Tuition Fees Loans

A tuition fee loan is a government-funded student loan in the UK designed to cover the cost of university tuition fees. 

• A tuition fee loan can cover the entirety of your tuition fees, depending on your pace of study. 
• You apply for a loan to fund units (modules) as you study them, meaning you don’t finance your whole qualification upfront.
• Your household income does not affect your eligibility.
• You can apply whether you are currently employed or not.
• Fees are paid directly to OCA, so you don’t have to manage the transactions.

• Repayments are based on what you earn, not how much you borrow.
• You only start repaying once your salary exceeds the government income threshold, paying a set percentage of your earnings above that line. Your employer deducts your repayments automatically through the UK tax system.
• Even if you earn over the threshold immediately, you will not have to start repaying your loan for up to four years after your course begins.
• The interest rate is tied to the Retail Price Index (RPI) and varies according to how much you earn, not how much you owe.
• If you haven’t finished repaying your loan after so many years, it will be written off, and your monthly payments will stop.

Repaying Your Student Loan

Yes. Because Open College of the Arts (OCA) courses are fully accredited degree programmes, our undergraduate degrees qualify for Student Finance Wales, provided you meet the eligibility criteria.

However, the maximum funding available to claim from Student Finance Wales usually covers one unit (module). For the 26/27 academic year, the maximum award is £2,875, and a 40 credit unit at OCA costs £2,382. 

This means that to fully fund your undergraduate degree through Student Finance Wales, you would study one unit (module) per year. If you study more than one unit within your funding year, you would be expected to pay the difference. 

To qualify for a Tuition Fee Loan from Student Finance Wales, you generally need to meet the following criteria:

• Nationality/Residency: You are a UK national or have ‘settled status’, and have lived in the UK for at least three years before the start of your course.
• Previous Study: You do not already hold an equivalent or higher-level university degree (Student Finance typically only funds your first higher education qualification). Student Finance may allow one extra year of funding for students who have to restart study. 
• Course Intensity: You commit to studying at a pace that meets the minimum part-time intensity requirements.
• Age limits: There is currently no upper age limit to secure a tuition fee loan.

Check Your Eligibility

You can get a mixture of loans and grants to help with your living costs. How much you get depends on your household income and course intensity.

It’s important to be aware that the release of any awarded maintenance loans and grants is dependent on you completing your two-week induction. Additionally, the amount you are awarded is reflective of the credits you are studying at any one time. When studying at OCA, you can only study one unit (module) at a time.

Maintenance Loans and Grants

• Step 1: Submit an OCA enrolment form through the course information page. 
• Step 2: Create an account with Student Finance. 
• Step 3: Use our application guidance to help submit your tuition fee loan application.

To help make the application process easier, we’ve created a guidance document which provides all the course information you need from OCA to complete your application.

Review 26/27 SFW Application Guidance Here

Review 25/26 Student Finance Application Guidance for;

• New Students
• Continuing Students