How you will support yourself financially throughout your time at college is something that we encourage you to do as early as possible. There are a number of grants, loans and funds available for students depending on what course you are studying. You will not be eligible for them all; unfortunately, some learners may not be entitled to any.
Generally, you can start applying for your student finance in the April before you start in September.
The following will give you an idea of what is available with relevant forms and links for you to be able to download or print off the required forms, if you need any more advice and guidance, help with form-filling or form-checking before you submit, we have a dedicated team of Student Liaison Administrators who are ready to help. We want to make sure that you are accessing all of the financial support that is available to you.
Further Education
There are three main sources of funding available for Further Education students; these are the Education Maintenance Allowance (age 16-18), the Welsh Government Learning Grant (age 19+) and the Financial Contingency Fund.
You will send your EMA or WGLG application form and evidence to Student Finance Wales although you will also need to sign Learning Agreements for these at the college when you start.
Your FCF form needs to be submitted to your Student Liaison Administrator at your base campus.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is a weekly payment of £30 to help 16-18 year olds with the cost of further education. Payments are made every two weeks as long as you meet the college attendance, performance and behaviour requirements. You will be given a lot more information on these during your induction to the college.
EMA is means tested; you will find the relevant criteria on eligibility at:
http://www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/fe/ema.aspx
You can print off the application forms here or request them from your nearest campus:
Welsh Government Learning Grant
The Welsh Government Learning Grant (WGLG) can provide funding to help you with the costs of your education if you’re aged 19 or over and on an eligible course. If you’re studying full-time you could get payments of up to £1,500 a year or, if studying part-time, you could get up to £750 a year.
WGLG is means tested and the amount you get can also be affected by your dependence status, you will find the relevant eligibility criteria at:
http://www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/fe/wglg-fe.aspx
You can print off the application forms here or request them from your nearest campus.
Financial Contingency Fund
The Financial Contingency Fund (FCF) aims to support you in lifting some financial barriers which might have an impact on you doing your course.
The fund can offer significant contributions towards the cost of your childcare fees if you have young children in a crèche or nursery or older children in after-school clubs. It can also help you financially with the costs of kit, course equipment, DBS checks and travelling costs if, for any reason, you are unable to access the free college transport network.
It can’t help with everything though, regrettably we cannot help with the cost of initial course fees (if there are any) and we can’t help you with any debts you may have incurred. Please speak to the relevant Student Liaison Administrator at your base campus, details of which you will find here:
Aberystwyth
Ffion Evans, Coleg Ceredigion, Aberystwyth Campus, SY23 3BP
ffion.evans@ceredigion.ac.uk 07443 352 674 or 01970 639 700
Cardigan
Caryl Rockley, Coleg Ceredigion, Cardigan Campus, SA43 1AB
caryl.rockley@ceredigion.ac.uk 01239 612 032
As with most student finance the FCF is means tested and is only available to those who can demonstrate financial hardship, as a general rule, if you are in receipt of EMA or WGLG and are on an eligible course then you should be eligible for the FCF.
The fund is provided to all Welsh colleges by the Welsh Government and the amount of money that is received to support students can fluctuate annually, as the amount of money we have is restricted, the fund is run strictly on a first come first served basis. As a result, you are strongly advised to apply for this fund as early as possible. Applications for childcare costs need to be submitted by the end of September and all applications for kit/equipment costs will not be accepted after the 31st October.
