Course Fees

Costs of studying with the DLC

Unlike traditional Colleges, the Distance Learning Centre receives no government funding. We are entirely reliant on the course fees from our students. However, we are still able to keep our costs extremely competitive in comparison to fees the colleges charge. As a result, we are not able to offer our courses at discretionary rates or free of charge. A few students have managed to secure some grant funding themselves. You may find some useful links on the Grants & Finance page but we do not offer a service to help you secure funds.

VAT Update - our fees did not increase when VAT rose to 17.5% on 1st January 2010 so none of our students were affected by this rise. However, if VAT increases above 17.5% in the future, we will have to pass this cost on to any future students.

COURSE FEES

The basic cost of studying an Access Diploma is £675, plus an additional charge for final Certification paid on successful completion of the course. The Certification fee is set by the Open College Network (our Awarding Body) and we pay it directly to them. It is currently £100. This makes a total cost of £775.

Please remember the course fees include the cost of tutoring and marking assessments and tests as well as the course materials but exclude the cost of Certification. All prices include VAT.

HOW TO PAY FOR YOUR COURSE

The preferred method of payment is online with a credit or debit card. We accept all major cards (Visa Debit, MasterCard, Electron, UK Maestro and Solo) and use one of the most secure payment systems on the market. You will pay the Enrolment Fee when you send your Enrolment Form and before you start, you will need to login set your Course Start Date and select your payment options. There is always a short period between submitting your Enrolment Form and starting your studies and the first tuition payment will not be debited from your account until the day you start.

Please Note that once you have paid your Enrolment Fee online, you do not need to keep logging in to pay as we debit your regular fees automatically using Repeat Payments each time they are due. Equally, should you leave or go 'On Hold' the debits will be stopped automatically.

If there are genuine reasons why you cannot pay online, you will need to contact us to discuss whether there are other feasible options available.

REGULAR PAYMENT OPTIONS

We do not require payment of the course fees up front but offer payment options spread across the period of your study, although we can be flexible and take lump sum payments or combinations of lump sums and regular payments.

The amount of your regular payments depends on your planned date to complete the course. We generally expect that the course takes around 12 months of study.

For 12 months and more than 12 months

• £25 Enrolment Fee paid at the time you submit your Enrolment Form followed by 12 monthly payments of £50 per month, starting on the day you start studying the course. The £100 Certification Fee and £50 Moderation Costs are due only on successful completion of the course. Total = £775.
• If you take longer than 12 months to complete, the monthly payments will continue at £50 per month until you complete.
• If you finish sooner than your planned 12 months, the way you finish your payments will depend on your choice. If you require Certification before your 12 months are up, you will need to settle the outstanding amount, otherwise you can just continue your monthly payments until the full amount is settled. Alternatively, if it becomes clear part way through the course that you will finish early we can adjust the monthly payments accordingly.
• If you do not complete the course or do not require a Certificate, the course completion charges do not apply.

For less than 12 months

• £25 Enrolment Fee paid at the time you submit your Enrolment Form followed by £600 divided across the number of months in which you plan to complete, starting on the day you start studying the course. The £100 Certification Fee and £50 Moderation Costs are due only on successful completion of the course. Total = £775.
• If you take longer than the number of months you planned to complete, you will not need to pay further monthly tuition fees unless you take longer than 12 months. Alternatively, if it becomes clear part way through the course that it is going to take you longer to complete than you initially planned, we can agree with you to adjust the monthly payments accordingly.
• If you finish sooner than your number of months, the way you finish your payments will depend on your choice. If you require Certification before your number of months are up, you will need to settle the outstanding amount, otherwise you can just continue your monthly payments until the full amount is settled. Alternatively, if it becomes clear part way through the course that you will finish earlier than you planned, we can agree with you to adjust the monthly payments accordingly.
• If you do not complete the course or do not require a Certificate, the course completion charges do not apply.

Examples of monthly payments

• 11 months - £54.55
• 10 months - £60.00
• 9 months - £66.67
• 8 months - £75.00
• 7 months - £85.71

More about the Certification Fee. When you complete the course we have to apply to OCN for your Certificate, the charge is £100 for a Full Access Diploma of 60 credits and is still the same for Unit Accreditation or even if you complete more than the normal 60 Units. OCN do change the Certification Fee periodically, and this is outside our control. If they do raise the charge we have to charge you the additional amount.

We do not release Certificates until the Certification and Moderation fees are paid and any tuition arrears settled. Some students decide to pay a little extra each month to cover the cost as they progress through the course, whilst most pay a lump sum at the end.

If you feel that you need to suspend your studies during the course, for instance, because of a change in circumstances, work or other personal commitments, please discuss this with your tutor so we can agree suspension of your payments. If you restart your studies within less than 6 months, you will not need to pay the Enrolment Fee again. The option to go 'On Hold' only applies to periods of 2 months or more and is not designed to accommodate events such as children's school holidays or trips abroad. Options agreed with the tutor may vary according to the number of Units already completed.

We do not offer refunds except by special arrangement direct with your tutor who will then have to contact the Director of Finance for approval. If you cancel your payment via your bank without informing your tutor, and they continue to provide tuition, you will be removed from the course until you pay the arrears and in extreme cases legal action may be taken to recover the debt.

If you are having problems meeting the costs for your course, please talk to your tutor about it, we are here to help you succeed!