Changes in circumstances and funding

Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans are available for the full length of your course plus one extra year if needed, for example if you change your course or repeat a year of study. 

If you exceed this you will be entitled to maintenance funding only and not for tuition fee funding, unless there are compelling personal reasons (CPR) such as an illness to consider.

How to apply for Compelling Personal Reasons

It is possible to extend your period of eligibility for tuition fee funding if you have compelling personal reasons. LJMU can support you with this process but we cannot submit on your behalf or influence if your request is approved. The process for each student finance provider may vary slightly:

• Student Finance England
• Student Finance Wales
• Student Finance Northern Ireland
• Student Awards Agency Scotland

To apply you will need to write to your funding provider requesting CPR by detailing the reason and how it affected your studies. You will also need to provide supporting evidence. Evidence should include third party support such as a letter from your GP or another medical professional involved in your care, LJMU Student Advice and Wellbeing, Social Services, Religious Leader or a death certificate.

When requesting supporting evidence from a third party you should try to ensure that they include the following information:

• details of your Compelling Personal Reasons
• how they affected you
• the period (approximate dates, for example month and year) that they affected you

Once submitted your funding provider will contact you with a decision. All decisions are made at the discretion of your funding body based on the information and supporting evidence you supply. If the grounds for your review request are accepted by your funding body, you will normally be given an extra year of funding in addition to your standard entitlement.

Download our Compelling Personal Reasons Letter template (Word, 14KB)

Nursing students can apply for an additional year of NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF) if you are unable to progress to your next year of study due to Compelling Personal Reasons (CPR). You will need to speak to your Programme Leader about your circumstances in the first instance.

If you are eligible for CPR your Programme Leader will update LJMU Registry Services who will notify the NHS Learning Support Fund provider. NHS Learning Support Fund will communicate the outcome to you which may be an additional year of LSF funding or pro rata funding.

If you are a student who is eligible for a tuition fee loan and this is your first repeat year you should be eligible for funding from your student finance provider. This will include your tuition fee loan, your maintenance loan and any supplementary grants you receive.

You will need to re-apply for student finance funding the way you normally would as a continuing student, remembering to adjust the year of study on your funding account to illustrate that you are studying the year again. Once your additional year is authorised by your funding body it will be paid in the same way as previous years.

If you have any difficulty in submitting or amending an online application as a continuing student you should contact your funding body directly to see if they can assist you to update your application. Please do this as soon as possible to avoid any delays in receiving your funding.

If you have previously studied or repeated part of your studies before you will need to demonstrate Compelling Personal Reasons to receive extra tuition fee funding.

If you are taking a leave of absence from your studies is it important to inform the University and your funding provider as soon as possible. Your student finance provider will reassess your entitlement based on the number of days you have attended. They will also pause any future payments to you and the university until you return to your studies.

Extending loan eligibility during absence

You may be able to receive some funding from student finance during your absence, for example if you are experiencing financial hardship, you are undertaking caring responsibilities or you are experiencing illness. You will need to send evidence of this to your funding provider and it will be assessed on an individual basis.

Download our Loan extension during leave of absence letter template (Word, 15.4KB)

Students can also apply for additional financial support from the Student Support Fund whilst taking a leave of absence. You can apply for this through My LJMU.

If you received more maintenance loan than you were entitled to (for example, after withdrawing or taking a leave of absence) this is called an overpayment. When you return to study your funding provider will usually deduct the overpayment from your future maintenance loan payments.

If this deduction will cause you financial hardship (such as struggling to afford basic living costs) you can ask your funding provider to defer the repayment to give you time to save or find additional funding elsewhere.

Applying for hardship consideration

You will need to write to your funding provider providing an overview of your circumstances along with supporting evidence. This could include your income and expenditure evidenced with bank statements, rent agreement/contract and utility bills or other essential costs.

Your funding provider will review your request and may be able to delay repayment until you have sufficient funds to support yourself.

Download our Overpayment deferral letter template (Word, 15.6KB)

If you’re considering changing your course it is advisable to discuss this with your current programme leader or personal tutor in the first instance. The process and timeline for transfer will depend on the course and how far into the academic year you are. The admissions team will be able to advise further on this.

Tuition fee loans and maintenance loans are available for the full length of your course, plus one extra year if needed. If you have studied your current course for one year or less you should be able to receive a tuition fee loan for your new course. You will need to apply for funding through your student finance provider. Each provider will have a different process so it is best to check with them directly:

• Student Finance England
• Student Finance Wales
• Student Finance Northern Ireland
• Student Awards Agency Scotland

If you are starting a new course after more than one year of study you may not be eligible for a tuition fee loan. You will still be eligible for a maintenance loan but will need to self-fund your tuition fees.

For further information regarding tuition fees or to set up tuition fee payment arrangements you can contact LJMU student registry directly on 0151 231 3289 or via My LJMU.

If you are transferring to a different university, your new university will inform your student funding provider who will issue you with an updated award notification. If you transfer during the academic year your tuition fee loan may be split between the two universities.

If you are transferring into LJMU and your first university has already received an instalment of your tuition fee loan from your student finance provider, you should contact LJMU Registry Services to ensure you are not charged twice.

You can contact LJMU student registry directly on 0151 231 3289 or via My LJMU.

If you are considering leaving university we’d recommend you speak to your programme leader, personal tutor or a Wellbeing Advisor to discuss your circumstances and the options available.

If you decide leave university, we will inform your student finance provider of your decision and your withdrawal date. They’ll then reassess your student finance entitlement based on the number of days you attended your course.

They will stop any future payments to you and your university. You will be informed how much you need to repay, and how to repay.

If you've been to university before, the funding available to you may be reduced.

Students are entitled to tuition fee loans and maintenance support for the length of their course, plus one additional year.

In addition to this extra year of funding, you can apply for further years if you have withdrawn from your most recent course or are repeating a year of your current course because of Compelling Personal Reasons. This is normally for reasons such as illness or a personal crisis.

If you have studied at university before (regardless of where in the world this was) you are strongly advised to get advice before you apply for your course to check that you are eligible for funding.