Fees
GUIDE TO COURSE FEES
AN INTRODUCTION TO PAYING YOUR COURSE FEES
Is there a cost? Do you have to Pay?
There are many ways in which you can fund your course fees.
Most students who normally live in Scotland and study in Scotland do not have to pay fees for full-time courses. This includes:
- People who were born in Scotland and have lived here all their lives
- People from England, Northern Ireland and Wales
- EU students with settled/pre settled status
- People with some types of leave to remain
If you are studying at a Full-Time Non Advanced level and you meet the residency criteria, the tuition fees are waived.
You can find information about full-time and part-time courses below.
You can apply to SAAS to fund all Full-Time Advanced courses, and SAAS can also offer support for students who are studying on a part-time basis via their Part-Time Funding Grant.
Click here to watch BSL videos on how to apply for SAAS funding and what different types of funding exist
Full-time Course Fees
RESIDENCY
To be treated as a Scottish home rate student you must meet all of the following three conditions:
- You normally live in Scotland on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
- You've been living in the UK for 3 years before starting your course.
- You're a UK national or have 'settled status' (no restrictions on how long you can stay).
If you don't meet all of the three conditions, you may still be eligible for some elements of support if you meet the requirements of one of the other UK residency categories listed:
- You're an EU national, or family member of an EU national with settled/pre settled status.
- You're a refugee.
- You're under humanitarian protection (as a result of a failed application for Asylum).
- You're a migrant worker.
- You're a child of a Swiss national; or
- You're a child of a Turkish worker.
- You're a Syrian Refugee (VPRS).
- You’re a Afghan National Under the LES Scheme.
You must also normally be living in Scotland on the first day of the first academic year of the course.
EU Students
Following Brexit, EU nationals who are ‘settled’ or ‘pre-settled’ in the UK will remain eligible to apply for home tuition fees providing they meet the residency conditions.
If you do not meet the above conditions you will be classed as a non home rate student and the fees will be as follows:
Full-Time FE Course: £5,000.00
Full-Time HNC/D Course: £6,000.00
Non Home Rate fees must be paid in full prior to enrolment.
HNC/D students
You should apply to Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for your tuition fees to be paid. If you do not apply for living cost support you should still apply for help with the cost of tuition fees. If you do not apply, you will have to pay this yourself. If you have studied at HNC/D/degree level before SAAS may not pay your fees. Self-financing students should set up a payment plan with our Finance Department as soon as possible to ensure manageable monthly payments. Contact Finance.
How to Apply
You must apply for tuition fees and/or student loan every year that you are studying and apply directly to SAAS. You will need to register your online account through the SAAS website to make an application. Students starting courses in August 2024 are able to apply from mid-April 2024 with applications closing on 31 March 2025.
Applications with no errors and all supporting documents submitted by 30 June are guaranteed to be assessed before your course starts, so it’s important to make an early application. Check out the SAAS YouTube channel for videos to help you with your application.
Contact SAAS on 0300 555 0505 or press Ctrl and click on this link to contact them.
SAAS can be contacted through your SAAS online account, their social media channels and on their website.
ITA
Please note that ITA is currently on hold for the 2024/25 academic year.
Get up to £200 towards the cost of a training course with an SDS (Skills Development Scotland) Individual Training Account (ITA).
Use the money to build the skills you need for a job. Or get some training to take your career to the next level.
And because it's not a loan, you don't have to pay it back.
For further information about ITA please visit our webpage.
Applying for your ITA
You'll find more information and will be able to apply here:
https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/learn-and-train/sds-individual-training-accounts-ita
Part-Time Fee Waivers
If you receive certain state benefits you may not have to pay the tuition fee for part-time day or evening class courses, for example:
• Income Support
• Income-based Job Seekers Allowance
• Incapacity Benefit
• DLA (Disability Living Allowance)
• Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit
• Personal Independence Payment
For further information and guidelines regarding entitlement to a Part-Time Fee Waivers you can contact our Finance Team.
