Sean Robinson has been locked in a dispute for 11 months
Sean Robinson has been in dispute over funding for 11 months(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
A man says he will have to “scrape by” after an 11 month dispute with Student Finance. Sean Robinson, 23, from Liverpool city centre, found himself homeless unexpectedly in May 2022 and ended up living at the house of his girlfriend’s mum.
He later found a flat but continued to struggle financially. Eventually Sean, who is an up and coming actor, decided to follow his dreams by quitting his job in IT and enrolling on an acting course at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA). However, he is now facing the prospect of paying nearly £10,000 out of his own pocket to pay the first year of tuition fees for the three-year acting course which starts next month. Student Finance have told him they can only provide tuition for the final two years of the course.
This comes after almost a year of back and forth between Sean and Student Finance, who he says misadvised him. A spokesperson for the Student Loans Company (SLC), which runs Student Finance, has apologised for the “inaccurate guidance” Sean received when applying for funding. They said the decision to only fund the final two years of tuition is in line with its regulations but added his case is currently being reviewed.
Speaking to the ECHO, Sean said he decided to look into drama courses after being made homeless in May 2022. Sean said: “I became homeless abruptly and stayed at my the house of my girlfriend’s mum. I later secured a studio flat in August 2022, but struggled financially.”
Sean withdrew from a part-time course he was enrolled at the Open University after getting back on his feet and began exploring his options in September 2024.
Sean said: “I contacted Student Finance to try and get a full picture of what I was actually entitled to and they told me that I’d used three years of full funding because I’d done part-time years before.
“I just accepted that on face value and I thought, fair enough, I’ll apply for a one-year foundation course at LIPA in Liverpool, which I got. Then I applied for the funding and that was rejected because (Student Finance) said you’ve already done a foundation equivalent degree, so we can’t fund it again.
“I thought, oh what can I do, because you never told me that last time. They said, there’s not much you can do, you can only fund one more year and you’ll have to fund the rest yourself basically but you can’t use it for a foundation.
Sean’s course at LIPA starts next month(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
“Then I spoke to someone else who said, sorry, you were misadvised, you can get full BA funding for a full three year degree.”
During this time, Sean has been able to secure some acting roles, including a part in Red or Dead at the Royal Court, a play about legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly.
Sean felt he was putting his reputation on the line by “begging” for people for LIPA and other connections in the acting industry for help in changing his course to a three-year one. This request was accepted by LIPA.
Sean then went back to Student Finance, but was rejected for tuition fee funding again. He said: “This time they said, based on calculations of what I’ve done previously, they can’t fund the full three years, but they’ll fund the final two, so I’d have to pay for the first year myself, which again, goes against what they told me originally.
“So then I’m going back and forth and then they said, this is based on the fact I got a qualification from the Open University, which I did, but they assumed it was a full degree. I was like, how can two part-time years equal a full degree?
“I explained to them the name of the qualification, which was a Certificate of Higher Education or a level four, which is like one step above A levels.
“Every advisor I spoke to didn’t know what that was and asked me to prove it. Then a different advisor told me they thought I was applying for a post-grad course.”
Sean says it’s unfair that he can’t use Compelling Personal Reasons (CPR) to reclaim his year lost at the Open University as it was a part-time course. He said Student Finance are “claiming it’s their policy but this is not shown anywhere online, on their official website and they haven’t provided me with any proof that this is policy.”
He added: “All I have is one chat advisor telling me it doesn’t apply, even though I was told to submit a CPR for part-time study in the first place. So if they just went off their own original advice, my CPR would be processed and I’d receive my full funding.”
Sean says he was offered £50 in compensation from Student Finance this month, which he has rejected. He said: “Eventually I put a complaint in. They offered £50 in compensation. We’re on month 11 at this point.
“I basically told them, in very polite terms, that £50 is an absolute joke for all of the back and forth I’ve had, especially in terms of my reputation.
Sean feels frustrated that the dispute is still ongoing (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
“All of it makes me seem quite unreliable. I work full full-time as an IT service desk. I told my work that I was leaving because I got this place at drama school and me and my fiancée renewed our tenancy where we currently live based on all the finance calculations – we worked out like how much money I would be getting.
“But now obviously they’re expecting me to fork out £10,000 (for the tuition). I won’t get tuition fee funding. I will get a maintenance loan, but I’ve got to use that maintenance to pay for the tuition.
“I’ve been working five, six years and we’ll scrape by. I’ve got a part-time job lined up. But it’s not something I ever envisioned.
“I’m already working my notice, my job is already applying for my replacement. I think frustration’s probably the key word to sum it up.”
Sean has now formally complained to Student Finance about his experience. He has been sharing details of his dispute on TikTok and says other people have been in contact with similar stories.
A spokesperson for SLC said: “We sincerely apologise for the inaccurate guidance Mr Robinson received prior to submitting his student finance application. His experience falls short of the high standard of service we are committed to providing to customers.
“When processing an application for student finance, SLC administers complex and precise regulations set by the UK Government to determine eligibility. In determining eligibility, we are required to consider all previous higher education study and/or qualifications already achieved, as these directly impact future entitlement.
“Mr Robinson has previously gained a foundation degree qualification, which means he is not eligible for funding for another course at the same level.
“As he is now pursuing a degree-level qualification, we have applied the ‘end-on/top-up’ calculation. This method is used when a student progresses from a preliminary course to a full degree.
“Based on this calculation, Mr Robinson is eligible for Tuition Fee funding for two years. In line with the regulations, this funding must be applied to the final years of the course to support the student to complete their course.
“Mr Robinson’s case is currently being reviewed through a formal appeal process, which will consider whether the application was processed in accordance with the Department for Education’s Student Finance Regulations. While we do not consider that Compelling Personal Reasons apply in this case, this will be reviewed as part of the formal appeal.”
A LIPA spokesperson said: “Eligibility for funding is determined by Student Finance England and decisions are based on an applicant’s individual circumstances which we cannot comment on.”