Funding Your Studies: Professional Qualifications 19+

For our professional qualifications, the fee you pay depends on a number of criteria, for example: your age, previous studies, the level of the course and whether the course is full or part-time.

All our course fees are listed on each individual course page. Some of our courses are free to those who do not already have the qualification level they wish to study. For example, if you want to study GCSE English and do not already have a GCSE in English at grade C/4 or above, then the course is free. If you DO already have the qualification at grade C/4 or above, a fee would be payable.

Some of our courses are also free to people who have a low income or receive certain benefits. For other courses you may be eligible to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan. See below for details on funding your course, if you are still unsure then do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your eligibility with an experienced advisor.

Fee payers

To study a professional course at York College, you will need to fund your tuition fees. Full-time students may also need to fund their living expenses.

Your tuition fees can be paid in the following ways:

In full at the start of the academic year
In instalments by TouchTone payment system
Employer/sponsor payment
Apply for an Advanced Learner Loan (students aged 19 and over on a Level 3 course of certificate level or above)

Please contact the Finance Department for more details of the payment options available to you on finance@yorkcollege.ac.uk or call 01904 770495.

Two students in a classroom on the English Language for other speakers course

Electrician adult student working on a plug

19-23 on first day of your course – no previous Level 2 qualification

If you are aged 19-23 on the first day of the course and do not already have a full Level 2 qualification or higher, please contact us to discuss your options and to find out if you and the course you are interested in qualify for funding.

Fee remission based on previous qualifications

If you are aged between 19 and 23 on the first day of the course, you may be eligible for fee remission if the course is:

An Entry Level or Level 1 programme which you need to get on to your first Level 2 and you do not already have a Level 2 qualification or higher or
An eligible Level 2 course and you do not already have a full Level 2 qualification or higher or
An eligible full Level 3 course and you do not already have a full Level 3 qualification or higher

Please note:

If you are aged 24 or over on the first day of your course, you are not eligible for this funding
Not all courses qualify for fee remission on this basis, contact us to discuss your options and to find out if the course you are interested in qualifies
Eligibility is also based on meeting government-set residency criteria. Please contact Admissions on admissions@yorkcollege.ac.uk if you need more information

Fee remission based on income or benefits

You may be eligible for fee remission if you are studying a course which will help you progress into work and you are:

In receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance (including NI credits only) or
In receipt of Employment & Support Allowance (and you are in the work-related activity group) or
In receipt of Universal Credit and earning either less than 16 times the appropriate age-related rate of the national minimum wage/national living wage a week or £338 a month or £541 (household claims) a month and are determined by Jobcentre Plus (JCP) as being in one of the following groups:
All Work-related Requirements Group
Work Preparation Group
Work-focused Interview Group
In receipt of another benefit and earning either less than 16 times the appropriate age-related rate of the national minimum wage/national living wage a week or £338 a month (individual claims) or £541 a month (household claims) and you want to be employed (or increase your employment) and the course is relevant to helping improve your employment prospects and the needs of the local labour market or
Employed and earning under £17,374.50 a year

Please note:

Not all courses qualify for fee remission on this basis, contact us to discuss your options and to find out if the course you are interested in qualifies
Eligibility is also based on meeting government-set residency criteria. Please contact Admissions on admissions@yorkcollege.ac.uk if you need more information.

Advanced Learner Loan - don’t pay a penny upfront!

Allocation of Advanced Learner Loan funds is on a first come, first served basis. York College has an allocation of funds and once this has been exhausted, we are unable to fund Advanced Learner Loans. In this situation, we will contact you regarding your options for payment. Towards the end of the enrolment period our allocation may become limited.

If you’ve thought about studying for a new qualification but you’ve never been able to afford it, an Advanced Learner Loan could help you get started. Students aged 19 or older (on the first day of their course) who want to study certain Level 3, 4, 5 or 6 qualifications may be able to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan. The loan can be used to pay for eligible Level 3, 4, 5, or 6 qualifications including Certificates and Diplomas, Access to Higher Education Diplomas and A Levels, enabling eligible students to borrow the course fees and pay them back at a later date.

The minimum loan amount is £300, is for tuition fees only and is paid direct to the College. For most of our eligible courses you can borrow all of the tuition fee. If you only want a loan for part of the tuition fee, you can do that too.

You only start paying back the loan after your course has finished and when you are earning over the threshold. More details on the current thresholds can be found on the government website.

If your loan is for an Access to Higher Education Diploma, the loan and any interest accrued will be automatically written off when you successfully complete your full degree. Please note that this only applies if you progress to, and successfully complete, a degree programme which is eligible for student finance.

For more information visit the government’s website.

Please note:

Not all courses qualify for an Advanced Learner Loan, contact us to discuss your options and to find out if the course you are interested in qualifies
There is no requirement to apply for, or take up, an Advanced Learner Loan to pay your tuition fees
Eligibility for an Advanced Learner Loan is also based on meeting government-set residency criteria. Please contact Admissions on admissions@yorkcollege.ac.uk if you need more information.

Additional help

If you have additional costs such as childcare or travel, there may be help available through the Discretionary Learner Support Fund or the Advanced Learner Loan Bursary Fund. More information and application forms are available from York College. Please note that not all courses qualify for this funding.

The College has advisors who can advise you about funding and benefits. There may be funding available to assist with essential costs depending on the course you are studying and your circumstances. For further advice please contact the Funding Team on 01904 770443 or email funding@yorkcollege.ac.uk

Additional costs

Some of our courses involve additional costs which are not covered by your tuition fees. You can find this information on the individual course pages.

TouchTone information

Our TouchTone telephone payment system allows you to make payments of any amount and on any date that suits you. Your account needs to be paid in full before your course end date, but you now have complete flexibility over your payment date and amounts. This means you can now pay weekly or monthly and you can pay as much or little as you can afford, as often as you like.

We will send you a monthly payment request that details your account balance and gives details of how to pay. All you then need to do is call our automated number and make your payment.

Your first monthly payment request will be issued via email after you enrol.

Please follow these instructions to make a payment.

Please ring 01904 770100 and select option 4 for TouchTone payments. Listen and follow the instructions given.

You will need the invoice number and date of birth in the format of year/month/day to use the TouchTone payment system – please wait for your enrolment confirmation email before attempting to make a payment.

The TouchTone payment system will require you to enter your invoice number and date of birth exactly in the format as is shown in the email you are sent. Please note that when the system repeats back your invoice number it will replace *** with INV. The system will also provide a payment authorisation code.

Useful contacts

Finance Team
Our Finance Team deals with all payments and loan queries.
01904 770495
finance@yorkcollege.ac.uk

Funding Team
Our Funding Team deal with applications for loans, bursaries, or assessment for fee remission.
01904 770443
funding@yorkcollege.ac.uk

Male adult student in workshop MIG welding