Contact
Part-Time Fee Grant (PTFG)
SAAS Part Time Fee Grant - Student Guidance on Application
The Part-time Fee Grant (PTFG) from SAAS can help with the cost of your tuition fees.
To receive funding, you need to:
- study an eligible course
- meet SAAS’s residence criteria
- earn less than £25,000 gross (before tax and National Insurance) income in tax year ending 5 April 2023, including bonuses and overtime
- have left full-time compulsory education, such as high school
Courses and qualifications
To receive funding, you must be:
- studying an eligible higher education (HE) course
- continuing Professional Development with an eligible training provider in Scotland at levels 7-10 of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).
You must be doing a minimum 30-119 SCQF credits in each year of your course. You may be eligible if you're taking up to 120 credits each year for eligible university courses which are not campus-based.
Examples of eligible qualifications include:
- a degree
- HNC
- HND
- Professional Graduate Diploma in Education
- some Professional Development Awards
- SVQ3
- SVQ4
How to Apply
You can apply for a PTFG if you are studying a part-time course at SCQF Level 7 or above such as higher education courses (HNC or HND), this also includes SVQ3, SVQ4 or Professional Development Awards (PDA), and completing between 30-119 SCQF credits.
You should apply as early as possible to ensure your tuition fee funding is in place at the start of your course. You must apply for PTFG each year of your course.
You can apply for a PTFG (Part Time Funding Grant) – this can be done through SAAS website on www.saas.gov.uk
You'll need the following information:
- email address
- PTFG reference number (Learner ID), if you have applied previously for PTFG
- National Insurance Number
- name of your course provider and course
- number of SCQF credits for your course, your provider will be able to provide this information
- income details
If it's the first time you've applied for funding:
You will need to create an account using SAAS Account Registration.
Once you’ve registered, you’ll receive an email with a link to activate your account. The link will take you to a page confirming that your account is active with a link to the login page.
You'll get the option to apply for funding.
If you've been a full-time student before and have a SAAS Account, you can use the same account for both full and part-time. You do not need to create a new SAAS Account.
If you are successful in your application, SAAS they will only cover a portion of the tuition fees, therefore you will need to pay the remaining balance to Ayrshire College.
Please contact the finance department on 01563 537871 or email coursefees@ayrshire.ac.uk to arrange the payment of your balance.
To allow Ayrshire College to validate your application with SAAS, all of the above must be complete.
Once we have validated your application with SAAS they will advise you the outcome, please note that it is your responsibility to contact SAAS to secure Part Time Funding Grant.
Should your application with SAAS be unsuccessful you will be responsible for the payment of the full tuition fee due.
Employer/Sponsor Paying
If your Employer/Sponsor is paying your fees please submit a letter from your organisation on company headed paper to coursefees@ayrshire.ac.uk.
The letter must state your name, course details and be signed by an appropriate authorised member of staff.
A Purchase Order Number should also be quoted if this is the process your organisation operates.
An invoice will then be sent direct to your employer/sponsor.
Self-Financing
All fees are payable in full upon enrolment, however, if you are not in a position to make full payment at the time of your enrolment and your fees are greater than £150, the College offers the following Instalment Plan. The instalments will be paid monthly by standing order mandate.
Between £201 - £500 25% deposit at enrolment then 3 monthly instalments
Between £501 - £750 25% deposit at enrolment then 4 monthly instalments
Between £701 - £1,000 25% deposit at enrolment then 5 monthly instalments
£1,001 or greater 25% deposit at enrolment then 6 monthly instalments
Single Day and Short Commercial Courses
All single day and short commercial courses must be paid in full prior to the start date to secure enrolment.
Making a Payment
Making a Payment
To make payment by Debit or Credit card - please telephone our payment line on 01563 537871.
To make payment by Bank transfer - please contact coursefees@ayrshire.ac.uk to obtain our current bank account number and sort code.
For any other course fees or finance-related queries please email coursefees@ayrshire.ac.uk