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What does ‘income assessed’ mean?
Some of the support available to students is dependant on their income or their household’s income. Entitlement to the Assembly Learning Grant, Special Support Grant, Higher Education Grant, and the extra portion of the Maintenance Loan depends on the student’s household income. The higher the income, the less grant or Maintenance Loan they will be entitled to. Students who wish to apply for income assessed support are required to supply information about their personal income, and the income of relevant members of their household in their application.
What does ‘non-income assessed’ mean?
Some of the support available to students is available to everyone, and is not dependant on the level of their income or their household’s income. Entitlement to the student loan for Tuition Fees and the basic level of Maintenance Loan does not depend on the student’s household income. Students who wish to apply for non-income assessed support will not need to supply information about income in their application.
What is a ‘dependent student’?
You are considered a ‘dependent student’ for the purposes of student finance if you are under 25, are not married or in a civil partnership, have no dependant children, and have not supported yourself financially for at least three years before the start of the academic year.
If you are a dependent student the income of your parents will be assessed, unless you choose to only apply for support that is not assessed on your parents' income (non-income assessed support).
What is an ‘independent student’?
You are an independent student if, at the start of the academic year for which you are applying for support, you are: aged 25 or over; have care of a child or children; are married or in a civil partnership; have supported yourself for at least three years prior to the start of your course; or, if you have no living parents.
A period of supporting yourself includes any time when you were in paid full-time employment, received Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance or were registered for unemployment, received incapacity benefits, invalidity pension or maternity allowance, or received training under any scheme for the unemployed or other funding by any state authority or agency.
If you are an independent student, the LA will not take your parents' income into account. If you are an independent student who is 25 or over, or married or in a civil partnership, and your husband, wife or civil partner has enough residual income, the LA will take this income into account when assessing your entitlement to support.
What is an ‘old system’ student?
You will be considered to be an ‘old system’ student if you have transferred from or started a full-time course before 1st September 2006, or one of the following situations applies:
- you have taken a gap-year in 2005/06, and by 1 August 2005 you received confirmation of your deferred place for 2006/07 from a publicly funded university or college;
- you were not able to take up your intended 2005/06 place at a publicly funded university or college because of A level results which you have successfully appealed against and are starting in 2006/07 instead;
- you have transferred from a full-time course that started before September 2006; or
- you are starting an ‘end on’ degree course after completing a Foundation Degree, Higher National Certificate (HNC), Higher National Diploma (HND) or Diploma of Higher Education course in 2005/06.
What is a ‘new system’ student?
You will be considered to be a ‘new system’ student if you are starting your course on or after 1st September 2006, and you do not meet the requirements for an ‘old system’ student.
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What is an ART ID?
The term ‘ART ID’ stands for Automated Response Technology Identification. Your ART ID is an eleven-digit number that is used to uniquely identify your personal student finance account.
When applying for support for the first time, if you apply online you will receive your ART ID when you first register your details; or if you submit a paper application, you will be sent your ART ID in a letter. You will find your ART ID on all correspondence relating to your student finance application.
Keep your ART ID in a safe place you will need it every time you login to your online account or contact us by phone. You can use your ART ID to have your Password and Secret Answer reset and sent to you by e-mail. Your ART ID can also be used in conjunction with your personalised pin number to obtain information on your account through our automated telephone system.
What happens if I misplace my ART ID?
Your ART ID is printed on all correspondence relating to your student finance application. If you know your Password and Secret Answer, but do not have your ART ID, you can view your ART ID online by clicking on ‘Forgotten your details?’ from the login page on the Student Finance Wales website.
If you do not have any of your security details, you can receive them by contacting the Student Finance Wales Contact Centre (phone 0845 602 8845, open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 1pm Saturday).
Why do I need a Password and Secret Answer?
When you apply for financial support as a student you are issued with a Password and a Secret Answer to help identify you when you are accessing information about your account, either online or by phone.
If you register or apply for support online you will be asked to choose your own Password and Secret Answer. You will use these details each time you login to your account or contact us by phone.
If you submitted a paper application form, a Password and Secret Answer will be automatically generated and sent to you. When you login to the Student Finance Wales website for the first time you will be prompted to change your Password and Secret Answer to something that is more memorable.
You can change your Password and Secret Answer anytime from your online account under ‘Update My Profile’. Make sure you keep your ART ID in a safe place, and your e-mail address up-to-date, in case you need to reset these details in the future.
Your Password must have a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 16 characters, and at least one of these must be a digit (0-9).
Can I change my Password and Secret Answer?
You can change your Password and Secret Answer anytime from your online account under ‘Update My Profile’. Make sure you keep your ART ID in a safe place, and your e-mail address up-to-date, in case you need to reset your Password and Secret answer in the future – if you have forgotten these details, but have your ART ID, you can have new details sent to your e-mail address from the ‘Forgotten your details?’ link on the login page.
What happens if I forget my Password and Secret Answer?
If you have forgotten your Password or Secret Answer, but have your ART ID, you can have new security details sent to your e-mail address by clicking on ‘Forgotten your details?’ from the login page on the Student Finance Wales website.
If you do not have your ART ID or security details, you can receive them by contacting the Student Finance Wales Contact Centre (phone 0845 602 8845, open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 1pm Saturday).You will be prompted to change your Password and Secret Answer to something more memorable the first time you access your online account with your new details.
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