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Funding Support and College Bursaries for 2023-24

What is the purpose of the Adult Education Budget (AEB)?

The AEB is a funding stream that helps adults (19+ year-olds) to gain the skills they need in order to; retrain and change careers, upskill to progress in a chosen career or to gain qualifications to access higher level learning. Funding is also available to bring communities together which allows free courses to be run without qualifications which are linked to local needs.  

Who and what can be funded?
AEB funding is focused on specific provision, for particular groups of learners, and can be fully funded or co-funded. See below for a quick overview:

  • Full funding can be available for certain courses (there are over 5000 on the list) at Level 2 and Level 3 for adults who do not have a previous Level 3 qualification, other courses might be ‘co-funded.’
  • All math and English qualifications are free (upto GCSE) for 19+ learners who have not previously attained a GCSE grade C or grade 4, or higher, in English and maths.
  • Free Digital Skills Qualifications are available for adults who don’t have the basic digital skills they need for life and work.
  • If you are unemployed or receive benefits then courses can be free or ‘co-funded’
  • If you are in receipt of a low-wage (threshold has been increased to £20,319 and it doesn’t matter if you are self-employed) then courses can be free.

What does ‘co-funded’ mean?
In some cases, the government expect learners and employers to share responsibility for investing in eligible provision and a learner is ‘co-funded’.

Advanced Learner Loans
These are loans very much like a student loan and do not need to be paid back until you are earning over a certain wage (£27,295) Advanced learner loans are available for individuals aged 19 or above to undertake approved qualifications at levels 3 to level 6. Advanced learner loans are paid directly to the college or training organisation on behalf of an individual. Advanced Learner Loans are not means tested or subject to credit checks and any individual who meets the criteria will be able to apply for a loan regardless of their current employment status.

Bursaries available for 2023-24
The Cornwall College Group (TCCG) is committed to helping as many adults as possible to access our courses.  Dependent upon how your course is funded, we may be able to offer financial support towards travel, course fees, childcare, essential equipment and much more.

Further Education Bursaries for Adults (19+)
At Cornwall College we want to remove as many barriers to learning as possible. If you are starting a full-time study programme with us we have a number of bursaries available to financially support you with your studies.

If your individual income is £28,000 or less, per year, then you could be eligible for a college bursary to pay your course fees, and financial support towards travel to and from college, childcare and essential equipment and resources. We have limited funds available so please apply as soon as possible. If you apply late and all funds have been allocated, we may not be able to provide financial support to you.

How do I apply for a college bursary?
It is easy to apply for a college bursary and you can now do this online and directly upload your household income evidence to our online portal. This can be done on a PC or a phone or tablet.

Please watch our demonstration video which takes you through the steps needed to apply for your bursary. Alongside this please read through our FE Financial Support Guide to see what household income evidence we require from you to confirm your award.

Please click here to Apply for a bursary today / Login

Once we have assessed your application, we will contact you by email to let you know the outcome of your bursary application.

Am I eligible for a bursary to support with course fees? 

  • The bursary can support towards tuition fees for courses at level 2 or below, depending on eligibility. To check eligibility and the evidence required, please refer to our FE Financial SupportGuide or contact our enquiries team on studentfinance@cornwall.ac.uk  who will be more than happy to answer any of your questions.  
  • For adult learners looking to study at Level 3 or above you may choose to apply for an    Advanced Learner Loan to fund the cost of the course. Link to advanced@cornwall.ac.uk  

Am I eligible for a bursary to support with travel costs? 

  • You must live more than 3 miles from your chosen campus to be eligible for any transport assistance.
  • If eligible we will pay you a mileage allowance of 30 pence per mile, for your timetabled college sessions  
  • Mileage will be awarded in arrears on a monthly basis, dependent upon you attending at least 90% of timetabled sessions.

Am I eligible for support towards essential equipment and resources?
To support you with your studies we can help you with the purchase of essential equipment and resources, including the loan of a college laptop. All purchase approvals will need to be confirmed by the Student Finance team in advance before any purchases are made or refunded.

Am I eligible for support with my childcare? 
Yes, you can apply for up to £4250 per year, per child, once your free hours have been used. This is for timetabled sessions only and does not include work placements or additional study sessions.

19+ Adults FE Hardship Fund

The Cornwall College Group operate a Hardship Fund to support AEB funded learners who are experiencing financial difficulty.

Please click here to find out more about this fund and how to apply.

Am I able to get support with residential accommodation costs? 
If you are studying a full-time level 2 or 3 qualification and your daily return travelling time would be greater than 2 hours per day you may be eligible for funding support with accommodation costs.  

More information

For advice on funding, bursaries or anything else please get in touch…..

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