Study South WestGuide to higher education for parents and carers

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This guide is for parents and carers in Devon, Cornwall and West Somerset. Maybe your child has reached 16 and is deciding what to do next, maybe they have just finished their GCSEs and are thinking about A level, BTEC and Diploma choices, or maybe they are about to apply to university. Whatever stage they are at, it is never too early to start talking to them about higher education and planning for their future. The choices they make now can help them pave the way to higher education and a successful career.

In here you will find answers to some common questions asked by parents and carers in the South West. There is no need to read the whole thing – just skip to the questions that interest you. If you still have unanswered questions, there are plenty of other places to find information. Here are a few good sources;

Aimhigher guide: ‘Help your child into higher education’ – for a free copy phone 0800 587 8500 and quote reference PARENT08

www.ucas.ac.uk/parents

www.parentlineplus.org.uk

www.edgecampaign.co.uk

The Aimhigher Peninsula Programme have also produced a guide to higher education for care leavers and children in care. To order your free copy phone 01392 262526.

Is higher education really worth it? 2

What support is there for students with disabilities? 3

Do students have to live away while studying? 4

How can I help my child aim for higher education? 5

Does my child need A levels to get into university? 6

Are vocational higher education courses an ‘easy’ option? 7

How will higher education affect my child financially? 8• Do they have to pay tuition fees upfront?• What financial support do they get for living costs?• What do we need to do to get financial support?• Will my child have to struggle to pay back their student loans?

How will it affect me financially? 10 • Will it affect my benefits and tax credits?• Does filling out and signing the household income section on my child’s

application for student finance make me liable for their student debt?• Am I expected to support them?• What is ‘household income’?

Can I do a higher education course? 11

Peninsula colleges and universities contact details 12

Contents

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Money

It is often said that graduates earn on average £100,000 more over their working life than those without HE qualifications but obviously it will depend on things like where you are working in the country, what industry you are working in and whether your motivation for working is money or love of the job. If your child decides to stay and work in the South West, for example, then they are likely to earn less money than if they chose to work in London. But it is fair to say that being a graduate is worth it when you compare the money you pay in course fees and costs to the extra money you will earn over a lifetime, no matter where you live and work.

ChoiceHaving a higher education qualification will give your child more options – now and in the future. One type of job might seem appealing to them now, but perhaps in ten years time they may not feel the same. A higher education qualification gives you more opportunity to progress in your career as well as more choice in the jobs that are open to you – it’s predicted that half the jobs expected to become vacant by 2020 will be ones that demand higher education qualifications. Getting to do a job you love and having more choice now, and in the future, has to go some way to making HE worth it.

EmployabilityGraduates are far less likely to be unemployed. For many jobs, it is enough for you to have the higher education qualification itself – it doesn’t need to be in a particular discipline. This is because employers know that many valuable skills like leadership, problem solving, team working, communication, and computer literacy are all gained by doing a higher education qualification regardless of the subject.

ExperienceThe value of higher education is not just in the qualification you come out with at the end or the extra money you can make in your job. Lots of people remember their student days as the best time of their lives. There is no denying that the social life at university is great, but as well as giving your child the chance to meet new people, broaden their horizons and have a great time, HE will also give your child an opportunity to build confidence, independence and responsibility in a safe setting. As the ancient Chinese proverbs says, ‘The reward is as much in the journey as it is in the destination’.

Is higher education really worth it?

Higher education (HE) is a big investment of both time and money, so of course you want to weigh up whether what your child gets out of it will be worth it in the end. Here are a few points to get you thinking…

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A disability can be either a physical or mental condition which means that often other people are unaware of it unless they are told about it. Physical conditions include those affecting the senses such as sight or hearing and those affecting mobility. Mental conditions include mental illness and specific learning disabilities like dyslexia.

Disability should not be a barrier to succeeding in higher education and there are now many more students with disabilities in higher education than in the past. Universities and colleges should be able to provide the right type of support to all their current and prospective students in order to give everyone a fair chance. To make sure this happens and that students have full access to all services, they employ specialist Disability Advisers. Before applying, prospective students can arrange to meet with a Disability Adviser to find out what support and facilities are available.

