Student Finance FAQs for Parents and Carers

Your child’s funding will not come through until they have:  

• Signed and returned their student finance declaration, as directed in their Funding Entitlement letter  
• Completed their online enrolment through MyFalmouth 
• Started their course 

It’s very important that your child has provided their National Insurance number and up to date bank details to ensure they receive their first instalment of maintenance funding. Contact Student Finance England immediately if these details change, or incorrect details have been given.  

Encourage them to check out the 'How to Guide' which provides students (and parents) with answers to the most common questions undergraduate students are currently asking. This should be a student’s first port of call.  

If that doesn't answer their questions, support them to become independent and self-sufficient by encouraging them to contact Student Finance England themselves if there is an issue with their funding.  

If you can’t find answers to your questions or have a more complicated application, encourage your child to contact Student Finance England directly.  

The above page has various contact options, tailored to your child’s requirements and type of study. It will guide them to appropriate forms of contact, including webchat with an advisor or a phone call, depending on the nature of their query. 

Yes, but first your child will need to set up a ‘consent to share’ form. 

They need to complete Section A, and upload this to their Student Finance England account in the section that allows them to ‘upload evidence’.  

After this is uploaded, you will be able to speak to Student Finance England on your child’s behalf.  

Yes. Please ask your child to email us at student.finance@falmouth.ac.uk explaining what they need help with.  

They will also need to request ‘Consent to Share Guidance’ from us, as it is more complicated for the University to get this consent than a parent or guardian. 

Yes. They can book an appointment with us via our online form.  

Maintenance loan amounts are assessed based on household income, with an implication that parents or carers with higher household incomes give some financial support to a student while at University.  

• For help with understanding the implied amount you may need to support your child while they study, try Money Saving Expert’s free online calculator.  

If your child’s funding entitlement letter shows they are receiving less than the amount in the table below, the implied parent contribution will be the difference between what is in their letter, and the figures below. 

We understand that this is a difficult time financially, and not all parents or carers will be able to make up this difference.  

It is normal for students to work part-time alongside their studies, both in term time and during holidays. Please encourage your child to reach out to our Employability Team who can provide support with job applications, working alongside studying and securing placements.  

If you think that there has been a reduction of more than 15% in your income between the tax years described, and your child is not receiving the maximum maintenance rate for their category of study, you may be able to get the maintenance your child receives increased.  

You can do this by requesting a Current Year Assessment from Student Finance.   

You can find details of how to pay tuition fees on our Tuition Fees page.  

If you are paying for your child’s studies yourself, you can pay the University directly, using our secure online payment portal (including via Flywire).

For online bank transfers please contact student.finance@falmouth.ac.uk for our bank details.   

Undergraduate: https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/study/tuition-fees/undergraduate  

If your child has secured a place in University owned or managed accommodation and you would like to pay for their accommodation, please visit our secure payment portal and follow the instructions.  

If you wish to pay by online bank transfer, contact student.finance@falmouth.ac.uk for bank details.   

Your child will need to apply for student finance each academic year. Encourage them to do this as soon as possible, to ensure their next year’s funding is in place at the start of term.  

Keep an eye on Student Finance England’s social media channels to be alerted to the start date to apply for student finance. 

If your child is entitled to Disabled Student Allowance, you can find an overview of the funding and support available to them in their studies, as well as advice about how and when to apply for this support via our dedicated support website. 

• Student Finance - Everything you need to know: https://www.ucas.com/sfe  
• Money Saving Expert for Students: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/  
• Save the Student: https://www.savethestudent.org  

Please note: these are independent support sites used by many of our students, but the content is not owned or managed by the University.