Frequently asked questions

What if my circumstances have changed since I completed the application?

You need to update us with any changes in your circumstances at all stages of your student journey.  You can do this by either emailing Student.Finance.Moray@uhi.ac.uk or by going to the Re-assessment/Appeal option on your Student Hub.

How will I know if my family income is too high?

There is no fixed maximum income a household can have before a student won’t get any funding because there are some adjustments for dependent children and other students in the home.  Also, where you live determines how much you get for travel and what you get for study costs depends on which course you do. However, if you live with parents/are parentally supported and your family income is over £35,000 you can expect a significant reduction to the maximum award.  If your family income is above £45,000 you may not receive anything.  If you live with a spouse/partner and your family income is over £45,000 you can expect a significant reduction to the maximum award. If your family income is above £55,000 you may not receive anything.  We would always encourage you to apply so that you know for sure what you could get. 

I attended the college the previous year do I still need to provide all documentation for my Funding application?

Yes. Each year we need to know what your circumstances are and these may have changed since you last studied.  Also, the funding rules are reviewed each year and there may be changes to what is available and how it is assessed.

Why do I need to give you my parents’ income when I don’t live with them?

In Scotland, you are not automatically classed as independent of your parents for education purposes until you are 25 years of age.  So if you start a course while you are 24, unless you meet the exceptions below, we will need to assess your entitlement on your parent’s household income.    

Students under 25 who are classed as independent:  

• Married students (but not if separated/divorced)
• Students with a dependent child(ren) (TCAN)
• Students who are estranged and receiving Income Support on hardship grounds (Benefits letters or Social Work Letters)
• Students who can provide evidence of financial independence (income above the rate of income support) for any three full tax years (Benefits Letters, P60’s, SA302’s HMRC Letters)
• Students who can provide evidence of living independently for any three full tax years (have a tenancy document in your name)
• Students with no living parents

You are required to provide documentation to prove these circumstances.

I want to move out of my parents’ home. What will I be entitled to?

We assess student eligibility for funding based on their circumstances at the start of the course, so there may not be any change in what you get from the funds.  If you are under 21 at the start of the course, you may be eligible for Housing Benefit whether you have had a choice to leave the family home or not.  If there has been a breakdown in your family circumstances, you may qualify for assistance from Income Support as a young adult in Hardship.  You should make an application for both these benefits as soon as possible.

I want to apply for childcare, but I don’t know what my timetable will be to tell my childminder, what do I do?

We are happy to accept an outline contract between you and your childcare provider.  We will use this to estimate what hours you will need. You can find more information on the maximum funded hours for your course below:

Further education full time Further education part time Higher education full time Higher education part time

Can I get help with my rent if I am a full time student?

As a full-time student you are not automatically entitled to claim Housing Benefit.  However, there are exceptions that allow some students to claim (please check with your local Housing Benefit Department about your circumstances).  You may be able to claim Housing Benefit if: 

• You are on Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Income Related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
• You are a lone parent of a child under 16, or under 20 if s/he is still a qualifying young person. Lone parents can only usually get Income Support until their youngest child’s fifth birthday. If your Income Support stops, make sure you tell the local authority that pays your Housing Benefit.
• You or your partner have reached the qualifying age for Pension Credit. Entitlement to Pension Credit for both men and women is linked to the minimum age at which a woman can receive state retirement pension. Starting in April 2010, this began to rise gradually from age 60 and is planned to reach 65 in November 2019.
• You qualify for a disability premium or severe disability premium with your Housing Benefit – eg, you get Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment or long term Incapacity Benefit (IB), or are registered blind. Note: you cannot qualify for a disability premium if you have limited capability for work.
• You have been incapable of work for the last 28 weeks. Since 27 October 2008, new claimants are assessed under the limited capability for work test. However, the previous incapacity for work test may still apply to you if you are already getting Incapacity Benefit, or Income Support on the basis of disability.
• You have had limited capability for work for the last 28 weeks. You should claim ESA to have your limited capability for work acknowledged (although you do not have to get any ESA to qualify). You can add together weeks of limited capability for work on either side of a gap of up to 12 weeks.
• You get a Disabled Students’ Allowance because of deafness. You are eligible for Housing Benefit from the date you apply for the allowance. However, if you are still waiting to know about the allowance, the local authority may put off making a decision on your Housing Benefit claim, but should then fully backdate your benefit. 
• You are in a couple relationship, your partner is also a full-time student and you have a dependent child under 16, or under 20 if s/he is a qualifying young person. Unlike Income Support and JSA, which you can only claim in the summer vacation, you can claim Housing Benefit throughout the academic year. If you are claiming Income Support or income-based JSA, you must remember that if these benefits stop at the end of the summer vacation, you must tell the local authority so it can reassess your Housing Benefit. If your partner is not a student, s/he can claim Housing Benefit for both of you, whether or not you have a child.
• You are single and caring for a child boarded out with you by the social work department. 

