Student Finance

The arrangements for the funding of higher education tuition fees are different across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This page aims to provide you with a few pointers and links to get you started by covering the key points surrounding eligibility and availability.

The funding available to you to pay tuition fees is based on where you live, your household income, your course and previous study. The information here is based on part-time students studying on either the Certificate, Diploma or Degree course offered by the Chartered Institution of Railway Operators (CIRO) with Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU).

If you would like to contact the CIRO team with any questions, please call us on: 03333 440523 (ext.203) or email learning@railwayoperators.co.uk

Key information:

When applying for your loan, you must make sure you are applying for a part-time loan

• All course details you will need can be found on the table below
• On receipt of your student finance application, the University will ‘confirm your attendance’
• GCU are only able to do this if you have registered with them for that academic year
• When your application is complete, the student finance company will issue you with a ‘Payment Timetable’ which includes the course details as listed above, student name and customer reference number, as well as a breakdown of the amount of money that is being borrowed, and when the expected payment dates are throughout the academic year
• It is important that you send a copy of your payment timetable to CIRO to confirm that your finance is in place

Course Codes:

If you live in England…

English or EU part-time students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan from GOV.UK run by the UK Government.

All the information you will need can be found in the 2022/23 Student England finance guide for Part-time students – click here

Eligibility: Generally, you will only get student finance if you’re doing your first higher education qualification. This is true even if your previous course was self-funded. However, you may still get it if, for example: you change course, you leave your course but decide to start again or if you’re ‘topping up’ a higher education qualification, e.g., you’ve finished a HNC, HND or foundation degree and now want to do an honours degree.

The loan is paid directly to GCU. You will then have to pay it back in affordable monthly instalments deducted by your employer through the UK tax system.

Part-time student maximum Tuition Fee Loan is £6935 per academic year. For more information, contact Student Finance England directly on 0300 100 0607.

If you live in Scotland…

The Students Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS), is responsible for giving financial support to eligible students doing a course of higher education in the UK.

You may find the following links to the SAAS website useful when considering an application:

Part-time Funding Guide – SAAS

If you live in Wales…

Student Finance Wales, is where you need to apply for financial support if you are living in Wales.

You may find the following links useful when considering an application:

Part-time, undergraduate students | Student Finance Wales

Student Finance Forms | Student Finance Wales

If you live in Northern Ireland…

You need to apply through Student Finance NI. Student Finance NI is operated by the Students Loans Company and owned by the UK government. As you will be studying on a distance learning course you need to complete an ‘Application for grants part-time study’ (PTGI) form to apply for student finance. The fee Grant helps towards the cost of the tuition fees. The course grant can help towards the costs of books, travel and other course related expenses.

All information you will need can be found here:

Homepage – Student Finance NI

Student Finance Explained – Student Finance NI

Part-time undergraduate forms for 2022 to 2023 – Student Finance NI

You can download a pdf document detailing the information on this page here – Student Finance Guide