Support and FAQs

There is no need to pay your tuition fees up front. Eligible students can apply for a tuition fee loan for each year of their course. This loan is not means tested which means your household income will not affect your eligibility. Your tuition fee loan will cover all of your tuition fee costs and will be paid direct to UoC.

The amount you receive depends on your household income. Visit the student finance pages of the University website https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/study/student-finance/ for information on student loan rates, including links to the student finance calculator https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator

Apply online via the student finance website https://www.gov.uk/student-finance

Applications for full-time undergraduate courses are open now for September 2024 start. Visit Student Finance England to find out more.

There are bursaries and scholarships available, visit https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/study/student-finance/scholarships-and-bursaries/ for more information, including eligibility and prioritisation criteria.

If you have a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty (such as dyslexia) you can apply for Disabled Students Allowance (DSA).

To find out more about DSA and how to apply visit Help if you're a student with a learning difficulty, health problem or disability: Disabled Students' Allowance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you have either an adult who is financially dependent on you or dependant children, you can apply for additional funding including a grant for childcare. In addition, if you have an underlying eligibility for benefits (such as a lone parent) you can receive a higher rate of maintenance loan for living costs.

A Childcare Grant will cover up to 85% of approved or accredited childcare in both term time and holidays.

The Adult Dependants’ Grant is for students with a dependant partner and Parents Learning Allowance is a grant for those with children. All grants are means tested on your household income. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/student-finance/extra-help

Visit the NHS Learning Support Fund web page NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF) | NHSBSA for more information on additional NHS funding if you are studying a pre-registration health course.

Your household income will be based on either your parents or partner income. Any income you receive for part time work will be disregarded. Your previous salary will not be taken into account.

Most full-time students are not eligible for benefits, however there are some exceptions.  You can speak to a benefits adviser for further advice and support on how your student loan may affect your benefits. Full time students and other benefits - Turn2us

Only when you have completed your course and earning above the threshold. More information can be found here https://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan

The Money Advice Team are available throughout the year. Contact the team here https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/study/student-finance/  

Visit Gov.uk for more information and to apply online.  

The quickest and easiest way to apply is online at www.gov.uk/studentfinance , you need to apply before the deadline in May to get your money in time for the start of your course. 

If you don’t know which University you are going to, put your first choice of university and course on the application. You can log back into your online account to change this at any time before you start your course. This way all the time-consuming aspects of the application (eg household income assessments) will have already been completed. 

If you are unable to apply for your student loan in time for approval before the course start date (eg because you came through clearing) then please apply as soon as you can. If you receive an invoice for tuition fees before your loan application is approved then please contact accountsreceivableteam@cumbria.ac.uk to let them know the anticipated timings of your application approval so that they can put your invoice on hold temporarily.  

The Student Loan Company will release the money into your account three to five days after receiving confirmation that you are attending university ie after you have fully registered. Be sure to budget enough money to last you until then. 

The Student Loan Company will send you payment schedule showing when subsequent payments will be made. These will be based on the term dates provided by the University to the Student Loan Company which may vary from the term/semester dates provided to you by the course administrators. 

If your funding is delayed, contact the Money Advice team using the Student Enquiry Point for further advice and support.

Undergraduate Tuition fee loans are paid direct to the University.

Fees for your first year of study will be included in your offer letter and on the relevant course page on our website. For future years of study, please see our Student Finance pages for more information.

To find your course on the Student Loan Company website, you may need to use the UCAS course code or you can search for your course using its title on the University website. 

When selecting your course, make sure that you choose the correct course iteration. Some courses will have multiple variants for location, mode of study (Part time or full time) and start date.  

Please contact uocadmissions@cumbria.ac.uk if: 

• The particular variant you are studying does not show 
• If your course does not appear (the UoC website course page should show if the course is eligible for funding) 

• If you are unsure which course to select 

We can check the eligibility of your course and add it to the Student Loans Company Website if required. 

The Student Loan Company’s finance package may include: 

• A tuition fee loan which covers your course fees. For Undergraduate funding this goes directly to the University 

• A maintenance loan which helps cover living costs, such as food, accommodation and books. This money goes directly into your bank account and must be repaid once you start earning over the threshold after graduating.

For advice on the most effective use of your maintenance loan, contact the Money Advice team using the Student Enquiry Point.

Visit our International Fees and Funding page for more information.

There is plenty of step-by-step advice on how to complete your student finance application. The Student Room is a great resource for student finance guidance.  

If you are a clearing student, you will need to log back into your student finance online account before 1 September, change your university details to the University of Cumbria and select your new course. Failure to amend these details may result in your funding being delayed. Find out more on the Clearing Finance page. 

If you are studying an apprenticeship, you are paid a wage from your employer which covers your living costs.  Apprentices based in England are not eligible for loans from Student Finance England.  Apprentices from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland should contact their student finance organisation to establish current eligibility rules regarding student finance.

A list of criteria is available on the Scholarships and Bursaries page. If you need further advice then contact the Student Money Advisers

They can help you work out whether you are eligible for any additional funding support. 

If you are in the Armed Forces and you are interested in applying for the ELCAS scheme, then visit their website to find out if you match their criteria. Those who do should submit their application at least 5 weeks before the start of their course. Our Learning Provider’s Reference number is 3046-be sure to include this on your application to study at the University of Cumbria.

The ELCAS website has all the forms and details you need to submit your application, so if you think you might qualify, it’s worth having a look.

