• You have a child of any age dependant on you at the start of the academic year, and who lives with you for the majority of the week.
• You are married, in a civil partnership or live with a partner prior to the start of the academic year they are assessing you for.
• You have no living parents

Estranged or care experienced

If you’re estranged from your parents or legal guardians, visit SAAS’s estrangement guide.

If you’ve ever been looked after by a UK local authority, you may be eligible for different funding.  For more information visit SAAS’s care experienced guide.

If you have previously been on a full-time Higher Education course, SAAS may not be able to give you full funding. The rules relating to previous study are complicated; if you are in any doubt about your entitlement, you should visit the previous study guide or contact SAAS for advice before completing your application.

Your nationality and the country where you normally live determines your fee status and the cost of your tuition fees.  If you are unsure of your fee status category, complete the Residential Eligibility Form and forward to finance@glasgowkelvin.ac.uk so we can clarify this for you.

Eligible students studying at an institution in Scotland, are entitled to free tuition. SAAS will pay tuition fees straight to your institution.

SAAS will not usually pay your tuition fees if you have previously been on a full-time Higher Education course, for example, if you already have a qualification and had help from public funds to do so.  If you are in any doubt about your entitlement, you should visit the previous study guide or contact SAAS for advice.

If you’re a student from England, Northern Ireland or Wales (RUK), you should apply to your own Local Education Authority for tuition fee and living cost support.

Statutory funding for students from England is administered by Student Finance England.

Statutory funding for students from Northern Ireland is administered by Student Finance NI.

Statutory funding for students from Wales is administered by Student Finance Wales.

Eligible students studying at an institution in Scotland, are entitled to free tuition. SAAS will pay tuition fees straight to your institution.

The standard rate of tuition fees charged for an HNC or HND course are £1,285.

If you are an EU student and have not been ordinarily resident in the UK, EEA/Switzerland or the EU overseas territories for the three years prior to the start date of your course, you will need to pay an international fee of £5,900.

If you haven’t lived in the UK or Europe for the last three years and don’t identify with any of the exceptions to the general residence conditions, you’ll be considered an international student and will have to finance your own study.

The international fee is £5,900.

Asylum Seekers are not supported through SAAS and will need to pay an international fee of £5,900.

The tuition fee you pay will vary depending on your fee status and your course of study and is payable on enrolment.  It is expected that students pay the full fee for any programme of study prior to the commencement of the programme.

Self-financing home rate student fee - £1,285

Self-financing RUK rate student fee - £2,500

Self-financing international rate student fee - £5,900

If your sponsor/employer is paying your fees, please submit a letter from your organisation on company headed paper.

The letter must state your name, course details and be signed by an appropriate authorised member of staff.   A Purchase Order Number should also be quoted if this is the process your organisation operates.  Alternatively, you can download an Employer Declaration Form.

An invoice will then be sent direct to your sponsor/employer.

Please be aware that you will be invoiced directly for your course fee if confirmation of sponsorship is not received within 30 days of the start date of your course.

Fees should be paid in full at enrolment.  You can pay by bacs transfer using the details below or credit/debit card by calling us on 0141 630 5022.

If you are paying by bacs transfer please also make sure to include your student reference number as the payment reference

Sort Code:                  83-07-06

Account Number:      19615424

BIC:                           RBOSGB2L

IBAN:                        GB49RBOS83070619615424

If you are not able to make full payment at the time of your enrolment, please contact our Finance staff to discuss alternative payment methods.  It is expected that payment should be received in full prior to the end date of the course.

If you withdraw within three weeks of the start date of your course, you will be given a full refund minus a £40 administration fee.

Should you withdraw after three weeks of the start of any block, the full fees for the block will be charged.

It is important that you contact the college as soon as possible if you are having trouble in paying your fee, as sanctions for non-payment of fees can include:

• Certification may be withheld
• Withdrawal of ICT facilities
• Referral to College’s Debt Collection Agency
• Potential removal from course of study

Eligible students taking full-time undergraduate courses at HNC level and above can apply for:

• help with tuition fees
• living costs funding (student loan and bursary)
• certain other allowances

All eligible students are entitled to a basic level of funding. This includes tuition fees and a student loan of up to £4,750. You will not need to give SAAS your household income details if the total is £34,000 or above for the previous tax year. If your household income is below £34,000 a year, to be assessed for the higher level of funding, which includes a bursary, SAAS will require your household income details.

The tables below will give you an idea of what living cost funding you can get, based on your household income, as a young or independent student.

Young Student

Independent student

1. This is an income-assessed grant that SAAS pay to students who are:

• Single
• Bringing up a child on their own
• Legally responsible for younger siblings.

The maximum amount SAAS will pay is £1,305 per year.  Further information can be found on the SAAS website.

This is an income-assessed grant that SAAS may pay if you act as a carer for another adult or your:

• Husband
• Wife
• Partner
• Civil partner

You cannot claim this for another student who is in full-time further or higher education who receives support while they study.

The maximum grant SAAS pay is £2,640 a year.  Further information can be found on the SAAS website.

Extra help is available to you if you have additional costs or expenses while you study because of a disability or learning difficulty.. You can get more information about the expenses SAAS may pay from their website. Before SAAS can pay this allowance, you will need to fill in an application form to give them more information. They may also have to refer you to an assessment centre for advice on the equipment you may need. This can take time so it is essential that you apply as early as possible.

If you are a Care Experienced student, you may be entitled to additional funding if you have ever been looked after by a UK Local Authority

You will need to provide evidence to confirm you are eligible for the Care Experienced Student Bursary, which is £9,000. You would also be eligible to receive the Accommodation Grant, where SAAS pay up to £105 a week to help with accommodation costs in the summer holiday. Further information can be found on the SAAS website.

Support for students estranged from their parents/legal guardians

Being estranged means you no longer have contact with your parents or legal guardians, due to a permanent breakdown in your relationship.

If you’re estranged from your parents/legal guardians, you’ll be entitled to the:

• Estranged Students’ Bursary (ESB) OF £1,000
• Maximum student loan of £8,000 for living costs

Further information can be found on the SAAS website.

Whose income SAAS take into account:

• If your parents live together, SAAS will use both their incomes.
• If your parents are separated, divorced or no longer live together, SAAS will use the income of the parent you normally live with.
• If your parent lives with a partner or you have a step-parent, SAAS will use their income as well as the parent you live with.
• If you are married or live with a partner, SAAS will use their income.

In most cases, SAAS will ask to see your household income for the tax year beginning 6 April 2021 and ending 5 April 2022. For those who pay tax as they earn (PAYE), they take the total gross income. For those who are self-employed and those who have income from property, they take the taxable profit. For those who are unemployed, they only take certain benefits into account (see list below), for example, Benefits classed as replacement living costs. Full details of the income SAAS take into account are on the application.

Types of benefits SAAS take into account:

• Incapacity Allowance/Employment and Support Allowance
• Industrial Death Benefit
• Industrial Injuries Benefit
• Job Seekers Allowance
• Maternity Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Retirement Pension
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Severe Disablement Occupational Allowance
• Un-employability Allowance
• Universal Credits Standard Allowance
• Widowed Parents' Allowance
• War Widow's Pension
• War Pension
• War Disablement Pension
• Working Tax Credit (excluding any childcare and disability element)

SAAS do not take into account any earnings from employment. They will use your estimated unearned income for the coming academic year. The types of student income they include are:

• Property and land income
• Pension income
• Benefits classed as replacement living costs
• Working Tax Credits
• Bank, building society and tax-free savings interest
• Dividends
• Maintenance payments paid to you by an absent parent, husband, wife, civil partner or partner

If there is likely to be a drop in your parents or husband, wife, civil partner or partner’s income to a lower income bracket since tax year ending April 2022, SAAS may assess your award using an estimate of their income for the current financial year.

The income brackets that SAAS assess for funding are:

• £0 to £20,999
• £21,000 to £23,999
• £24,000 to £33,999
• £34,000 and above

If your household income has changed, contact SAAS, and they will send you a form to complete