The scheme will help students in England who are likely to be eligible for a student loan (tuition fee loan) to start studying even if they haven’t received confirmation of the loan.
The OU Guarantee
- If someone has registered to study with the OU in the academic year 2012/13, passes the OU’s loan eligibility check and applies for a student loan, the OU offers a guarantee that a delay or refusal from Student Finance England won’t stop them from starting their studies and that:
- The OU will cover the cost of their first module if they pass our eligibility check but are unable to obtain a loan when they apply to Student Finance England; they can start studying this autumn, even if their loan has yet to be confirmed.
Will Swann, Director, Students, said: “Student loans have been part of full-time university study for years, but they are new to part-time students. We want to reassure students who might be worried that they won’t be approved for a student loan in time, that this doesn’t need to be a barrier to study.
“To help give people the confidence to start studying for a qualification, we’ve put in place the OU Guarantee. If potential students register to start studying for an Open University qualification between September 2012 and August 2013, and if they appear to be eligible for a student loan and apply for one, we will provide them with the reassurance that they can start their studies, no matter what.”
Potential students will initially be able to see if they are likely to be eligible for a student loan if the following three statements are true for them:
1. I am planning to study for an undergraduate qualification
2. I am planning to study my first qualification, or one that is higher than any I already have
3. I am resident in England
As potential students then go through the process of registering for a qualification and choosing their modules, they will be asked to complete a detailed check to indicate their eligibility for a student loan and therefore the OU Guarantee.
More information is available here.
At the end of May, the OU launched its Ways to Pay video to help people in England understand the new and different options for funding part-time study with the OU. As well as the Government’s student loans, the OU offers its own loan system, and its Access to Success Route to help people on low incomes, as well as the opportunity for people to pay upfront if they prefer. In addition, over 10 per cent of OU students are sponsored by their employers. More information about Ways to Pay can be found here.
What you can do to help
You can help spread the word about the OU Guarantee and OU Ways to Pay campaigns by sharing these messages across your networks and following the hashtags on Twitter - #OU_guarantee and #OUways2pay