Students with disabilities can apply for the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) which pays for things like specialist equipment they may need for studying

or a non-medical helper (for example, a note-taker or reader). For students entering HE in 2008, the Disabled Student Allowance will pay a maximum amount of £20,000 to full-time students for non-medical helpers and £15,000 to part-time students. Disabled Students’ Allowances will not be counted when working out entitlement to benefits or tax credits. New students can apply for the DSA when they fill in the main application for student finance.

It is advisable for a student to declare their disability when filling out the UCAS application however it is not compulsory. Declaring a disability will not affect a student’s application in any way but it will enable the university or college to prepare for their arrival so that the right support is in place when they begin their course.

More informationwww.skill.org.ukwww.direct.gov.uk/disabledpeople

What support is there for students with disabilities?

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Definitely not! Many further education colleges offer higher education courses which means there are many local options to choose from like Penwith College in Penzance, North Devon College in Barnstaple or Somerset College of Art and Technology in Taunton. If your child chooses a course at a university or college close to home then it might make more practical and financial sense for them to stay at home with you. There is a list of the local universities and colleges offering higher education courses at the back of this guide.

Students who live at home are still entitled to the same financial support as those that choose to live away. The only difference being the amount of Maintenance Loan they can borrow is a little less than if they were living away, but all full-time students living at home can still borrow £2,754 per year regardless of household income.

Lots of students decide to live away from home while in higher education because it gives them the opportunity to become more independent.

Traditionally first year university students live in Halls of Residence and these can be either catered or self-catered and either on or off campus. Before your child applies to a particular university, you will be able to find out more about the accommodation available by contacting the accommodation office.

In their first year living away from home, university halls can give an added sense of security to new students and there will normally be some form of welfare and support provision available when needed. Whether they are in university or private accommodation, living with other students means your child will be surrounded by their peers who are going through the same experiences, and that can be a great source of support.

However, there are still many benefits to living at home whilst studying such as saving money on rent and not having the responsibilities that come with living away like paying bills. Also, those students that live at home are sometimes lucky enough to get meals cooked and washing done for them and possibly some special treatment during exam time!

Do students have to live away while studying?

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Having a taste of higher education can be a great experience so if there are opportunities for your child to attend Open Days or Taster Days or even a Summer School at a local university or college then encourage your child to go. Visit www.opendays.com and www.swsummerschools.ac.uk to find out more. You can also use the contact details at the back of the guide to get in touch with local universities and colleges.

Motivating your child to keep up with their school work and supporting them through stressful periods like exam time will obviously help them prepare for higher education and help them keep focused.

When the time comes to start choosing which course to do, make sure your child knows as much as possible about the courses they are interested in. It may be helpful for them to talk to someone who has been on the course or who is doing the job that they want to do. Make sure that your child keeps their options open so that if they don’t get their first

choice they know what other courses they would like to do instead.

On a practical level, you can help your child gain the practical skills they will need when they begin a higher education course like budgeting, cooking and cleaning if they are living away from home!

Even if they won’t admit it, your child is very much influenced by you when making their decisions. Remain positive about their future, ask questions rather than make demands about their plans, and be interested and available to talk when they want to. Simple, really!

How can I help my child aim for higher education?

Encourage your child to continue in education or training but allow them to reach their own decisions. Keep talking to your child about their hopes for the future, what type of job they would like to do, as well as what they enjoy doing now.

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No, A levels aren’t the only route to higher education. Qualifications are ordered into nine different levels. Higher education starts at level 4 and usually a learner will need some type of level 3 qualification or equivalent for entry into a higher education course but there are many different types of qualifications to choose from. Along with A levels, some common qualifications that can allow entry into HE include International Baccalaureates, BTEC Nationals, NVQs at level 3, Advanced Apprenticeships and other vocationally related qualifications at level 3.

