Further Education Info and FAQs

If you are claiming a Further Education Grant you will not be entitled to claim other government funding, including Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), which is payable to eligible students enrolled for Training for Success and Skills for Life and Work as well as other academic and vocational courses delivered in Further Education Colleges. 

Grants will only be given to either one full time or one part time course in any given academic year.

Your attendance on the course will be monitored by your College. Poor attendance may affect your grant. Grant will only be paid if your attendance is satisfactory. Satisfactory attendance is classed as a MINIMUM of 80%. If attendance is not satisfactory your entitlement will be reviewed and you may be asked to repay your grant. If your attendance falls below 60% your grant will be withdrawn.

If you have a disability e.g. physical disability, mental health difficulty, long term illness or a specific learning difficulty you can apply for support from your college. You should contact the Disability Advisor in your College who will advise you on the support available from the college.

For students who are experiencing financial difficulty attending their course there may be some additional help from the Hardship Fund. The Hardship Fund is administered by the College and you should make enquiries with the Student Services Department of your College about the fund. They will advise you on the application procedure and criteria involved.

If you indicate on your FE application that you wish to apply for a childcare grant then you must submit an application during Term 1 for childcare grant. If the application is received after Term 1 it WILL NOT be backdated. This also applies to claims for Term 2 and Term 3. (i.e. if they are received after the term ends they WILL NOT be backdated).

No. You will not have to repay this help unless you withdraw from the course, or if we have to recalculate your grant for any reason (e.g. if inaccurate information is given or if you have a poor attendance record).

If you are a full time student payments are normally issued three times in the year - i.e. a payment each term. The payment will be issued to your bank account when you commence study. If you are a part-time student any payment due to you for books and stationery grant will be paid directly into your bank account.

If you change your bank account after you send us your application you will need to inform us immediately.

If you are considering leaving or transferring from your course of study before completion, you should be aware that this will affect how much assistance the Education Authority can offer in the future. It is essential that if you are considering transferring/withdrawing from your course of study, you speak with your College/the Education Authority to ascertain how this will affect future financial assistance.

If a full time student transfers to a part time course (up to the end of October) then the full grant paid will be recovered, however the student will be considered for part time fee support and books and stationery grant.

If a full time student transfers to a part time course (after the end of October) there will be a pro rata recovery of grant paid and the student will be considered for part time fees grant only.

Grants will not be offered to applicants who are repeating a year of a course of study unless medical or other mitigating circumstances contributed to the need to repeat the year.

Students repeating a year of a course due to medical or other mitigating circumstances should contact the Education Authority for further information.

In cases where a student is overpaid (for whatever reason) the student will be required to repay the amount notified to them by EA. EA must recover an overpayment unless it considers it is not appropriate to do so.

The methods of recovery are:

• Subtracting the overpayment from any grant payable to the student either in the current year or in any subsequent year or;
• Taking such action to recover the overpayment as is available to EA.

 Any attempt to dishonestly obtain an FE Grant shall be treated as fraud and will be subject to disciplinary procedures involving the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)

Where an application has been refused, one appeal against the Education Authority’s decision may be made in writing, giving the grounds for appeal to:

Education Authority, Further Education Section, 1 Hospital Road, Omagh, Co Tyrone, BT79 0AW. 

The appeal should be lodged with the Education Authority within 28 days of receiving the refusal notification.

You can contact our FE Grants team on 028 9598 6000, and select option 2 or by email to [email protected] , and someone will be able to help you with your online application.

If you do not already have an account you will need to register before you can make an application.  A link and registration code will be emailed to the email address provided.  The code provided is a one off code.  When you click on the link provided you will then be required to complete account set up, creating a password and completing some personal details.  The password must have at least 14 characters.

It is important that you check your junk mail if you have not received this registration email. 

The application form has been split across a number of sections. The section number in the footer bar will turn green upon completion of the section. You must hit “Next” at each section to save what you have completed and to move on to the next section.

You must ensure that you have completed and saved section 1 of the application. If this has been done, you may exit and return to complete the remaining sections at a later stage. 

You must login again to complete the application.

You can request a password reset on the homepage.  Just click on Reset Password and input your email address.  A code and a link will be sent to your inbox.  You will be able to reset the password at this time.

Your password must be at least 14 characters to be accepted. The password is case sensitive.

If you have been trying to register on the portal please ensure you check your junk mail for the registration email.  You must click on the link and input the registration code to complete registration.  This code is a one off code.

If you are still having problems creating or logging into an account, please contact the Further Education Office on 028 9598 6000, and select option 2 or by email to [email protected].

When making your application on your phone please click on the year at the top of the calendar and select the relevant year.  You will then be able to select the date and month.

If you make an error before you submit your application you are able to correct this by clicking into the relevant section in the footer bar.  You are able to move back through all previous sections and amend or check any details. 

Once you submit your application you are no longer able to amend any details of your application.  If you submit your application and need to make changes you will have to contact the Further Education Office on 028 9598 6000, and select option 2 or by email to [email protected] who will make the necessary changes for you.

You are required to upload  supporting documentation while making your online application.  The system will provide instruction as to exactly the types of supporting documents that are required to support your application. You must complete Section 1 of the application before you can upload any documents.

To upload a document, you need to click on Uploads at the top of the page. You will need to select the file type and then choose the file from your device.  You are able to take a picture and upload or save to your device and upload.  Please ensure that any photos are clear and showing the full document.

Once you click submit you will notice that the uploaded document is showing as pending.  All documents are subject to virus checks so will remain pending until it has passed all checks.  This process may take a few minutes.

You should not upload your identity documentation (e.g. your birth certificate/passport) as you are required to forward the original document to the Further Education Office. You can post your identity evidence or any other supporting documents to the Further Education Office or bring it in person to any of the EA Offices. 

When posting any documents please ensure adequate postage is applied.

Once you submit your application online you will get confirmation of this on screen.  You will also receive an email confirming that your application has been submitted successfully.  You may need to check your email junk folder.

If you have not received this email and are unsure if your application has been submitted, you can contact the Further Education Office on 028 9598 6000, and select option 2 or by email to [email protected] 

Once your application has been submitted you need to ensure that you forward any required identity evidence to the Further Education Office. You can post this to the Further Education Office or take it to any of the EA Student Finance Offices.

The Further Education Office will then be in contact with you regarding a decision on your application, or to request additional information.  Please note that it can take up to six weeks to process your application at peak periods.

Applications should be submitted from the student email address as the system will recognise if an email address has already been registered.  Applicants can also keep track on their application progress, as well as apply for future years of their course, so it is important to use your own email address.