Available only for In-House Workshops
PROGRAMME CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW
A Training Workshop which gives delegates a chance to catch up with the treatment of students in the HB scheme, including the correct calculation of current sources of student income.
Includes all the latest information and student finance rates.
Ask any HB assessor to name the types of case they find most difficult and “students” is sure to feature! The most intimidating aspect of a student HB assessment is how to deal with student income – the arrangements for student finance have changed so often in the last few years that it can be difficult to keep up. Different “cohorts” of students receive different rates of finance for both maintenance and tuition fees – exactly what they get depends when their course started. Moreover, the finance available to students in each “cohort” differs depending whether they are NHS-funded or receiving conventional student finance. And increasingly colleges are offering courses that do not follow the traditional September to June year followed by a long vacation.
The first half of the course deals mainly with the question whether the student is eligible for HB at all: Is the claimant “attending” or “undertaking” a course of study at an “educational establishment”? The internet has led to a dramatic increase in distance learning, with a huge range of correspondence courses on offer from all kinds of bodies. Is the course full time? Is it “higher education”, and what is the significance of that? How do we treat a diploma awarded and recognised by a professional body which only has direct application in one specific industry – especially performing arts/dance diplomas?
The second half of this course gets to grips with all the different sources of student finance, explaining who gets what and, most importantly, how it is treated for HB. Frequent questions about student finance include: how mush “special support loan” should be disregarded when the claimant has a “long course loan” for additional study weeks? How much of the postgrad Masters and Doctoral loans are taken into account? And probably the trickiest of all: over what period are different items of student income taken into account – can one student have two or more items of student finance taken into account over different periods? We will also look at less conventional sources of student finance including bursaries offered by educational establishments such as the one discussed by the Upper Tribunal in a case involving Oxford City Council.
We also consider rules about students and occupation of a dwelling: Students who live at a different address in term time; Couples who may have to maintain two homes because one of them is a student; Special rules for college halls and absence during the summer vacation; What happens when a student is included as an “occupier” on someone else’s HB claim?
The course includes plenty of practical exercises dealing with student eligibility and student income – by the end of the day, delegates will have had the chance to practise the complete end-to-end process of a student assessment.
A Workshop presented by Peter Barker, the HB Anorak. By means of presentations, discussions and exercises our presenter will provide a fact-filled day covering the most up-to-date information available.
Scotland and Wales: The afternoon session on the standard version of this course focuses mainly on student income paid to English students studying in England. However, the second half of the day can be tailored for the different rules that apply for Workshops held for organisations in Scotland or Wales.
Topics Covered:
Meaning of “full time student” and other key expressions
· “Student” “attending” or “undertaking” a “course of study”
· “Educational establishment”
· Agency-funded courses
o The rules on “guided learning”
· Correspondence courses (Open University and similar)
Full time students excluded and not excluded from HB
· Meaning of “higher education”
o Performing arts diplomas
· Young students not in higher education
· Rules on incapacity/limited capability for work
· Couples with children where one/both students
· Intercalation
Examples / Exercises – eligible students
Other miscellaneous matters
· Occupation of the dwelling
o Maintaining different addresses
o HB for college halls
o Absence during summer vacation
o Student as an “occupier” on someone else’s claim
Mainstream student income
· “Period of study” and “academic year”
· Loans and grants
· Attribution of student income to correct period
o Including non-traditional term dates
· Disregarded items
Examples / Exercises – student income
Other student income issues
· Research stipends and other postgraduate finance
· Finance for students in hardship
· Left over student income after course ends
Contact us for In-House 'Zoom' booking information for this topic.
We are always pleased to arrange most of our Workshops, such as this one, for staff from an individual organisation. Please email us with your requirements for details.
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