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Higher Education Student Course Fees and Funding Support

CAFRE

Higher Education Residency Requirements and Student Course Fees 2024/25 and Funding Support

Following a review of Higher Education (HE) student course fees, CAFRE introduced a new student fee framework in 2022.  This is referred to as the ‘Current Student Fee Framework’ and applies to students who first enrolled on a CAFRE HE course from September 2022.  The current student fee framework aligns student fees at CAFRE with the fees charged by other HE Institutions and Further Education (FE) Colleges across Northern Ireland.  Student fees under this framework for academic year 2024/25 can be accessed here.

Students enrolled on their current HE course prior to September 2022 will remain on the old student fee framework, referred to as the ‘Legacy Student Fee Framework’, until they complete their course.  Student fees under this framework for academic year 2024/25 can be accessed here.  These fees are provisional and subject to the publication of the Agriculture (Student fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024.  Students who complete their HE course under the “Legacy Student Fee Framework” and who decide to enrol in another CAFRE HE course (from September 2022) will move to the “Current Student Fee Framework”.

Prospective and current students should note that the annual student fee they pay will be based on a number of factors that includes; the type of HE Course studied, date of enrolment on current course, whether they are studying full-time or part-time, their residency status and any Accredited Prior Learning for previous study.

Determining your residency status:

Home Student

Students from Northern Ireland fall under the category of ‘home student’ where they meet the following conditions:

  • are settled in the territory comprising of the United Kingdom and the Islands;
  • have been ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland for a period of no less than three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
  • residence in Northern Ireland for the three years referred above must not have been wholly or mainly for the purposes of receiving full-time education.

Students from the Republic of Ireland fall under the category of ‘home student’ where they meet the following conditions:

  • are an Irish national; and
  • are settled in the territory comprising the United Kingdom, the Islands and the Republic of Ireland for a period of no less than three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the HE course; and
  • residence in the territory comprising United Kingdom, the Islands and Republic of Ireland for the three years referred above must not have been wholly or mainly for the purposes of receiving full-time education and who has been ordinarily resident in Republic of Ireland for least part of that period.

Students from the European Economic Area (EEA) fall under the category of ‘home student’ where they meet the following conditions:

  • are an EU national (including a national from Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein); and
  • in the territory comprising the United Kingdom and the Islands they hold:
    • settled status under Appendix EU of the UK Immigration rules;
    • pre-settled status under Appendix EU of the UK Immigration rules; or
    • have protected rights under the Citizen Rights’ Regulations as part of the EU Withdrawal Agreement (including applicants, late applicants and joining family members that are granted rights under EU law (such as current spouses and registered partners, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren and a person in an existing durable relationship) to join their family member in the future) or fall within the personal scope of the citizens’ rights provisions;
  • are ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the HE course;
  • have been ordinarily resident in the territory comprising the United Kingdom, the Islands, Gibraltar, and the EEA (including Switzerland) for a period of not less than three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the HE course; and
  • residence in the territory comprising the United Kingdom, the Islands, Gibraltar, and the EEA (including Switzerland) for three years referred above must not have been wholly or mainly for the purposes of receiving full-time education.

GB Students

Students from Great Britain (GB), the Islands and Gibraltar fall under the category ‘GB students’ where they meet the following conditions:

  • are settled in the territory comprising the United Kingdom, the Islands and Gibraltar; and
  • have been ordinarily resident throughout the territory comprising Great Britain, the Islands and Gibraltar for a period of no less than three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the HE course; and
  • residence in the territory comprising Great Britain, the Islands and Gibraltar for the three years referred above must not have been wholly or mainly for the purposes of receiving full-time education.

International Students

Students who do not meet the conditions as set out for ‘Home students’ or ‘GB students’ will fall under the category of ‘International student’.

CAFRE does not currently hold a UK Home Office Student Sponsor licence to accept students defined as International students, except the online Certificate in Higher Education Equine Studies.  However, if you are an International student and are interested in pursuing an application, please email CAFRE at cafreenquiries@daera-ni.gov.uk  giving your full contact details and our Admissions office will contact you to discuss further.

Refugee and Resettlement students

Students who are considered refugees or fall under one of the Afghan schemes, Ukrainian scheme, or under Calais Leave, please contact CAFRE administration office for further information.

If you are still unsure about your Residency status, please email CAFRE at cafreenquiries@daera-ni.gov.uk  giving your full contact details and our Admissions office will contact you to discuss further.

Funding support

You’ll have two main costs whilst studying at CAFRE – student fees and living expenses.

Funding for full-time and part-time students may be available if they meet eligibility criteria.

Student Finance NI provide financial support to Higher Education students in Northern Ireland.

Information on the full range of financial support available can be found at studentfinanceni.

Students from the ROI can find information on financial support on the Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) website

What financial support is available?

If you’re normally a resident in Northern Ireland you can apply to Student Finance NI for financial support. Check out: www.studentfinanceni.co.uk which will give you all the details and help you find your local Education Authority for more assistance. The following is a short summary of the support available to eligible students;

Tuition Fee Loan

Non means-tested and available to cover your tuition fee costs. You start repaying the loan on completion of your studies, depending on your income. For more information on repayments go to: www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk

Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant

You may be eligible for the Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant, dependant on your household income. Information can be found at studentfinanceni.

CAFRE Access Bursary

You may be eligible for the CAFRE Access Bursary, dependant on your household income and to access this grant you must first apply for the Maintenance Grant through studentfinanceni.

Maintenance Loan

Available to help with your living expenses and repayable on completion of studies. Although means-tested, all eligible students will get some loan. Information can be found at studentfinanceni.

Part-time course support

You may be entitled to a tuition fee loan, tuition fee grant and/or course grant. Information can be found at studentfinanceni.