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

The Current System of Support

Part-time Higher Education - Undergraduate

Part-time students get support to pay fees from the Part-time Fee Grant (PTFG). This is if they are studying at a college or university or from home.

Full-time distance-learning students are also supported by this grant. These are usually students who do their studying and coursework online.

The grant pays for tuition fees up to £1,820 per year. This is for people who have an income of £25,000 a year or less. The amount is based on how much is being studied and the fee for full-time courses.

To get funding through the grant, students must study a higher education course or Professional Development.

Support with living costs is not available to part-time students. This is because most can apply for benefits or keep getting benefits while they are studying.

Some part-time and distance learning students can also get paid work to help cover their living costs.

Colleges and universities can use their own funding to support part-time students. Each college or university will decide if a student needs help with things like travel and childcare costs.

The Scottish Government does not control what is charged for part-time courses. This means the support given by the grant does not always cover the cost of study.

Postgraduate

A postgraduate student is someone studying a higher degree. This can be a master's or doctorate. It is completed after a normal undergraduate degree.

Funding for part-time postgraduate courses is only given to some students. They need to meet the criteria for this. They need to finish the course in no longer than half the time the same course could be done full time.

If there is not the same full-time course, the part-time postgraduate course must be completed in less than 3 years.

Students can get a loan of up to £7,000 for their part-time courses. This is to help with their tuition fees. The tuition fee loan is split across each year of the course.

The Scottish Government does not control the fees for postgraduate study. This means the loan given might not cover the full cost.

Full-time Higher Education Distance-learning

Image

Some universities run full-time higher education courses that do not need students to come to the university.

These students can apply for a grant for tuition fee support. The grant can pay up to £1,820 per year. This is for people who have an income of £25,000 a year or less.

Full-time students who are studying at home because of a disability may be able to get support with living-costs. Students must give evidence that they need this support.

Further Education

Further Education support is available to some students studying at college.

To be eligible, the student must:

• live in Scotland
• be older than school leaving age and have left school
• not get other funding
• be under the age of 18

Further Education students studying part-time are not able to get a Bursary, but they can get:

• travel expenses
• study expenses
• Dependants’ Allowance
• childcare funds
• discretionary funds
• Education Maintenance Allowance (if age 16-19)

Disabled Student Support

Higher Education students with extra study costs can get support through the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). This may be because of disabilities or additional learning needs.

This allowance is given to students by the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS). The amount of Disabled Students’ Allowance a student is given is based on their needs. Disabled students studying full-time at college or university can get the maximum DSA if they require it.

Support is also available through the Disabled Students’ Allowance for courses if they are at least half as much work as a full-time course:

• part-time courses at Higher National Certificate (HNC) level or above
• part-time postgraduate courses, including Doctorate (PhD) courses
• distance learning courses
• Open University courses if the student studies at least 60 credits in a year.

Disabled Students’ Allowance is made up of 3 parts:

• Equipment, Software and Accessories Allowance
• Non-medical Personal Help (NMPH) Allowance. To pay for support like notetakers, mental health support and British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters
• Consumable Items Allowance. To pay for costs such as printing, photocopying and paper

Students who cannot use public transport and are paying extra travel costs because of their disability can also apply for travel expenses.

Other Support

The Equality Act 2010 says that colleges and universities must use funding to support disabled students.

Further Education students with a disability who have extra study and travel costs can get support through the Additional Support Needs for Learning Allowance (ASNLA).

The colleges decide the amount offered. This support is available to full-time and part-time students.