Centre for Open Studies / Ionad an Oilein Fhosgailte

Fees and Funding

 

Fees

The course fee is shown for each entry in the programme. A few courses (for instance, practical art courses) have fees higher than others to reflect extra material costs in running the courses. Fees for all courses must be paid in full on enrolment.

Overseas Students' Fees

International students please note that all fees, and related information, given in our web pages relate to UK and EU students only. If you are from overseas and would like to study any of our courses, please contact Centre for Open Studies for further information at openstudies-enquiries@glasgow.ac.uk.

Concession fees

The Centre for Open Studies offers a 50% reduction on some of our unaccredited courses to students who are registered unemployed (you must have been registered for a continuous period no less than 6 weeks prior to the date of application), and others whose principal source of income is one of the main state benefits such as:

  • income support,
  • disabled person's tax credit, or
  • severe disablement allowance.

In addition, the concession is offered to those students who are in receipt of pension credit. Note that all Open Studies students who claim a concession fee may be asked to show evidence of their eligibility. The concession fee is shown in brackets in each course description, where applicable.

Instalments

If you will have difficulty in meeting the full course fee prior to enrolment, it may be possible to make special arrangements for payment by instalment. Please note that there is a charge of £10 for this service and payment by instalment applies only to courses with fees of £210 or more. Please apply in writing to Ms Helen McWhirr, Open Programme Administrator, Centre for Open Studies, St Andrew's Building, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow, G3 6NH or email helen.mcwhirr@glasgow.ac.uk. Please note that such arrangements cannot be made over the telephone. Your application will be treated in confidence.

Funding

Fee waiver scheme

Courses which are eligible for the fee waiver scheme are:

Only courses worth 10, 12, 20 and 40 ScotCAT credits are eligible, and the maximum number of credits per student on the scheme is 100 in any one year (whether taken within the Centre for Open Studies or elsewhere in the University). A list of Certificate courses can be found here. Click here for the Fee waiver form

It is strongly recommended that you meet with our guidance officer, Irene Vezza, to discuss the programme of study you are planning to undertake. Guidance consultations are free and can be arranged at a mutually convenient time. You can email Irene at irene.vezza@glasgow.ac.uk, or phone her direct on 0141 330 1823.

If you are interested in a particular course then you can email the Centre for Open Studies or phone us on 0141 330 1835 for a further information sheet. Note that language courses do not attract a complete fee waiver. You must pay £85.50. There is also an additional materials fee of £20 to pay for 8JT7 Introduction to Art Therapy, an additional materials fee of £20 to pay for 8TX7 Drawing and Painting: Advanced Composition and a Field Trip cost of £30 for the Certificate in Field Archaeology. This must be paid at the time of enrolment.

Students with a fee waiver are expected to attend regularly and complete all assessed work.

You are eligible for the fee waiver scheme if you are doing qualifying part-time courses to a maximum of 100 ScotCat points (whether taken within the Centre for Open Studies or elsewhere in the University), are permanently domiciled in a EU country, and:

  • Your family* is in receipt of Income Support, Housing Benefit, Working Tax Credit, Pension Credit, Income-based Job Seekers Allowance or Income-related Employment and Support Allowance.
  • You are currently in receipt of Severe Disablement Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Carer's Allowance, Attendance Allowance or Contributory Employment and Support Allowance.
  • Your family's* sole income is another DWP benefit.
  • Your family's* net income is lower than the threshold for receiving income support.

NB. In all cases documentary evidence of entitlement must be provided with your application form. Documentary evidence must be in the form of a recently dated letter from the DWP Agency, Local Council or Jobcentre confirming the claimant's name and address, their entitlement to benefit and the type of benefit(s) received.

Skills Development Scotland Individual Learning Account and Part-time fee grant

If your income is less than £22,000, you may qualify for the Skills Development Scotland Individual Learning Account scheme. The £200 ILA can be used towards most of our courses. Unfortunately courses which carry no credits are not eligible. For more details, and to open an account, please call the Skills Development Scotland ILA helpline free on 0808 100 1090, or visit their website at www.myworldofwork.co.uk/section/funding. Note that you must have set up your ILA account and have your learner funds available before you can enrol on a course, and before the course start date. If you are using an existing account your new learner year funds must be available before the course start date and at the time of enrolment in order to redeem them against a course.

If you plan to study courses totalling 40 credits or more and do not qualify for a fee waiver then you may be eligible for a Part-Time Fee Grant (formerly known as ILA500) of up to £500. For further information visit the SAAS website at www.saas.gov.uk or call 0300 300 3137.

Learning Works

Some of the courses in the Centre for Open Studies brochure may be available to staff taking advantage of the University of Glasgow's employee development scheme for secretarial, clerical, manual, ancillary and technical staff. For further information (staff eligible for the Learning Works' allowance only) see: www.glasgow.ac.uk/services/learningworks or telephone 0141 330 5857 or email Learning-Works@gla.ac.uk.