Can I get help with my Council Tax if I am a full time student?

Very few full time students are liable to pay Council Tax.  This is because normally, either the house is exempt because only full time students live there or any non-students who live in the house are the liable person for council tax.  If you live with only one other person, it may be that you can claim a reduction.  Please check with your local Council Tax Department about your circumstances. 

What causes delays?

Common causes of delays in paying your EMA, Bursary, Childcare and Hardship Fund:

EMA Learning Agreement not returned
We cannot pay you the EMA award if you have not completed and returned the Learning Agreement. The Learning Agreement is sent to your Student Hub at the same time as your EMA award letter.

Student circumstances not entered correctly
Our application form is designed to try and collect personal information for students with a variety of personal circumstances.  If you do not think that you have managed to show what your circumstances are, please use the “Additional Information” section to explain anything you want us to know about you.

The Documents you are asked for when you complete the application is based on what you told us on the application.  We do not look at your application until you have given us all of these documents.  If you have missed something out of your funding application that we think you should have included, we will not process your application until you have provided the additional documents we ask for at that point.

Documentation not supplied or not all pages of documents provided
We cannot award or pay you any funds until you have provided us with the documents we request. Only when you have provided us with all your documents do we consider your application complete.

Student and Family Income not fully disclosed
We deal with hundreds of funding applications each year and have a clear understanding of benefits eligibility and allowances. If you miss out income which we think you, or your parents/partner should be receiving we may add a request for additional documents.  You need to keep checking your Student Hub to see if this applies to you.

Student doesn’t check their Student Hub
We don’t send you letters about your funding other than the first letter telling you that your Student Hub account has been activated.  All communication is through your Student Hub with occasional emails to your College email.  So students don’t realise that we are asking for additional information unless they regularly check their Student Hub.

Student doesn’t enter bank details correctly
We make payment to the bank account details you provide on your application, we assume that you have filled this in correctly and if you have made a mistake, the payment will either go to another person or will be returned by the bank.  The best resolution of this is that the payments get to you but very late because of the time it takes the bank to return the funds and for us to re-issue them.  The worst situation is that the funds don’t get repaid by the account holder of the account you told us to pay.   Either way, you will not get that money unless it’s returned to us and it may take some time to sort out, so please enter your bank details carefully.

What if I have studied before?

Each year we need to know what your circumstances are for funding as these may have changed since you last studied.

The funding rules are reviewed each year and there may be changes to what is available and how it is assessed.  Also, your circumstances may have changed, what funding rules you were assessed for in previous years may be different this time because you are older, time may have lapsed on any time sensitive criteria etc.

In Further Education, only funding received for courses you started while over the age of 18 years is taken into account.  This applies to funding for Further and Higher Education Funding.  You are also normally limited to three years funding in the previous six years and each year you are normally required to show that you have had academic progression in the course levels you have studied i.e. progress to the next level of qualification level 4 to level 5 and level 5 to level 6 etc. 

There are some exemptions:

1. failure to complete a level due to medical or compassionate reasons, but you will be required to provide evidence that you have been experienced such issues.
2. One off/any other reason when you want to study a different subject area. This can only be applied if you not relied on this paragraph to receive an award within the previous four years.

Staff at the college can provide general information regarding continued eligibility for funding, but only once a Student Support Fund application is submitted with all the supporting documentation requested, will funding eligibility be confirmed.

We will need you to provide details of

• what courses you previously studied
• what level of qualification were they,
• did you complete the courses successfully
• if you didn’t complete is successfully, the reason why
• what funding you received for the courses (copies of award letters will be required)*
• what the new course is you want to study is (title and level)