back to education

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pollyd

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My husband is getting jobs seekers allowance. He has identified a course of study in the open university. Would the back to education scheme cover open university as there are no other similar courses near to where we live?
 
The operational guidelines on Back to Education state that....


A person may attend an approved third level course of education at any university or third level college or institution. The course must be a full-time day course of study which is recognised
  • by the Department of Education and Skills for Higher Education Grant Scheme, or
  • the Vocational Education Committee's Scholarship Scheme, or
  • the Third Level Maintenance Grants Scheme for Trainees, or
  • has Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) recognition
(bolding is in the operational guidelines)

Link to the guidelines:
http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/bte_all.aspx


There is no mention of OU courses in the guidelines.
 
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Post-graduate options - from the guidelines linked in my earlier post:

From 1 January 2003, the postgraduate option of the Back To Education Allowance is payable only to persons who wish to pursue a postgraduate course of study that leads to a Higher Diploma (H.Dip.) qualification in any discipline or to persons in pursuit of a Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary & Secondary Teaching).
 
Again, from the guidelines linked in my earlier post:

Once a person has been accepted on a course s/he must notify the Department by completing the application form (BTE 1). Application form (BTE1) is readily available from various outlets (see Appendix 1)
Provision is being made for the acceptance of late claims. Applicantions for BTEA must be made prior to commencement of an approved course but late applications will be accepted if received within 30 days of the commencement date of the course, provided there are reasonable grounds for doing so. In exceptional circumstances, further backdating may be considered.
 
It would appear that your course may not be a qualifying course - you could always apply for BTEA and see what happens.
 
gipimann said:
It would appear that your course may not be a qualifying course - you could always apply for BTEA and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Yes, I have applied for the course, been accepted, but was really depending on getting the BETA, & been 100% sure of getting it as the fees are €5,850 + €500 deposit, & I need the BETA to fund the course fees.

The thoughts of applying for the BETA & not getting it, puts me in a different situation altogether, with only two days to accept the course.

If the BETA only covers full-time H.Dips, & my course is held part-time over Friday evenings/Sat. mornings, could I instead apply for Job-Seekers Allowance?
 
Are you not on Jobseeker's Allowance already? Being on a SW payment for a defined period of time is one of the qualifying conditions for BTEA. (there is an exception to the qualifying time on SW payment if a person has received statutory redundancy and an entitlement to Jobseeker's is established).
 
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Was on it, just off it now, must apply for the means tested JSA, but decided to wait until I got the college placement
 
Given that you've now mentioned your course is part time, it's very unlikely that you'll qualify for BTEA as it must be a full-time day course to be eligible.

Your entitlement to JA will depend (among other things) on your availability for full time work.
 
gipimann said:
Given that you've now mentioned your course is part time, it's very unlikely that you'll qualify for BTEA as it must be a full-time day course to be eligible.

Your entitlement to JA will depend (among other things) on your availability for full time work.
Click to expand...

So, I would assume from this that I could apply for JSA, considering I will be available for work on Mon-Fri, whilst attending a part-time post graduate course
 
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