Everyone has different learning styles and there are lots of different ways to measure skills and talents so it makes sense that there is more than one type of HE qualification and more than one way to gain entry to different higher education courses. There is also a new level 3 qualification called an Advanced Diploma and it will start being taught at schools and colleges over the next few years. It is expected that many universities and colleges will accept Advanced Diplomas for entry into their courses. To find out more about the new Diploma qualifications, phone 0845 60 222 60 to order the free

information leaflet called ‘The Diploma – what parents need to know’.To make sure they make the right choices, it is very important that your child finds out about any specific entry requirements for the HE courses that they are interested in studying. Some higher education courses ask for specific qualifications and achievement of certain grades. Many HE courses also require students to have completed certain GCSEs like Maths, Science or English. To get the most accurate information on course requirements, contact the admissions department of universities and colleges or visit www.ucas.com

If your child is a practical, hands-on learner then pushing them through the academic A level route probably isn’t the best idea. No matter what teachers may tell you, a student who has excelled at another level 3 qualification, such as a BTEC National Diploma or International Baccalaureate Diploma, is far more attractive to universities and colleges than a student who has just scraped through (or failed) at A level.

Does my child need A levels to get into university?

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You may have heard that vocational qualifications come runners-up to traditional academic qualifications but this is just not the case and they really aren’t as separate from one another as you may think. Vocational higher education courses tend to focus on a specific career or employment industry and include Higher National Certificates and Diplomas, Foundation degrees as well as Honours degrees in career-specific subjects like Engineering or Nursing.

Vocational higher education qualifications offer a hands-on, practical approach to learning and usually involve work placements. So if your child already has a career in mind then taking a vocational course means that they will finish their course with not only the practical skills they need in their career but also with some relevant work experience under their belt.

There are some people that stick to an old-fashioned view that academic HE qualifications are more prestigious and valuable than vocational HE qualifications but in some instances it actually works the other way around. For example, Foundation degrees are developed in partnership with employers which means that Foundation degree graduates end up with the skills and abilities that employers in their industry are looking for. Having a vocational HE qualification shows that you can actually do the job in practice, not just in theory, and that is an essential quality for many employers, particularly in specialist industries. For more information, visit www.edgecampaign.co.uk

Are vocational higher education courses an ‘easy’ option?

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Do they have to pay tuition fees upfront?Most students starting a full-time higher education course will now be able to get a loan to pay for their course fees so you don’t need to find the money to pay before they go. The idea is that they pay back the money when they can afford to – see the question on student loans for more information on how they work.

Depending on what course they choose, your child could get their course fees paid for them. For example, most students on full-time degree courses which lead to qualification as a health professional will have their tuition fees paid for by the Department of Health. This is not a loan and they will never be asked to pay it back. For more information visit www.nhsstudentgrants.co.uk

How will higher education affect my child financially?

What financial support do they get or living costs? If your child is eligible to receive the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) then they will definitely receive financial support for living costs from the government if they choose to go into higher education and this year the government have promised to guarantee it. This means that if your child is 16 and receives the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), they will be given a firm guarantee in writing of the minimum financial support they will receive if they decide to go on to higher education. This will be made up of a full or partial Maintenance Grant which doesn’t ever have to be repaid as well as a student loan. After your child has been told the support they will receive, this will be absolutely guaranteed unless when the time comes, they will be better off under a new financial package or their entitlement has changed.

Here is a rough guide to what support your child could be eligible for when they enter higher education. The figures are based on entry in September 2008. Remember, there are other sources of financial support in the form of bursaries and scholarships from their university or college and also from charities. There is also extra funding for students with disabilities, caring responsibilities and those who have been in the public care system. To find out more, visit www.gr8choice.org/how

Annual Help with Living Costs (living away from home outside London)

Your household income

Non-repayable Maintenance Grant

Student Loan for Maintenance

Total for 2009

£25,000 or less £2,906 £3,453 £6,359

£30,000 £2,053 £3,453 £5,506

£40,000 £1,023 £3,722 £4,745

£50,000 £538 £4,207 £4,745

£60,032 £50 £4,695 £4,745

£61,062 No grant £4,745 £4,745

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What do we need to do to get financial support? The financial support outlined opposite doesn’t happen automatically, your child will need to apply for it. Student finance applications begin in the September of the year before your child wants to start university and they should apply as soon as they have applied for their course – they don’t need to wait until they have a confirmed place.

The application process is straightforward and secure and is online at www.studentfinanceengland.co.uk

To ensure your child receives all the financial help they are entitled to, you will need to fill out part of the application. This will involve filling in your contact details as well as how much you earn. You can save the application as you go and print off a copy for your records.

