The information on this page is for UK & EU students starting a course from September 2012.
If you're starting a course between September 2011 and April 2012 please see our 2011-12 funding guide.

Tuition fees and tuition fee loan

From September 2012, loans for tuition fees will be extended to eligible part-time first-degree students who complete a minimum of 25% of a full-time course per year. If you are eligible you won't have to pay up front for your tuition.

You will not be expected to start repaying the loan until you are earning more than £21,000 a year.

Repayment of your tuition fee loan

The payment of your tuition fees can be deferred until after you have left university. This means you do not have to pay up front for your tuition and you won't have to pay anything back until you're earning over £21,000 a year.

The amount you pay back each month will depend on your earnings. Repayments will be 9% of income above £21,000.

Example: a newly qualified teacher on a starting salary of around £21,500 would have to repay less than £4 per month.

The repayment process is simple as the amount will be deducted automatically from your pay packet through the tax system.

The table below shows examples of the typical amounts you would pay each month:

Salary	Amount of salary from which 9% will be deducted	Monthly repayment
£21,500	£500	£3.75
£25,000	£4,000	£30.00
£30.000	£9,000	£67.50
£35,000	£14,000	£105.00
£40,000	£19,000	£142.50
£45,000	£24,000	£180.00

Source: www.bis.gov.uk/studentfinance (March 2011)

• If your income falls below £21,000 your repayment will be suspended.
• All outstanding repayments will be written off after 30 years.

Interest rates

Interest on your loan will be charged at inflation plus 3% while you are studying and up until the April after you leave university.

From the April after you leave university if you earn:

• below £21,000 you will be charged interest at the rate of inflation
• between £21,000 and £41,000 you will be charged interest on a sliding scale up to a maximum of inflation plus 3%
• above £41,000 you will be charged interest at the rate of inflation plus 3%

Further information

For further information visit the government's Future Students website.