UPSU:Advice Placement Funding Handbook

Guide to:

Placement Funding

Tuition Fees

Maintenance Loans

While on placement you still have to pay course fees. These fees vary depending on when you started your course. In the academic year 16/17 if you started your course before 2012 then Plymouth University will charge you £750, if you started after 2012 then the fee is £900. You will need to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan in the usual way through Student Finance www.gov.uk/student-finance.

During your placement year you are normally only eligible for a reduced rate of Student Loan. This is regardless of whether or not your placement is paid. This loan is not means-tested and will be paid to you in three instalments. In the 2016/17 academic year for example you can have a loan of £1,863 if you live with your parents, and £2,483 if you live elsewhere.

Service with a health authority in England Funding for living costs •and Wales or equivalent in Scotland or Northern Ireland for students on unpaid Placements Erasmus Year Students undertaking certain specified unpaid placements may be eligible for additional financial support, including full Student Loans and associated grants, but only if they are one of the specified placements below.

These are: • Service with Local Authority in UK which is related to the health, welfare or care of children/young persons, or similar activities in voluntary organisations in the UK. • Service in a hospital/public health laboratory in UK. • Service in prison, probation, or aftercare service in UK. • Research in UK/overseas institution, this must be either a Higher Education institution or a Research Institution. The general rule is that it must be research in your own right rather than on behalf of someone else.

Plymouth University participates in the European Union’s Erasmus scheme which encourages students to undertake placements in other participating European countries.

Home/EU undergraduates who take part in this scheme are eligible for a mobility grant which can contribute towards the extra costs of living abroad. The countries which will participate in the Erasmus programme 2016/17 are: Austria | Belgium | Bulgaria | Cyprus | Czech Republic Denmark | Estonia | Finland | France | Germany | Greece | Iceland | Hungary | Ireland | Italy | Latvia | Liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Malta | Netherlands | Norway | Poland | Portugal | Romania | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Turkey | Croatia | Switzerland | Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

If you are not sure whether or not you qualify to apply for Erasmus funding then contact ISAS (International Student Advisory Service) on:

international.students@plymouth.ac.uk

You have to apply to participate in the Erasmus scheme but the funding position is often not certain until just a month or so before you are due to start your placement.

If you would normally receive funding from Student Finance then you can apply to them for your usual funding of a Tuition Fee Loan, Maintenance Loan and or Maintenance Grant.

Working Tax Credits If you are on a paid placement you may qualify for Working Tax Credits. This is paid to working people on a low income, with or without children.

You must usually be: • aged 25 or over and work 30 hours or more a week, or • aged 16 or over, have responsibility for a child, and work 16 hours per week or more, or • aged 16 or over, have a disability which puts you at a disadvantage in getting a job, and work 16 hours or more a week

Funding for students with dependants while on placement Students with children or an adult dependant are not eligible for grants for their dependants during their placement year – unless they are on one of the placements as specified as ‘unpaid service’ – see above for details.

Students with children may be able to get the childcare element of Working Tax Credit during their placement year. To qualify lone parents must be working 16 hours per week or more. If you are part of a couple you must both be working 16 hours per week or more unless one of you is incapacitated.

Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) During placement years you are not normally eligible for DSA. This means it is very important that you ensure you have all the necessary equipment you require prior to starting a placement year. You may be eligible for Access to Work and should speak to your employer about this.

Council Tax You are still regarded as a full-time student even when on placement. This means you are eligible for a Council Tax exemption certificate.

Income Tax Everyone, including students on placement, have to pay income tax once their income goes over the earnings threshold.

For 2016/17, the threshold is ÂŁ11,000.

Some employers may pay you a bursary or other allowance which may not be subject to Income Tax.

For detailed information on whether you will be eligible for Student Finance and or Welfare Benefits whilst on placement contact UPSU:Advice.

Our contact details are: Tel: 01752 588373 / 0800 953 0155 Email: advice@su.plymouth.ac.uk We are open 9.30am-5pm Monday Thursday and 9.30am-4.30pm on a Friday during term time.

In vacations we are normally open 10am-4pm Monday – Friday