Fee Anomalies Grant for Universities 2024-25

Background

SFC recognises that anomalies in tuition fee income may arise, where tuition fees received by universities do not match the assumptions made in our Main Teaching Grant. Although our teaching funding method assumes a certain tuition fee income per full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate funded place, there are some full-time undergraduate courses where this fee assumption will not match up to what is received by the university. We will therefore consider claims from universities for fee anomaly compensation in the following cases:

Full-time undergraduate courses, where universities’ receipt of tuition fees is less than the fee rate assumed by SFC in our teaching funding model.
Accelerated courses that do not attract appropriate tuition fee support.
Students enrolled in the SFC ‘Associate Student’ articulation scheme, where universities’ receipt of tuition fees for students studying at college is less than the £1,820 fee rate assumed by our articulation scheme model.
Outgoing rest of UK (rUK) students undertaking their Turing Scheme year abroad.
Continuing Pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery students eligible for funding who have begun a course in the reasonable expectation that it would be fully funded but are subsequently unable to access tuition fee support through Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).
Continuing European Union (EU) students on Honours Pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery courses where universities previously claimed the tuition fee from the Scottish Government.
Students who are undertaking Dentistry as a second undergraduate degree and are unable to access funding through SAAS.

All claims related to AY 2024-25 should be submitted to SFC by 18 April 2025.
You will be aware that, following the University Final Funding Allocations AY 2024-25 announcement, SFC paused setting a budget for the Fee Anomalies Grant. We are now able to confirm that a budget has been created for AY 2024-25, set at £983,000.
Universities should submit their fee anomalies claims as normal. We will endeavour to meet all claims, subject to availability of funding. However, due to budget challenges, we may not be able to meet all claims in full.

Accelerated courses

Accelerated courses are designed to allow students to complete their studies quicker than a traditional degree. This can result in a mismatch between the tuition fee assumption and the actual funding received by universities (g. a 4 year degree delivered in 3 years only receives 3 years’ worth of SAAS funding). SFC will provide fee compensation for this difference in funding.
Going forward we will consider if it is feasible to factor accelerated course fees into our funding announcement without the need for additional fee anomaly claims.

Additional articulation places (‘Associate Student’) scheme for partnerships between universities and colleges

SFC is funding 4,449 FTEs for associate students in AY 2024-25. The scheme has been designed for students undertaking a degree programme but spending one or two years at college in the first instance. As degree students, the assumed tuition fee is £1,820. If a lower tuition fee than anticipated has been received as a result of the student being classified as being on a Higher National Certificate/Diploma programme rather than a degree, then we will compensate the universities for the shortfall in fees at a maximum of £535 per FTE.
We are currently reviewing this scheme. Any outcomes of the review that impact on tuition fee assumptions will be reflected in guidance for future years.

Turing Scheme fee compensation/funding

Following the end of the ERASMUS+ programme, the new Turing Scheme was introduced in AY 2021-22 as the UK Government’s programme to provide funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world. The Turing Scheme website provides more information on this programme.
Further funding for the Turing Scheme has been committed in AY 2024-25. SFC will therefore continue to include this within the scope of the current fee compensation/funding arrangement for outgoing rUK students who take part in the Scheme during this AY.
Under the Turing Scheme fee compensation/funding system, Scottish universities can receive a maximum rate of £1,820 per FTE from SFC for outgoing rUK students. Additionally, universities can charge these outgoing rUK students 15% of the cost of the maximum full-time tuition fee rate (currently £9,250 per year). This funding compensation is in recognition of the loss of fees experienced by Scottish universities for outgoing rUK students who participate in the Scheme.
Compensation will only be provided for students spending a full year abroad under the Turing Scheme. SFC does not provide fee compensation for students taking part in other exchange programmes.

Pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery Education fee anomaly consideration

In response to the change in fee policy for Pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery students from AY 2021-22, universities may continue to claim a fee anomaly where continuing students eligible for funding (who commenced prior to AY 2021-22) are unable to receive tuition fee support from SAAS. From AY 2021-22, Pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery students apply to SAAS for tuition fee support (a tuition fee element was previously included in SFC’s teaching grant for Pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery). However, some continuing students may not be eligible for SAAS fee support due to their individual circumstances, g. previous study.
Students who commenced their Pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery studies with no reasonable expectation of having to pay tuition fees should not be disadvantaged by this change in policy. Universities should continue to claim fee anomalies for continuing students eligible for funding who are unable to access fee support through SAAS, and these students should not be charged for this anomaly in funding.
This fee anomaly consideration also applies to continuing EU students who commenced study on Honours Pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery courses prior to AY 2021-22. The fee anomaly for these students should be noted on a separate line of the claim form to other claims for Pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery students.

Dentistry – second undergraduate degree fee compensation

Universities should continue to submit a claim for students undertaking Dentistry as a second undergraduate degree who are unable to access funding through SAAS. This can include one repeat year.
Universities can claim a maximum rate of £1,820 per FTE (for rUK students and students eligible for funding).

Claim forms

Please use the claim form in Annex A to make your following claims for consideration (selected through a drop-down menu in column J):

Accelerated courses.
Additional articulation places (Associate Student Scheme).
Turing Scheme.
Pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery – continuing.
Pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery – continuing EU Honours students only.
Dentistry – second undergraduate degree.

Conditions of funding

The following conditions of grant apply:

All claims for Fee Anomalies Grant must be signed by the university’s Registrar/Director of Planning, or equivalent, to confirm they are content with the validity of those claims. The submission of a claim will be taken as an acceptance of these conditions of grant.
Payments to universities will be made based on claims having been authorised and signed, as detailed above.
SFC reserves the right to scrutinise the documentation relied upon to complete claims in order to verify their integrity. This includes retrospectively verifying the validity of these claims against HESA data. Following discussions with the university, any unverified claims may result in payments being adjusted retrospectively.
Universities are required to use all grant paid for the purpose(s) for which it is provided.
SFC may adjust payment of claims in line with affordability.
SFC provides funding to Scottish universities based on the numbers of outgoing rUK students on their Turing Scheme year abroad at the maximum rate of £1,820 per FTE.
Scottish universities can only charge outgoing rUK students spending a full year abroad under the Turing Scheme 15% of the cost of the maximum full-time tuition fee rate (currently £9,250 per year).