Adult Course Fees

At UCS College Group, we ant to encourage people to learn and develop to the best of their ability, and understand that financial concerns can sometimes prevent them from doing so. We have many FREE courses available (subject to meeting the eligibility criteria), as well as loans and payment plans, to support learners with their studies and training.

Course Fees

The course fees can be viewed during your application and/or enrolment journey, showing the fees payable. The fees shown are payable per year if the course duration is for more than one year**.

Where courses include an exam fee it is for one sitting only.

If students need to re-take an exam, then they will have to pay an additional fee. All fees shown apply to people aged 19 or over.

For some courses, there are additional fees which are payable later or at enrolment and cover extra costs associated with the course, such as materials, trips etc. These will be discussed with you.

Please note that for courses lasting more than one year, the fees shown represent the first year’s fee only. Further fees are payable in subsequent years**.

**See 19+ Advanced Learner Loans information further down this page.

Fees are payable on enrolment and failure to pay the fees could result in the learner being withdrawn from the course and the fees being recovered through our External Debt Collection agency.

Free Courses

For some courses, the the College does not charge any compulsory fees if you are studying at Level 2 or below and you are aged 19 years or over and a student in one of the following categories:

Students in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) including NI Contributions Only
Students in receipt of Employment Support Allowance (ESA)
Students in receipt of Universal Credit whose take-home pay as recorded on their Universal Credit statement (disregarding benefits) is less than £952 a month (learner is sole adult in their benefit claim) or £1534 a month (learner has a joint benefit claim with their partner). This must be evidenced and dated within 3 months of the learning start date.
The learner wants to be employed and the College is satisfied that the learning directly relates to their employment prospects and the local labour market needs.
Students who are in receipt of other state benefits not listed above and whose income (disregarding benefits) is less than £952 a month (learner is sole adult in their benefit claim) or £1534 a month (learner has a joint benefit claim with their partner). This must be evidenced and dated within 3 months of the learning start date.
Students in custody who are released on temporary licence (RoTL) and studying outside a prison environment and not funded through Ministry of Justice
Students earning less than £25,750 annual gross salary (£2,145 monthly or £495 weekly). This must be evidenced with a wage slip or contract of work dated within 3 months of the learning start date or a current employment contract which states gross monthly/annual wages.

Students in the following categories also receive full funding for DfE funded qualifications based on the qualifications they hold on entry:

Students aged 19-23 who do not currently hold a full Level 2 taking a legal entitlement qualification at Level 2 (classroom or workplace)
Students aged 19-23 who do not currently hold a full Level 3 who are currently taking a legal entitlement qualification (classroom or workplace).

Free Courses for Jobs

Students aged 19+ which was approved for funding and appears on the Free Courses For Jobs List (classroom or workplace) and meet the earning threshold of £25,750 or who is unemployed.
Students aged 19-23 which was approved for funding and appears on the Free Courses For Jobs List (classroom or workplace) who do not currently hold a full Level 3 qualification who meet the earnings threshold of £27,750 or who is unemployed.

English and maths

Up to and including level 2:

Students aged 19+ and do not have a GCSE in English or maths at grade 4 or above (or a qualification which is at a comparable or higher level) will be eligible for full funding.

Essential Digital Skills

Up to and including level 1:

Students who are 19+ and assessed as having digital skill levels below level 1.

Eligibility criteria for a FREE Distance Learning course

If applying for a level 2 course:

Learners must be aged 19 years or over at the beginning of the current academic year (31/08/2025).
Must be a permanent resident in England and live in a post code outside of a “Devolved” area.
Earnings evidence may be requested upon enrolment.

If applying for a level 3 course:

Learners must be aged 19 years or over at the beginning of the current academic year (31/08/2025).
Must be a permanent resident in England and live in a post code outside of a “Devolved” area.
If you are aged 19-23: You qualify if the course you are applying for will be your first full Level 3 qualification OR if your earnings are below £25,750 gross annually (before tax). If unemployed you must be in receipt of Universal Credit and your take home is below £952 as a single claimant or below £1534 if part of a joint claim.
If you are aged 24+: Your earnings must be below £25,750 gross annually (before tax). If unemployed you must be in receipt of Universal Credit and your take home is below £952 as a single claimant or below £1534 if part of a joint claim.
Please be prepared to provide earnings and income evidence upon enrolment.

