Compelling Personal Reasons (CPR)
 What is CPR?
A student may not be able to complete a year of study, or course, at university for many reasons. If the reasons are
unforeseen or due to a personal situation this is known as ‘Compelling Personal Reasons’ (CPR) for student funding
purposes. Reasons for CPR could be: Bereavement, Depression / mental health, Health issues, Family crisis, Caring
responsibilities (please note this list is not exhaustive).
 How is my funding entitlement calculated by Student Finance England (SFE)?
If you’ve had to leave a course, or take a break from your studies, you need to be aware that this may have had an
effect on the amount of funding you can receive from Student Finance England.
Every eligible student is entitled to funding for the length of their course plus 1 year to use for any repeat study. Any
previous study at degree level (even if it was self-funded or undertaken abroad) is deducted from this entitlement.
Any part-year attendance is counted as a full year within the calculation. Different rules apply if you’ve previously
studied part-time at degree level, if this concerns you please seek advice from an adviser (see contact details
overleaf).
The Education (Student Support) Regulations state that first degree full time students should have the following
calculation applied when assessing how many years funding they are entitled to:
CALCULATION
Number of academic years that make up the
ordinary duration of the course (usually 3 or 4
years)
EXAMPLE
Lucy is starting a 3 year Law degree this September.
Therefore the ordinary duration of her course is 3
years.
+ PLUS 1 Year (for repeat study etc.)
Plus 1 additional year of funding.
3 years + 1 year = 4 years standard entitlement
MINUS the number of academic years that you
have spent on previous degree level courses
(even part years are count as 1 whole and study
abroad is counted))
Before coming to the University of Kent, Lucy studied
a degree for 2 years at the University of Birmingham
but she did not complete the course. Lucy has 2 years
of previous study.
4 years – 2 previous study = 2 years available funding
= Funding years available to the student
(3 + 1 = 4 – 2 =)
2 years of funding available to Lucy to complete her
Law degree. These will be applied to year 2 and 3 of
her new course (see below).
If you already hold an honours degree or higher you will not qualify for student finance. This is the case regardless of
whether you previously received student funding or if you completed your degree abroad. However, supplementary
grants may be available to some students with children, adult dependants and/or if you have a disability.
If there are any years where you are not eligible for full funding due to previous study, you will have to pay your own
tuition fees and will only be able to apply for a Maintenance Loan and, if you qualify, supplementary grants (if you have
children, disability or have an adult dependent). SFE will always apply any available funding years to the end of the
course.
 What if I could not complete a year of study, or a course, due to CPR?
If you’ve been unable to complete a year of study, or course due to CPR, it may be possible to apply to SFE to be
funded for more than your standard entitlement by requesting additional year/s funding.
(Student Finance England (SFE) should extend your funding for up to 60 days after you intermit if you have CPR. This
can be applied for each time you are unable to complete a year due to CPR.)
 How do I request additional funding because of CPR?
To apply for funding due to CPR, you must send a cover letter to SFE explaining how your CPR affected your ability to
study at the time and provide evidence.
Your letter should include;
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Your details, i.e. name, date of birth, SFE customer reference number and course title.
What CPR occurred and when.
How this CPR affected your academic ability and your performance
Explain that if a CPR funded year isn't provide what the repercussions for you are, i.e. may have to withdraw
from University, would place you in extreme financial difficulty, etc.
Provide proof of the CPR occurring, i.e. medical letters, death certificate, letter from University, letter from
Counsellor, police report, etc.
It is solely down to SFE's discretion if they award you an additional year of funding. This means it is important that you
provide enough information and evidence to prove that your ability to study or complete your studies was
significantly affected by CPR.
Send your letter and evidence to;
The Discretionary Payments Team
Student Finance England
PO Box 210
Darlington
DL1 9HJ
Use a special delivery postal service so you can check that it has been delivered to SFE. Keep photocopies of original
documents.
It usually takes between four and six weeks for Student Finance England to consider the CPR request. They should
write to you to let you know whether your request has been successful. Please note that if you are granted another
year/s of funding you are still liable to repay any Maintenance/ Tuition Fee Loan debt amassed.
If the request is rejected then you do have a right of appeal as per www.gov.uk/contact-student-finance-england . We
recommend you seek guidance from an adviser if you are considering submitting an appeal.
 How can the Advice Centre help?
An adviser can help by;
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Going through the process of submitting a request.
Talking to you about how you explain your situation to SFE in your letter.
Providing advice on what evidence you should gather and submit.
Talking through realistic outcomes and what to expect.
Sending your request to SFE and provide a letter of support for your request.
If you would like to speak to an adviser about submitting a CPR request please book an appointment using the contact
details below.
Telephone: 01227 827724
Email: [email protected]
Location: Mandela Building