Our Student Money Advice Team can help you develop your budgeting skills, ensuring that you can keep your spending in check and leave university with as little debt as possible. Have a look at our budgeting top tips here. Alternatively, make an appointment to see us via the Student Enquiry Point. 

The Programme Administration team can provide a number of different letters or documents for you.  

You will receive electronic copies of your Council Tax Exemption Form (if you meet the eligibility requirements for this) and also your Confirmation of Registration letter when you fully register in your first year of study. You will be provided with a new Confirmation of Registration letter each time you register for successive years of your course providing that you have no outstanding issues for your registration.  

More information can be found here. (including how to contact the Programme Administration Department). 

If you are paying your own fees, you have the option of spreading the cost in instalments. Please see our Payment Plans page. 

If for any reason you cannot pay an invoice on time, please contact the Accounts Receivable team to make a payment arrangement: accountsreceivableteam@cumbria.ac.uk 

If you are struggling financially and need help managing your money, get in touch with our money advice team. They can offer you advice on budgeting your money and applying for additional funding. 

Invoices raised are only added to the payment system overnight. Hence, you may have to wait until the following day for your invoice to appear ready for payment 

Please visit the payments page for more information.

Yes, by arrangement if your UK tuition fee invoice is over £1000. This is done by setting up a recurring payment to be taken from your debit card. Please see the payment page for more information.

Note that accommodation invoices are sent termly and hence are not eligible for payment plans.

Payment plans are not available for international students.

Shortly after receiving your Cumbria card you should have received an email from Way2Pay letting you know that your Way2Pay account has been created and giving you a user name, temporary password and link.

Once you have accessed your account you can use the website (or app) to make a one-off payment.

Alternatively, you can arrange a guest account so that a family member can add funds to your account. To do this select Settings, Create guest account. Enter their name and email address and click send Invite. 

Your guest will receive an email within a few minutes asking them to visit the Way2Pay site and giving them a temporary password too. Then can then use the make a payment button to make a one-off payment to your account. 

Any questions contact resourcesupport@cumbria.ac.uk

For tuition fee invoices, please email accountsreceivableteam@cumbria.ac.uk. For all other invoices, please contact the ‘Requestor of Invoice’ named at the bottom of your invoice. 

This section explains what you need to do to ensure that your sponsorship or funding is showing on your tuition fees account.

If you have funding through Student Finance your funding details should automatically be relayed to the university electronically, providing your funding application has been approved showing University of Cumbria on your funding approval letter from them.  If this is the case, you do not need to provide the information below to the university separately.

The university will only define a student as sponsored if the tuition fees are being paid by a funding organisation on their behalf and the funding organisation will pay the tuition fee balance directly to the university. Students whose tuition fees are being paid by their parents or guardians are classed as self-funded.  Students must provide this proof of sponsorship each year they are being sponsored. 

Letter of sponsorship

The income and fees team requires a letter of sponsorship from a funding organisation as proof of sponsorship before any funding is applied to a student’s record. This letter must be on official letter headed paper and a copy emailed to sponsorletters@cumbria.ac.uk quoting the student number in the email.  Please note that an email itself is insufficient - we require a scanned copy of the official documentation. It is advisable to send this as soon as possible in advance of the course start date so it can be applied to the student’s account prior to billing.  The letter must include the following:

• student name
• student number 
• the course or modules they are studying
• duration of sponsorship that the letter covers
• monetary value of the sponsorship (in GBP) being paid towards tuition fees
• purchase order number if applicable (if this is necessary to pay the invoice this must be included)
• email address to which the invoice should be sent (invoices will be sent electronically)
• confirmation that fees will be paid directly to the university

Students will be classed as self-funded until the income and fees team receives your sponsor letter. Sponsor letters from previous academic years will not be accepted unless they cover the full duration of the course. The university reserves the right not to accept sponsorship letters that do not fulfil the above criteria.

NHS Sponsorship

The university has received notification from some NHS Trusts that invoices must quote a purchase order number. if you are submitting a sponsor letter from the NHS it must quote a valid purchase order number. If no purchase order number is quoted on the sponsor letter, then it must be state within the document that a purchase order number is not required by their NHS Trust.

Payment of sponsorship

Upon submission of a valid sponsor letter, sponsorship will be applied to the student record and the income and fees team will invoice the sponsor for payment shortly after the start of the course. It is important that you make your sponsor aware of this prior to supplying your sponsor letter to the university.  Should a sponsor default on the payment of tuition fees then the responsibility for payment of the fees will revert to the student.

You can arrange to pay us in up to 3 instalments but the invoice must be paid by the end of the academic year or before you receive your next invoice for the same service. 

Instalment options are only available to UK tuition fees over £1000.

Contact accountsreceivableteam@cumbria.ac.uk if you have a query about how to pay an invoice or make a pre-payment.

If someone else is paying your invoice (eg sponsor) then please ask your sponsor to send their purchase order to this address

Any queries about the online store should be directed to onlinestore@cumbria.ac.uk or to the event organiser

Provides advice on student loan funding, bursaries, scholarships, support funds and managing your money. Contact the Money Advice team using the Student Enquiry Point.

For all accommodation queries please contact the relevant team. 

Carlisleaccom@cumbria.ac.uk  

Lancasteraccom@cumbria.ac.uk  

Amblesideaccom@cumbria.ac.uk 

Admissions

For information on your fee eligibility (international or home). Please contact:

uocadmissions@cumbria.ac.uk