Devolution

From August 2019, funding decisions for education became devolved to local government in several counties of England. This transfer of funding from central government to combined authorities has created fundamental changes to areas that we as an education and training provider can operate in.

We regret that we can no longer offer FREE courses in:

Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
West Midlands Combined Authority
West of England Combined Authority
Tees Valley Combined Authority
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
Greater London Authority
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (formerly Sheffield City Region)
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
North East Mayoral Combined Authority
York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority
East Midlands Combined County Authority
Cornwall Council

If you are unsure if your postcode falls into one of the combined authorities, please email distancelearning@ucscollegegroup.ac.uk or call 01823 366612 and we’ll be able to help you.

19+ Advanced Learner Loans

Advanced Learner Loans are available for eligible FE and non-prescribed HE courses at Level 3 and above for students aged 19+.

Eligible courses include:

A Levels
QAA Access to Higher Education
Tech Level and Applied General Qualifications the DfE recognise in their 16-19 Performance Tables
Other designated qualifications that offer progression routes to a particular occupational area, direct entry to a specific job role, continuing professional development in an occupation or upskilling or reskilling in an occupational area.

Where a course is paid for by an Advanced Learner Loan the elements of the fee not paid by the Student Loan, should the student withdraw, will become a debt to the student.

Students who enrol for a course without payment because they have applied for a Loan will be invoiced for the annual course fees if they are not subsequently awarded the Loan. They will be given a period of 42 days from their start date to complete the process.

Advanced Learner Loan Bursary

If you are applying for an Advanced Learner Loan, you may be eligible to apply for help with the costs of travel, additional learning support, childcare and in exceptional circumstances, on-campus accommodation.

This funding is extremely limited and early application is recommended. Priority will be given to students with special educational needs.

Please contact Student Support on 01278 441233 for details or email studentsupport@ucscollegegroup.ac.uk.

How to Apply

You will be able to apply for a Loan from 9th June 2025 for courses that start between 1 August 2025 and 31 July 2026. It is recommended that you complete an online application to enable your application to be dealt with more quickly; visit the Direct.gov website. You will need your Learning and Funding Information Letter, which was sent to you with your offer to be able to do this. If you do not have this information or need further support with making your application, please contact our Information and Guidance team on 01278 441234.

For further information about Advanced Learner Loans, please visit the following websites and access our policy:

About Advanced Learner Loans (gov.uk)

The Money Advice Service

Our Advanced Learner Loans Policy

Help with your fees

If you don’t qualify for a free course or an Advanced Learner Loan, and you are on a low income, you may be able to receive support from our Learner Support Fund to cover some or all of your fees.

You should apply to the College for Learner Support Funds as soon as possible. In exceptional cases, these funds may also support travel costs.

Demand is very high and we may not be able to meet the needs of everyone who applies, so you should aim to submit your application as early as possible.

Student Support can help you with this; call 01278 441233 or email studentsupport@ucscollegegroup.ac.uk

Fees for overseas students may vary from those shown on our website.

Refunds

All course fees and additional fees are non-returnable from three weeks prior to the course start date, unless it is subsequently cancelled by the College or is oversubscribed. If any course is cancelled or already full, you will receive a full refund.

Spreading the cost

If you do not wish to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan, or your chosen course is not eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan, the College offers payment by instalments. This is only available if you are paying your own fees, are attending a course of 24 weeks or more and the total fee payable at enrolment is more than £325, inclusive of additional fees.

The first instalment will be £325 or 50% of the fee, whichever the greater, with the remaining amount payable in two equal instalments on 1 November 2024 and 1 February 2025.

Instalments will be collected by Direct Debit.

There will be an additional administrative charge of £25 for this facility, which must be paid with the first instalment. You will also be required to complete an instalment agreement form and Direct Debit Mandate. These forms will be available from our Finance office: creditcontrol@ucscollegegroup.ac.uk.

Childcare Fund

Apply through Student Support on 01278 441233 or email studentsupport@ucscollegegroup.ac.uk to check availability.

To reserve a place for your child at the Bridgwater College Childcare Centre, call 01278 441270.

University Level

If you are applying through UCAS, you can apply for loans and grants via Student Finance England here.

Contact Student Support on 01278 441233 for details or email studentsupport@ucscollegegroup.ac.uk for more information.