No change to 2012 student grants

01 March 2012

There will be no change in the way Jersey allocates funding for university students this year – despite changes to UK tuition fees.

Education, Sport and Culture Minister Deputy Patrick Ryan has decided to retain the existing assessment method because of ongoing uncertainty about the effect of tuition fee changes in the UK. Universities can now charge up to £9,000 a year for classroom-based courses but some will not finalise their fees until Easter so the full impact of the new system is not yet clear.

“Parents whose children are planning to go to university this September are already concerned about the implications of the changes in the UK. If they haven’t already done so, they need to contact their university urgently to confirm their tuition fee. It should be the same as for English students in most cases but parents should consider shopping around if it is not. I realise families may be worried but I can at least reassure them that Jersey’s student grant system will not change this year,” said Deputy Patrick Ryan.

The States will spend approximately £8.4 million on supporting university students in 2012. As in previous years, all students have to pay the first £1,500 of their annual tuition fee. The means-testing thresholds for receiving a grant will also stay the same:

• if a student’s parental income is below £26,750, the remainder of their tuition fee (up to £9,000) is paid by the States and they receive a full maintenance grant of £5,300 for living expenses
• if the parental income is more than £89,000 the student does not receive any financial assistance (some variations apply)
• if parental income is between the thresholds, the student will receive a proportion of the grant
• different conditions apply for medical students, mature students and families who have more than one child at university

More information on student grants, including an application form, is available on our website or from the Student Finance team.

Deputy Ryan plans to review higher education funding options for September 2013 and beyond. A White Paper is planned for later this year.