Education - support for part-time study and disabled students: consultation - June 2025

The Rationale for Considering Change

The current support system has been in place for several years and we are considering if this approach still fits the needs of students and the sector. There have been various changes to how higher and further education is being delivered over recent years, and we want to ensure that the support for all students reflects this.

We are aware that the income threshold for access to the PTFG has not changed since the introduction of the amended scheme in the academic year 2013 to 2014, and we want to consider whether this still reflects the core aims associated with focusing support on lower income students. We are also aware that the income assessment for PTFG (student income) adopts a different approach to the income assessment for full-time support (household income).

As highlighted above, the 2023 to 2024 Programme for Government committed to improving the parity of living cost support available to those wishing to study part-time and flexibly. The questions proposed as part of this consultation will aim to understand more about how these types of study are currently being funded, what impact the introduction of living cost support might have on how individuals choose to study and what the main benefits are to part-time/flexible study.

We are keen to understand more about the current support mechanisms that are in place for disabled students outside of the main financial support packages provided by the Scottish Government. We also want to hear views on the Scottish Government’s financial support, how this is administered and whether the types and amount of funding provided adequately reflect the issues faced by disabled students accessing further and higher education in Scotland.