You can get help from trained advisers at any time by phoning 0845 607 7577. For more information visit www.studentfinanceengland.co.uk

Will my child have to struggle to pay back their student loans? Student loans are not like normal loans. You only start to pay them back once you are earning over £15,000 per year and even then the repayments are always manageable because they are worked out according to how much someone is earning, not how much they owe.

Although the word ‘debt’ strikes fear in the hearts of most people, it is important to remember that student debt is controlled and can’t spiral out of control like, for example, credit card debt. The interest paid on student loans is only linked to

inflation and so will be much lower than the interest rates you pay on a credit card or even a mortgage. Plus, if you haven’t managed to pay your student debt off after 25 years, it is written off. Imagine if banks did that with mortgages!

Here are the five things your child needs to know about student loans:

You do not need to start paying back student loans until the April after you have left your course and until you are earning over £15,000 per year.

Even then, the amount you pay back is based on how much you earn, not how much you owe.

You will only pay back nine percent per year of the salary you earn above £15,000.

If you earn £18,000 per year, you will only repay £5.19 a week no matter how much money you owe. You would be paying back nine percent per year of any extra money you earn over £15,000 (in this case nine percent of £3000 per year).

You can take a repayment holiday of up to five years at a time that suits you.

If you have not managed to pay back the loan after 25 years (30 years if you take the full five year repayment holiday) of leaving your course, the government will write off the amount you owe and your student loan debt will be cleared.

This loan is not like a regular loan where you have to pay a lot of interest. The only interest you pay is related to inflation which means the money you repay is the same in real terms as the money you borrowed. It is likely to be the cheapest form of borrowing you will ever get!

For more information on student finance, phone Aimhigher on 0800 587 8500 and ask to be sent your free student finance pack for parents.

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Will it affect my benefits and tax credits?Once your child gets to the stage where they are ready to enter higher education then your entitlements are likely to change regardless of whether they start a higher education course or not.

When your child enters higher education, you will no longer be able to claim Child Benefit or Child Tax Credit. However these will end anyway once your child leaves full-time further education and once they turn 19 even if they are still in education.

If your child is eligible to receive financial support from the government to help with their living costs whilst in HE, this will not be taken into account when working out your entitlement to other unrelated benefits.

Does filling out and signing the household income section on my child’s application for student finance make me liable for their student debt?No. Even though you are required to provide information about your income in order for your child to receive the maximum amount of financial support they are entitled to, you will never be liable for your child’s debt. This remains the case even if they withdraw from higher education, their earnings do not reach the required level to initiate repayment, or if they die while still owing money.

Am I expected to support them?Officially you are not expected to contribute to supporting your child through higher education if your household income is below £61,060. It is expected that by combining their Maintenance

Grant with their Student Loan for Maintenance and supplementing this with part-time work if necessary, your child should be able to support themselves. However, even if your income is below £61,060 you may feel that you can afford to give your child some financial support and if you do so, this will not affect the amounts they are entitled to from the government.

If your household income is high enough that you are expected to contribute then it will be assumed that you are doing so and without your contribution, your child probably won’t have enough money to cover their costs.

If extra support is needed there are other sources of financial help available from your child’s university or college once they become a student and also from educational trusts and charities. Visit www.scholarship-search.org.uk and www.egas-online.org.uk to find out what is available.

What is ‘household income’?‘Household income’ is a measure used to assess how much financial support a student is entitled to. It is made up of the income of the student as well as anyone they live with who financially supports them including parents or a partner.

If you are the parent of a student who normally lives with you, and are separated or divorced, your income counts towards the ‘household income’ but the student’s other parent’s income will not. If you are the parent of a student and have remarried or live with a partner, their income will count towards the ‘household income’.

How will it affect me financially?

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Yes! All this talk about higher education got you interested in doing a course yourself? Higher education is available to everyone regardless of their age and background. You are also entitled to the same levels of financial support that your child receives – as long as this will be your first HE qualification.

Higher education is definitely within your reach, literally! Whether you live in Cornwall, Devon or Somerset you don’t have to travel far to find great universities and colleges near you and most of them offer the option of studying part-time which means you can fit studying around your lifestyle.

