Financing your Studies

Full and part-time students studying a qualification worth at least 30 credits can apply for a tuition loan available through the Student Loans Company. The loan is paid directly to Middlesbrough College and there is no upfront payment. Your loan repayments will only start once you are earning over £25,000 a year and all debt is wiped after 30 years. Repayments are based on what you earn, not the amount you borrow. If you are earning over £25,000 a year, your repayment will be calculated as 9% of any income you have about that figure. A typical example of a loan repayment can be found in the table to the right: 

Full-time students can apply for a Maintenance Loan to help with living costs. The amount you borrow depends on where you live and study, and your household income. 

Employers may be able to pay part of all of your fees up front if you ask them. If your study relates to your job, you get to study a qualification that will improve your work performance and advance your career and your employer benefits from a better qualified, more productive and motivated employee. 

If your company doesn’t have any sponsored programmes, but you still think further study would be beneficial to you both consider making a proposal in support of your request.
The first person to talk to will be your Line Manager but you should also be prepared to make a case to other senior staff or the Personnel Manager, who may make decisions on training expenditure.

75 of the FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff on OU courses.

This is a loan from the bank where an agreement is made to borrow an amount between £300 and £10,000. This can be used for course fees, expenses such as books, travel and childcare and living expenses such as rent, food and clothing.

If you have a disability or learning difficulty, you may be eligible to receive a Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) to help pay for any equipment and support you need. Full and part-time students are eligible for DSA on top of any other loans, grants and bursaries. DSA is not means tested and you don’t have to pay this back. 

There are different ways in which the College can help with childcare costs depending on your personal circumstances. We are able to calculate your eligibility to get help with childcare costs based on your lesson hours and course attendance.