COLLEGE CHOICE/Brian Mooney: Now that the decisions are taking place in homes up and down the country as to whether to accept a place in college next year, a central question arises.
Can we afford to send our child on to further or higher education? Fortunately for many families the answer is yes. For others, the existence of the grant system is crucial.
Students Grants System
The closing date for grant applications this year is August 31st; however, the awarding bodies have discretion to accept late applications in exceptional circumstances. It is crucial that applicants submit all the necessary documentation stipulated on the application form, otherwise all the paperwork will be returned and a grant might not be paid for months. Depending on the course students are pursuing, they may be eligible for a grant under the following schemes.
The Higher Education Grants Scheme, which generally applies to university degree courses.
Third-level Maintenance Grants Scheme for Trainees, which applies to most certificate and diploma courses in the institutes of technology.
The Vocational Education Committee's Scholarship Scheme, which generally applies to add-on degrees where students have already pursued certificate/diploma level courses. It also applies to certain courses in Northern Ireland.
The Maintenance Grants Scheme for Students Attending Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses. The Higher Education Grants scheme is administered by the local authorities (e.g. the local councils). The other three schemes are administered by the Vocational Education Committees. Grant applications should be made to these bodies as appropriate.
An application must meet the essential condition relating to means. There are, of course, other conditions, including those relating to age, residence and nationality.
How does the means test work?
When you apply for a grant, the income that is assessed must be at or below a certain amount (the "reckonable income"). For the 2004/2005 academic year, the reckonable income limits (based on gross income for the tax year 2003) have been fixed.
If your family has less than four dependent children and parental income is less than €33,890 a year, you will be able to qualify for a full maintenance grant. There are different thresholds for larger families, ranging from €37,240 for those with four to seven children to €40,435 for those with eight or more dependent children. Higher income limits apply in respect of lower rates of maintenance grants. The full student service charge is paid where families have (a) less than four dependent children and incomes of under €42,360; (b) between four and seven dependent children and incomes of under €46,550; or (c) eight or more dependent children and incomes under €50,535.
In the 2004/2005 academic year where two or more children (or the candidate's parent) are pursuing a course of study listed below the reckonable income, limits may be increased by €4,100 where there are two such children, €8,200 where there are three such children and so on, by increments of €4,100, where students are:
(i) attending full-time third level education;
(ii) attending a recognised PLC course, student nurse training or student Garda training;
(iii) participating in a CERT course of at least one year's duration;
(iv) attending a full-time Teagasc course in an agricultural college;
(v) attending a recognised full-time further education course of at least one year's duration in Northern Ireland.
What is the rate of grant?
Grants are paid at either of two rates: the non-adjacent rate, where the grant holder's residence is more than 15 miles from the college, and the adjacent rate, where the grant holder's residence is 15 miles or less from college. For 2004/'05 the highest non-adjacent rate of grant is €2,945. The highest adjacent rate of grant is €1,180. Lower rates of grant are payable, depending on the reckonable income. Grant holders who satisfy certain conditions may be eligible for a "top-up grant". For 2004/2005 the non-adjacent, ordinary grant plus the top-up has been increased to €4,855 and the adjacent rate to €1,945, i.e. a "top-up" of €1,910 and €765 respectively.
The reckonable income limit for the "top-up grant" for the 2004/2005 academic year is €14,693, all or part of which must be a social welfare or analogous payment. You can get details of the grant schemes outlined above from the local authorities and vocational education committees.
Details on the grants schemes are also available on www.education.ie, the Department of Education and Science's website.
Students with Disabilities
The first person students with a disability should contact is the disability or access officer in their particular institution, or the principal of the PLC centre in the case of PLC students. Each university and institute of technology now has a disability or access officer whose role is to support students as they move through college.
For students who have a specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, coping with the demands of essay writing, large reading lists and a self-directed learning environment is often a major challenge. The disability office in most institutions can provide students with what is known as learning support. This service can include support with study skills, reading techniques, memory techniques, essay writing, time management and examination preparation. One-to-one tuition is also available for students who need it.
The main source of funding for the supports that students with disabilities need is the ESF-aided Fund for Students with Disabilities. Grants are provided for students who have serious sensory, physical and/or communicative disabilities. This fund does not provide maintenance grants but provides funding for supports and services such as personal assistants and sign-language interpreters.
Further information on accessing third-level education is available to students with disabilities from AHEAD, Newman House, 86 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2. Phone: 01-4752386.You can e-mail Brian Mooney on bmooney@irish-times.ie