Changes in circumstances and funding
Find out how your funding is affected if you're repeating a year, withdrawing, returning to university, transferring or have suspended your studies.
Standard funding terms
The Student Loans Company will generally fund your tuition fees for the length of your course, plus one more year (this is known as your +1 year).
Read the Student Loans Company guidance for further information.
Repeating a year
Internal students
If you're an internal student (i.e. studying with tuition, on campus) and this is your first repeat year, you should be eligible for funding from the Student Loans Company. This includes your Tuition Fee Loan, your Maintenance Loan and any supplementary grants you get.
This will count as your +1 year, so if you need to repeat again you are unlikely to receive a Tuition Fee Loan. However you may still be eligible to receive a Maintenance Loan.
External students
If you're repeating a year as an external student (studying without tuition, off campus), you are not eligible for any funding from the Student Loans Company and will not be able to claim state benefits.
If you have children you may still be eligible for Child Benefit and tax credits.
As an external student, you don’t pay tuition fees. But before becoming an external student, think carefully about how you'd pay for rent and living costs for the year. Most external students have to find paid employment to help cover their costs.
Suspending or leaving your studies
If you suspend your study or withdraw (permanently leave) part way through the year, you'll still have to pay some of your tuition fees. The amount will depend on when you suspend or withdraw. This will also affect the amount of living costs funding you'll receive.
Living costs following suspension
The Student Loans Company will only pay living costs for the number of days you've attended university that year. If your suspension is due to illness, you will automatically receive additional student finance for up to 60 days beyond the date you suspended study. In both cases, this may mean you are required to repay part of your loan instalment.
If you are experiencing financial hardship, you may be able to request a continuation of funding for living costs if you can evidence that it will cause financial hardship.
Write to the Student Loans Company's Discretionary Payments Team to make a formal request, including any relevant evidence to support your situation (e.g. bank statements, medical evidence) and demonstrate ongoing financial commitments (e.g. rent contract).
Write to:
Student Finance England
PO Box 210
Darlington
DL1 9HJ
Leeds University Union Help and Support may also be able to help you.
Email the team at helpandsupport@luu.leeds.ac.uk or call the Help and Support team on 0113 380 1290.
Tuition fee liability
On the first day of each term, all registered students become liable for a proportion of tuition fees.
Learn how much tuition you are liable to pay.
Returning to university
Returning after suspension
If you’re suspended part way through an academic year, the Student Loans Company will count this as your +1 year. This means if you need to repeat another year later in your course, you won't be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan or Maintenance Loan.
Returning after withdrawing permanently
If you have withdrawn permanently from a University course and are now intending to return, you'll be liable for a tuition fee of £9,250 per year.
You may be eligible for a maintenance grant and/or a university scholarship, however your years of previous study will be deducted from your entitlement.
This may mean you need to self-fund the rest of your studies.
Transferring
Transferring to a different course at the University of Leeds
This will not affect your funding unless your new course has a different mode (such as changing between full-time and part-time), different tuition fees, or lasts for a different length of time.
Transferring between universities
If you are transferring to a different university, your new university will inform the Student Loans Company 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 the University of Leeds and your first university has already received an instalment of your Tuition Fee Loan from the Student Loans Company, you should email the Fees team at ugfees@leeds.ac.uk to ensure you are not charged twice.
Changing the way you study
If you switch between full-time and part-time study, your eligibility to state benefits, student loans and funding from the University will change.
If you're changing between full-time and part-time study, email the Funding team at funding@leeds.ac.uk or contact Leeds University Union Help and Support to find out how this will affect you.
Help and support contacts
The following contacts can offer help an support about the financial implications of your changes in circumstances.
Call the Student Funding team on 0113 3432007
Call Leeds University Union Help and Support on 0113 3801290
Leeds University Union Help and Support also provides more general advice on budgeting and other possible sources of funding.
You can find out more about how suspensions and withdrawals may affect your funding on the Student Loans Company website: