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Fees, Funding and Other Costs - The Open College of the Arts | Distance Learning Degrees and Courses

To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.

Fees, Funding and Other Costs

Our courses are one of the most affordable ways to gain a degree in the market today, while providing high-quality academic services and course materials for our students.

How much is a degree course with OCA?

OCA degree courses are roughly a third of the cost of a campus university and are paid for and delivered on a course unit by unit basis so that your learning experience is as fruitful as it can be.

Based on 2023/2024 academic year fees, the approximate cost of a BA (HONS) is £14,850 for UK students and £17,010 for international students. Unit fees are reviewed annually therefore the total cost of a degree will vary and may increase over time, however we aim to keep any increases to a minimum where possible.

The 2023/24 course fee breakdown is available to review through the link below.

How can I pay for my degree?

Student’s pay for a degree course on a unit by unit basis, regardless if self-funding or funding through Student Finance. You can review how many units feature in a degree by reviewing the degree pathway available on the course information page.

Student Finance

All OCA degree courses are listed with Student Finance England, Northern Ireland and Wales, allowing eligible students to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan towards the cost of programme of study fees. Eligible students can also access other available funding. Find out more about funding through Student Finance in the section below. From the 1st August 2023 students will be able to apply for funding for OCA courses through the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS), provided they meet eligibility criteria. Please be aware the SAAS provides partial funding towards the cost of an undergraduate programme.







Self-Funding

Being able to work and study at the same time may mean you wish to self-fund your degree. You can pay for the programme of study on a unit by unit basis, or spread the cost further by taking advantage of our deposit and instalment option available with each programme unit.

Learner Support Scheme

As part of OCA’s charitable purpose to widen participation in arts education, funds are allocated each year to our Learner Support Scheme.

This means we can offer bursaries to help with the cost of the unit fee where students would be unable to pay the full cost of the fees themselves and are not eligible for other funding. This includes students who are evidenced to be ineligible for Student Finance funding (England, Wales or Northern Ireland), and from 1st August 2023, the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).

Learner Support Scheme Eligibility and How to Apply
Photo by Becca Tapert on Unsplash

Student Finance FAQs

  • All OCA undergraduate degree courses are listed with Student Finance England, Northern Ireland and Wales, allowing eligible students to apply for a part-time Tuition Fee Loan towards the cost of programme of study fees.

  • When the transfer of the Open College of Arts to The Open University takes place on 1st August, OCA students living in Scotland will have the opportunity to apply for a Part-time Fee Grant from the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) subject to certain eligibility criteria. If you’re studying at least 30 credits and your personal income is £25,000 or less, you could qualify for a grant to help towards your course fees. You will pay the difference between the Part-time Fee Grant and your course fee directly to the Open College of Arts.

    How to apply

    You can apply for a Part-Time Fee Grant once per academic year. You should submit your grant application to SAAS and complete your registration with us on or before the final enrolment date of your course.

    It can take up to 28 days for SAAS to process your application. So, to secure your funding, we strongly recommend that you submit your application immediately after registering onto your module.

    To find out more about the Part-time Fee Grant, visit the SAAS website.

  • You will usually be eligible for student finance if you are doing your first, or a higher level, higher education qualification. There is no upper age limit, and you can apply if you are a UK national, have ‘settled status’ or normally live in the UK.

    Please check your eligibility with the appropriate Student Finance website.

  • No. OCA can only accept part time Tuition Fee Loan applications from Student Finance, as we only offer part-time study. Be sure to check out our degree times frames information.

  • OCA accepts enrolments all year round and as Student Finance applications take between 6 – 8 weeks to process, to help keep your study plans on track we recommend applying at least six weeks before your preferred start date. Don’t worry if your funding application isn’t approved in time. We will keep your enrolment pending until you receive your outcome and then get you enrolled straight away.

    22/23 OCA Student Finance Application Guidance

  • No. OCA do not use UCAS, therefore there is no code to provide.

  • Once per academic year. Your funding application once approved is available for up to 12 months from the start of your academic year. Your academic year will vary depending on when you begin studying your first unit.

    First module starts between Academic Year starts Academic year ends
    1 August to 31 December (Autumn) 1 September

    1 August (Scotland)

    31 August, the following year
    1 January to 31 March (Winter) 1 January 31 December, the same year
     1 April to 30 June (Spring) 1 April 31 March, the following year
     1 July to 31 July (Summer) 1 July 30 June, the following year

    We recommend applying for the full amount available each time to give you the maximum flexibility. 

  • OCA only claims for the cost of your degree programme on a unit by unit basis, and so Student Finance notify you of reduced claims, however you will still have the maximum amount that you applied for available.

  • As per OCA’s Terms and Conditions, funded students are liable for any fees not covered by their funding body, even if they withdraw.  Full fees are due for all courses 14 days after enrolment.

  • Student Finance England only offers maintenance loans for students studying via distance learning because they cannot attend a course in person due to a disability.

    Student Finance Wales offers maintenance grants and loans to students studying a minimum of 30 credits per academic year.

    Student Finance Northern Ireland offers a course grant available each academic year of study. Eligibility for this grant is dependent on your circumstances and study intensity.

    For further information and guidance, please visit the respective Student Finance website or speak directly to their Customer Service team who can advise on your eligibility.

  • Study intensity may affect the amount of maintenance funding you receive. To be eligible, you need to study at a minimum of 25% intensity, which is the minimum study intensity with OCA.

    All new students study 40 credits in the first instance. We can confirm additional units of study within an academic year once students have completed their first course unit and enrolled to another. 

  • OCA will need to confirm your registration with Student Finance to release your maintenance funding. We will confirm your registration when we have evidence of your engagement on or after day 14 of the first unit in the academic year. We cannot confirm your registration prior to the start of the course, and will not confirm it before day 14 of the unit. This is the point your become liable for your tuition fees and means that any maintenance payments due will not be received before this date. You should not expect to receive payment of any maintenance funding until at least 3 weeks after the start of your unit.

Additional Costs

As a student with OCA, most reading materials can be accessed through the digital library services and eBooks, or sent to you in the post if included within the course materials. Degree students also have access to The Open University online library. Foundation courses are not part of degree study.

Other costs you may find on your degree include purchasing software (i.e. Adobe Suite) and /materials/books/texts to assist in your practice and research. These can be around £400 at Level 1, £500 at Level 2, and £550 at Level 3. Costs will vary depending on your choice of medium and whether books are bought or loaned from the library. Work is largely submitted to tutors and for assessment via email, however postal costs are expected to be around £40 per assessment for sending materials depending on quantity and weight of materials. Rates for overseas students will be higher.

For further information about additional costs to your degree programme specifically, please review the Programme Specification available the degree information pages.

Photo by Carissa Weiser on Unsplash

Foundations

£1025

Per course

Level 1 (HE4)

£4,950

For the level

Level 2 (HE5)

£4,950

For the level

Level 3 (HE6)

£4,950

For the level

Total approximate undergraduate fees

Breakdown of costs...

Foundations

£1,175

Per course

Level 1 (HE4)

£5,670

For the level

Level 2 (HE5)

£5,670

For the level

Level 3 (HE6)

£5,670

For the level

Total approximate undergraduate fees

Breakdown of costs...