Frequently asked questions
This section answers some of the most common questions we are asked by members of the public.
If you have a question that is not answered here or elsewhere on our website, please email us at enquiries@offa.org.uk or call us on 0117 931 7171 and we will do our best to help.
- Who do access agreements cover?
- What are ‘higher’ tuition fees?
- What are ‘basic’ tuition fees?
- What is an ‘access agreement’?
- What do we mean by ‘fair access’?
- What is a ‘minimum bursary’?
- What is the difference between a ‘bursary’ and a ‘scholarship’?
- What is the National Scholarship Programme?
- I’ve been contacted by my child’s university who say I need to ‘consent to share’ my financial information – what does this mean?
- Can OFFA give my son/daughter a bursary?
- I come from Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland – what am I entitled to?
- I want to complain about a university or college – can you help?
- What happens if a university or college breaks its access agreement?
Who do access agreements cover?
Access agreements cover home/EU students on publicly funded, full-time undergraduate courses and full-time postgraduate teacher training courses. Other postgraduate courses do not fall under our remit. In future, subject to Parliamentary approval, access agreements will also cover part-time students studying at least 25 per cent of a full-time course.
All publicly funded universities and colleges in England that want to charge higher tuition fees for such courses must have an access agreement approved by us. Postgraduate courses do not fall under our remit.
What are ‘higher’ tuition fees?
‘Higher’ tuition fees are annual fees above the ‘basic’ level up to a maximum of £3,375 (in 2011-12). In 2012-13, following Government changes to student finance, it will rise to £9,000. Higher fees are also sometimes referred to as ‘variable fees’ or ‘top-up fees’. Both fees and the ‘minimum’ bursary rise by an inflationary amount each year.
What are ‘basic’ tuition fees?
In 2011-12 the basic annual tuition fee is £1,345. This is the maximum fee universities and colleges can charge if they do not have an access agreement approved by OFFA. In 2012-13, it will rise to £6,000.
What is an ‘access agreement’?
An access agreement is a document setting out how a university or college charging higher fees intends to safeguard and promote fair access to higher education through its outreach work, financial support etc. Find an access agreement for a particular university/college.
What do we mean by ‘fair access’?
When we talk about ‘fair access’, we mean removing the barriers to higher education, particularly financial barriers, that students from lower income and other under-represented backgrounds face.
What is a ‘minimum bursary’?
Universities and colleges who charge higher tuition fees must give a minimum bursary to students entitled to receive the full state Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant. In 2011-12, the minimum bursary is £338. From 2012-13, following Government changes to student finance, there will be no minimum bursary. Lower income students may be eligible for support under the new National Scholarship Programme.
In practice, most universities and colleges currently give much more than the minimum bursary – the typical bursary given to students on the full Maintenance Grant is around £900 a year.
What is the difference between a ‘bursary’ and a ‘scholarship’?
Universities and colleges sometimes use these terms interchangeably. However OFFA defines a bursary as a cash award where the student’s eligibility is either wholly or partially dependent on their assessed household income. We define a scholarship as an award where eligibility is not dependent on the recipient’s assessed household income. For example, some universities and colleges offer scholarships based on academic criteria or whether the student lives in the local area.
What is the National Scholarship Programme?
The National Scholarship Programme (NSP) is a new scheme to help disadvantaged students with the cost of going to university. Jointly funded by the Government and universities and colleges, it will offer eligible students a £3,000 support package to help with the cost of going to university. It will start in 2012-13. Find out more here.
I’ve been contacted by my child’s university who say I need to ‘consent to share’ my financial information – what does this mean?
Most bursaries and scholarships are paid directly into students’ bank accounts using the financial information provided on your child’s loan application form. However, the Student Loans Company (SLC) can only process bursaries in this way if you and your child ‘consent to share’ the financial information you give them on this form.
Can OFFA give my son/daughter a bursary?
No, we do not give bursaries or any other form of financial help. Bursaries are awarded by individual universities and colleges. If your child is not getting a bursary and you believe they should be, your child should contact their university. Find out more about our remit here.
I come from Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland – what am I entitled to?
Legally, English universities and colleges are only required to give English students the minimum bursary. However, in practice almost all give the same bursary package to all their UK students. Check with the university/college in question. For information on state support entitlement, see the Students from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales section on the Directgov website.
I want to complain about a university or college – can you help?
If you have a complaint about the bursary or scholarship you are receiving, you must first go through the normal complaints procedures at the university or college concerned. If you are still not satisfied, you can take individual complaints to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education which runs a free independent student complaints scheme.
However, if your complaint is systemic (i.e. not just about your individual bursary but about the way your university or college is paying bursaries for all students), please bring the matter to our attention.
Complaints about the content and teaching of courses are matters for individual universities and colleges and do not come under our remit.
What happens if a university or college breaks its access agreement?
There are two sanctions open to us if a university or college seriously and wilfully breaches its access agreement. We can:
- direct HEFCE (the Higher Education Funding Council for England) or the TDA (Training and Development Agency for Schools) to deduct a fine from the university or college’s grant or suspend part of its grant until it has put matters right
- refuse to renew the university’s or college’s access agreement, thereby preventing it from charging full-time undergraduate students tuition fees above the standard level for a period after its access agreement has expired.