Higher Education Funding
HCA will be charging £3,225 in 2009. The fee chargeable will not rise by more than the rate of inflation before 2010 at the earliest.

What help is available?
Fee loans, Maintenance loans & Higher Education Maintenance Grants are all available from studnet Finance Direct apply for them by clicking here . A brief expanation of what these terms mean follows :- 

Help towards tuition fees - Fee Loans 
Eligible students apply for a Student Loan for Fees to cover these costs. This means that they don't have to find the money before they start their course or whilst they are studying, and the fees are paid direct to HCA on their behalf. Students repay these loans once they have left university and are earning over £15,000. There are no upper age limits imposed for students loans for fees.

Help with livings costs
How much help is available depends on household income. It varies widely, a student in a household with income of under £25,000 would recieve a full non-repayable Maintenance Grant of £2,835 and a Student Loan of £3,365 (a total for the year of £6,200) the other extreme being a student with a household income of £72,034 would just receive a £3,470 Student Loan.

Higher Education Maintenance Grants
Full-time students from lower income households are eligible for a non-repayable Maintenance Grant which is worth up to £2,906 a year. How much a student will get will depend on their income and that of their household. If that income is - £25,000 or less they will receive the full £2,906 grant. - A partial grant will be payable where household income is between £25,001 and £50,021.

Around half of all new full-time students are likely to be eligible for a full or partial grant. Grants are payable in three instalments - one at the start of each term. For every £1 you receive the amount of Student Loan for maintenance you will be eligible for will reduce by 50p. If you have underlying entitlement to state benefits this will be called a Special Support Grant instead and not reduce the amount of Student Loan for maintenance you are entitled to.  

Student Loans for maintenance
Student loans to help with living costs are available. They attract a very low rate of interest - at inflation levels. This ensures that the value of the loan that is repaid remains the same in real terms as the amount borrowed. The Student Loan interest rate for 2009/10 was 0% when the rate for 2010/11 is known we will update this information. 

Maintenance loan entitlement for maintenance grant recipients will be reduced by 50p for every £1 of Maintenance Grant being received.

The loan is repayable once you leave your course and start earning more than £15,000 a year.

Help available to certain types of students
Help for students with children or adult dependents. There is a range of extra help available if you have children or adult dependants Click here for more information
There is extra help available for those students with a disability Click here for more information


The College Access Fund
The students financial circumstances, (and partners if applicable) are reviewed, the fund is applied to and if a financial shortfall is identified an award is made. The fund can help out with any aspects of funding, for example course fees, travel, childcare or materials costs, housing if living independently, general living expenses or any combination of the above. HE Students eligible for a Student Loan must apply for the full loan before submitting an application to the fund.

Students are reminded that applications are considered by a panel that are required to administer the available funds in accordance with BFES regulations. The College has a limited sum available and not all applications will be successful. Applications are accepted and assessed each term and application forms are available from the first week of term.

There are also many other Bursaries, Trust Funds and Charities to which applications can be made for funding, one way to do this is through the computer programme "Funderfinder" please contact Library staff for further details, another option is through the Family Welfare Association (FWA) by completing a Educational Grants Advisary Service (EGAS) form. The FWA input your information to a computer database that matches criteria to find funding that you can apply for.