Fees, Finance & Funding for Students Aged 19+

There is a range of funding available to help you pay for a course at The Manchester College. This funding comes from the GMCA/ESFA ASF Funding rules. All funding is applied for at the point of enrolment when a fees assessment will be completed.

Eligibility for funding is based on:

• Residency (where you live and for how long*)
• Age (you must be 19 or older on 31 August)
• Course (can your course be funded)
• In some cases, household income (below £25,000 for college bursary tuition fees)
• In some cases, household income (below £32,200 for Level 3 GMCA.

Adult Skills Fund (ASF) Funding Rules 2024-2025

You can be fully funded if you meet the residency eligibility criteria, are aged 19 and over and earn below the earnings threshold or are unemployed. We may fully fund you if you are unemployed, employed, or self-employed, up to and including level 2 and the level 3 offers, if you earn below £25,000 annual gross salary. In some cases where GMCA funded courses, the income threshold is £32,200.

*In most cases you must have settled status and been ordinarily resident in the UK, Republic of Ireland, or the British Overseas Territories, or the Crown Dependencies (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning. Some exceptions apply, speak to the enrolling staff or careers and welfare if you are unsure.

Asylum seekers are eligible to receive funding if you:

• Have lived in the UK for 6 months or longer while your claim is being considered by the Home Office, and no decision on your claim has been made, or
• Are receiving local authority support under section 23C or section 23CA of the Children Act 1989 or the Care Act 2014

Your immigration permission in the UK may have a ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition. Public funds does not include education or education funding. Therefore, this does not affect your eligibility, which must be decided under the normal eligibility conditions.

Are you unemployed?

For funding you are classed as unemployed if one or more of the following apply:

You receive Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), including those receiving National Insurance credits only:

• You receive Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• You receive Universal Credit (UC), and your take-home pay as recorded on you UC statement (disregarding UC payments and other benefits) is less than £892 a month (if you are the sole benefit claimant) or £1437 a month (if you have a joint benefit claim)
• You are released on temporary licence, studying outside a prison environment, and not funded by the Ministry of Justice

You may also be classed as unemployed if:

• You receive other state benefits (not included in the list above) and your take-home pay (disregarding UC payments and other benefits) is less than £892 a month (if you are the sole benefit claimant) or £1437 a month (if you have a joint benefit claim)
• You are not receiving any benefits, seeking employment, and your course is directly relevant to the employment prospects and the local labour market needs

GCSE English and Maths

If you do not have a GCSE grade A* to C (Level 4/5 or above) in these subjects, then you can study for these qualifications with us. You don’t usually have to pay any tuition or exams fees, regardless of other qualifications you might have.

Advanced Learner Loan

What is it?
If you’re going to be 19 or above at the time you start a Level 3 or Level 4 course with us, you could take advantage of an Advanced Learner Loan, available from the UK government. This loan can be used to pay some, or all, of your tuition fees.
You can learn more about Advanced Learner Loans by listening to our podcast here. 
Note: Level 4 courses (such as AAT) must be taken within the College and not courses within UCEN Manchester (Higher Education HNC, HND, Foundation Degree or Top-up) to be eligible.

Am I eligible?
The Advanced Learner Loan is available for those over 19 years old, studying a Level 3 or Level 4 course in further education and training. This includes Access to Higher Education (HE) diplomas, and some other certificates and diplomas. You’ll need to have been resident in the UK for the last three years to be eligible. You can also apply if you are a member of the UK armed forces serving outside of England studying distance learning. The minimum loan amount you can take is £300, and the maximum is the full cost of your tuition fees.
If you wish to take a loan out for an Access to HE diploma, when you progress on to a university-level course that’s eligible for student finance, the loan for the Access to HE course will be written off, meaning you won’t have to repay any more of it. 
Please note: this does not apply to all level 3 courses.

How do I apply?
Once you have been accepted onto your course, you’ll receive a letter telling you what to do, together with the amount you need to apply for, and any reference numbers needed for the application. The process is simple; there is no means testing or credit rating check. You apply online, and then you don’t need to do anything – your tuition fees are paid automatically. The loan will only apply for tuition fees only. You may be eligible for your exam fees to be remitted under Welfare Benefits or low income. The Student Careers Team will be able to assist with your application or give further advice on how to apply.

Full cost courses

Some of our courses are not eligible for funding. Regardless of your financial circumstances, you will not be eligible for any remission and all course fees, including any exam or materials fees, will be payable at enrolment.At the point of enrolment, you will have a full fees assessment and we will advise on the best funding options for you.

As part of the government's Lifetime Skills Guarantee, the Greater Manchester (GM) Skills Fund and Free Courses for Jobs has been made available to help adults access qualifications regardless of their age or financial circumstances.

You can learn more about these funding schemes by listening to our podcast here.

GM Skills Fund

What is it?

Any adult aged over 19 who hasn’t achieved their first or second Level 3 qualification will have the opportunity to access a range of FREE courses that will allow them to develop new skills to improve their career prospects.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for a fully-funded course through the GM Skills Fund, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• You must be aged 19 or over
• This must be your first or second Level 3 qualification

Click here to explore GM Skills Fund courses

Free Courses for Jobs

What is it?

Any adult aged over 19 who has not previously achieved a Level 3 qualification will have the opportunity to access a range of FREE courses that will allow them to develop new skills to improve their career prospects.

Alternatively, you can also access these courses for FREE if you earn less than £20,319 per annum or are unemployed, regardless of whether you already have a Level 3 qualification.

The courses that will be made available will range from technical certificates to diplomas and will come in a variety of lengths.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for a fully-funded course through the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• You are aged 19 or over

AND

• You do not already have a Level 3 qualification, even if it's in an unrelated subject to the one you want to study

OR 

• You are unemployed or earn less than £20,319 a year

Click here to explore courses

If you are aged 19 to 23 you can also access similar funding support through your legal entitlement to a first full Level 3 qualification.

Some of our courses are not eligible for funding. Regardless of your financial circumstances, you will not be eligible for any remission and all course fees, including any exam or materials fees, will be payable at enrolment.