More support for day release and evening class students

Dr Kim Howells, Minister for Higher Education, has announced increased financial support for part-time students in Higher Education from September 2005.

For the first time, the amount of financial help that part-time students may get towards their fees will be linked to the intensity of study so that those eligible students who are studying the equivalent of 75% of a full time course would receive more money than those studying the equivalent of 50% of a full time course. This means that the maximum amount of financial support available to help students pay their fees will increase from £575 to £840 per year. This change will apply to both new and existing students. Students will also continue to be able to apply for a grant of £250 a year towards their course costs.

A survey of 3,294 part-time undergraduate students carried out by the Open University and published by the Department today showed that the average part-time student is in their mid-to late 30s, female and in full-time paid employment.

Fees for part-time students are set by institutions and the survey, the results of which informed the policy changes, found that eight out of ten part-time students are charged between £400 and £1000 per year for their course with the average part-time student charged £584 or £998 for the equivalent of a full-time course. Extra costs for study (books, travel etc) averaged at £246 per year. The survey found that in total 83% of part-time students were in paid employment with 65% in full-time work. 41% of part-time students receive some help with their fees from an employer with 51% of those who are in full-time paid work getting all of their fees paid by their employer.

The changes mean according to Dr Howells that the Government, which was the first to provide financial support for part-time students has honoured it’s commitment to do even more to support them. The findings of the survey he said revealed that the needs of part-time students are very different from their full-time counterparts and that the Governments policy of having separate arrangements for part-time students is the right one.

Over half of part-time undergraduate students who are in full-time employment receive financial support from their employers. This Dr Howells believes demonstrates the commitment of UK business to improving the skills of their employees. He hopes that the percentage of employers supporting their staff will increase further in future years.

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