Dear all
Policy not yet decided here. However, the statement re HE Act was contained
in SSIN 01/06 published in July 06. On the basis of that statement I
e-mailed DfES with various transfer scenarios in Oct 06 and received a
response from Anne Rogers on 7 Nov stating that "existing students ie
students on a course in 2005 will remain on their current support package
until they exhaust their entitlement to support. Where a student is an
existing student in 2005 and transfers post 2006 their support package will
remain as fixed fees. Students that suspend pre 2006 will be treated as an
existing students and will remain on the fixed fees package."
This would support the view that the cryptic note re HE Act in SSIN 01/06
was not intended for these situations.
In addition the new Student Support Regs appear to divide students into
'old-system' and 'new-system' such that a student cannot be both at the same
time. Old-system includes students who began a course prior to 2006 and have
transferred to a course starting post 2006. As old-system students cannot
obtain fee loans it would seem pointless to charge variable fees though the
Regs do not seem to specifically debar this?
Yours
Wendy Shaw
Administrative Assistant - Student Support
Sally Baldwin Buildings - Block B
University of York
YORK
YO10 5DD
Tel 01904 432158
-----Original Message-----
From: Admin-student [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Catherine Ashbee
Sent: 09 March 2006 12:44
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Variable Tuition Fees - Student Transfers
David
Thank you very much indeed for your response.
We would agree with your 'sensible' approach to this, and are very likely to
take this line in the event of needing to provide students with a definitive
answer.
With best wishes
Catherine
Catherine Ashbee
Assistant Registrar
(Student Fees and Funding)
University of Surrey
Guildford
Surrey
GU2 7XH
Tel: +44 (0) 1483 689041
Fax: +44 (0) 1483 683811
-----Original Message-----
From: Admin-student [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David
Ealey
Sent: 09 March 2006 09:46
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Variable Tuition Fees - Student Transfers
Catherine
So far we have taken the view that we would go with the UUK advice and wait
and see what basis the LEA assesses the student. However if many LEA's
follow the line that is suggested below and wait for us a lot of students
will be left in limbo.
It would seem to me that, given the government's commitment to lifelong
learning, then the sensible approach would be to treat any student
transferring from one institution to another as an 'old' student for these
purposes, even if the course is not similar under the DFes definition.
Regards
David Ealey
Catherine Ashbee wrote:
> Colleagues
>
> I would be very interested to hear if you have determined your policy
> in relation to tuition fees liability for full-time undergraduate
> students who started their course before 2006/2007, and who are
> transferring to a course starting before 01 September 2007 which does
> not fall within the DfES' definition of a 'similar' course.
>
> Current guidance from the DfES states that 'The HE Act does not limit
> fees to the fixed fee amount for students who transfer to courses
> which do not fall within the definition of a similar course'.
> However, the DfES understands that 'UUK/SCOP will be issuing guidance
> to HEIs advising them that the fee they charge should not exceed the
> fee support available to the student'.
>
> Advice from UUK suggests that the guidance, when issued, will relate
> primarily to transfers and withdrawals which take place in-year, and
> not to the scenario described above, and advice from an LEA suggests
> that they may review a student's entitlement to support on the basis
> of an HEI's decision on whether or not to charge a variable fee.
>
> This suggests that there could be a significant degree of variation in
> practice across HEIs and possibly LEAs, so I wondered if colleagues
> were formulating their own policies on this, or waiting for further
> guidance from UUK/SCOP to be issued before taking a decision on the
amount to charge.
>
> I look forward to hearing from any colleagues with an interest in this
> area who have any comments or advice, or who are willing to share
> details of their institution's policy on this.
>
> With many thanks
>
>
> Catherine Ashbee
> Assistant Registrar
> (Student Fees and Funding)
>
> University of Surrey
> Guildford
> Surrey
> GU2 7XH
>
> Email: [log in to unmask]
> Tel: +44 (0) 1483 689041
> Fax: +44 (0) 1483 683811
>
>
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