College charges!

farmergiles

I went off to my college yesterday to re-enroll. I failed DFS & PTC and need to re-sit. Imagine my horror when I was told that I would have to sign for a full technician course again because I hadn't completed over 50% of the exams! Apparently goverment funding for seniors(over 19) has been severely reduced and the colleges are not receiving the relevant funding.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) I am unemployed and so will not have to pay this extortionate amount but anyone funding themselves and having to resit in the same circumstances is going to have to stump up another £600+ to redo the work.
May I also point out that I do not have to attend college until Feb 2009, when the DFS course starts again. If I want to resit PTC in December, I have to do it under my own steam, there are no classes to support it. The next PTC course starts in 2009, based on the 2008 Finance Act. I will have to private study and pick my tutors brains during his free time!
And the goverment keeps talking "education, education, education"!
Never has my 'ghast been so flabbered!:mad2:

aatfree

You should look at Kaplan or BPP because they run those course more frequently and if government funding covers you at your local college it might cover you there as well.

farmergiles

Worth a look, thank you

jorja1986

I would look into home study and go off to their centres as you will finish alot sooner.

When I failed I waited one sitting and contacted the college April 2008 to resit in June 2008 and because I was a previous student I had no fees to pay. I did not have to resit the whole year or even the classes for which exams I failed all I done was to pay my exam fees to the AAT and put in the exam centre code.

Maybe it is different for those who receive funding? But I wouldnt have thought so as the exam fees are paid by the student anyway.

Look into another route as that does sound very harsh that you will have to pay full fees despite having passed exams and not being tutored until Feb 2009. (Many places of funding write in a clause which is a one chance or pay the fees.)


SO if possible dont reenrol and just ask to sit the exam at the centre and work really hard from home and hopefully you will pass and not have to pay fees.

farmergiles

Thanks, Jorja. I did try that but the college rules state that you have to enroll to sit exams. This is a new situation that has come about this year because of the lack of financial support from central goverment. If you are 19 or younger, you can be financed to the hilt but if you are an old bugger like me, then tough, the govt doesn't want to know anymore!