Some universities and colleges also offer the option of distance and online learning so you don’t even need to leave the house to study HE. Studying at the Open University (OU) is by part-time, distance learning and if your household income is £30,000 or below, you will be able to get a grant from the OU to help pay your tuition fees plus they offer free courses to their students with a household income of below £16,090. Support is also available for study costs such as purchasing a computer, accessing the internet, travelling to tutorials and childcare. For more information, you can contact the OU directly on 01908 653 411 or visit www.open.ac.uk/financialsupport

There are many different ways to get into higher education and if you enter as a mature student then things like your previous work and life experience can be taken into account. This process is called APEL and stands for Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning. If you think you could benefit from APEL then start by talking to the university or college that you are interested in before you apply. You may find it useful to prepare some information about yourself and your background (a current CV, for example) before you speak to someone.If you left school with few or no qualifications or if you have been out of education for a long time, you could start by taking an Access course at a local college to brush up on your study skills. An Access course is usually a one year intensive programme which prepares adults for entry to higher education by teaching study skills, maths and I.T. There are usually no formal entry requirements for Access courses but skills assessments are taken place at interviews to make sure you will be able to cope with the coursework. If you left school with few or no qualifications, an Access course will help you to prepare for your return to study as well as meet the entry requirements for your HE course. To find out more about returning to education and learning while working, visit www.learnandwork.org

Can I do a higher education course?

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Bicton Collegewww.bicton.ac.ukenquiries@bicton.ac.uk01395 562400

Bridgwater Collegewww.bridgwater.ac.ukenquiries@bridgwater.ac.uk01278 441234

City College Plymouthwww.cityplym.ac.ukreception@cityplym.ac.uk01752 305300

Cornwall Collegewww.cornwall.ac.ukuni@cornwall.ac.uk01209 617698

Duchy Collegewww.duchy.ac.ukuni@duchy.ac.uk01579 372233

Dartington College of Artswww.dartington.ac.ukenquiries@dartington.ac.uk01803 862224

Exeter Collegewww.exe-coll.ac.ukinfo4u@exe-coll.ac.uk0845 111 6000

East Devon Collegewww.edc.ac.uk enquiries@admin.eastdevon.ac.uk01884 235200

UCP Marjon (University College Plymouth St Mark & St John)www.marjon.ac.ukadmissions@marjon.ac.uk01752 636 700

North Devon Collegewww.ndevon.ac.ukpostbox@ndevon.ac.uk01271 345291

Open Universitywww.open.ac.uk0845 300 6090

Peninsula Medical Schoolwww.pms.ac.ukpmsenq@pms.ac.uk01752 437444

Penwith Collegewww.penwith.ac.ukenquire@penwith.ac.uk 01736 335000

Peninsula colleges and universities contact details

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Plymouth College of Art and Designwww.pcad.ac.ukenquiries@pcad.ac.uk01752 203434

Richard Huish College www.rhcprofessional.co.ukbdu@richuish.ac.uk01823 320863

Somerset College of Arts and Technologywww.somerset.ac.ukenquiries@somerset.ac.uk01823 366331

South Devon Collegewww.southdevon.ac.ukenquiries@southdevon.ac.ukFreephone 08000 380123

Strode Collegewww.strode-college.ac.ukcourseinfo@strode-college.ac.uk01458 844400

Truro Collegewww.trurocollege.ac.ukheinfo@trurocollege.ac.uk01872 267122

University Centre Yeovilwww.ucy.ac.ukucy@yeovil.ac.uk01935 845454

University College Falmouthwww.falmouth.ac.ukadmissions@falmouth.ac.uk01326 211077

University of ExeterAdmissions Office Exeterwww.exeter.ac.ukug-ad@exeter.ac.uk01392 263855

Admissions Office Cornwallwww.exeter.ac.uk/cornwallcornwall@exeter.ac.uk01326 371801

University of Plymouthwww.plymouth.ac.ukprospectus@plymouth.ac.uk01752 585 858

This guide is produced by the Aimhigher Peninsula Programme – a collaborative initiative to widen participation in higher education in the South West Peninsula.

For more information on the programme please email peninsulaprogramme@plymouth.ac.uk or phone 01752 587 957

For any queries related to this guide and other Aimhigher resources, please contact Xeni Nikakis at x.a.nikakis@exeter.ac.uk

The information in this guide is also available online in an accessible format at www.gr8choice.org/parentsandcarers