The Higher Free Fees Initiative (HEA FFI) is a government funded intiative. The HEA fund tuition fees for eligible undergraduate students on approved courses with eligible institutions. The criteria for funding eligibility are set out by the HEA and not the HEI (Higher Education Institution).
Eligibile students will be liable for SCF (student contribution fee) and SLC (student levy charge).
Eligibility
To qualify for HEA FFI, eligible students must be a citizen of:
- an EU Member State
- a state which is a contracting state to the EEA Agreement
- the United Kingdom
- the Swiss Confederation
Students must also be resident in the EU, EEA, UK or Switzerland for three out of the past five years prior to starting their course.
Additional Eligibility
The following categories may also eligible for HEA FFI:
- Persons who have official refugee status in this State.
- Family members of a refugee who are granted permission by the Minister for Justice and Law Reform to enter and reside in the State under Section 18 of the Refugee Act 1996.
- Persons who have permission to remain in the State as a family member of a Union citizen under the provisions of the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2006 and 2008 and Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.
- Persons who have been granted Humanitarian Leave to Remain in the State (prior to the Immigration Act 1999).
- Be a person in respect of whom the Minister for Justice and Law Reform has granted permission to remain following a determination NOT to make a deportation order under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999.
Please note the following:
- Students who already hold a 3d level qualification are ineligible for HEA FFI.
- Time spent at a 3rd level institution within the EU/EEA/UK/Switzerland is excluded for HEA FFI eligibility.
However:
- If it has been more than 5 full academic years since you last attended college and a degree qualification was not awarded students may be considered "second chance" and qualify for HEA FFI
Course Requirements
Students must fulfil all of the following 3 course requirements:
- Students must be undertaking a full-time undergraduate course of at least 2 years' duration.
- They must be a first-time full-time undergraduate. (However, prior undergraduate qualifications may be taken into consideration where exemptions are provided to a student pursuing a higher undergraduate qualification, to a maximum of Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications.)
- Academic repeat (including repeats from another HEI): students are ineligible for HEA FFI, however this exclusion may be waived for a repeat a year due to certified serious illness.
Note: Students who acquire EEA citizenship up to 31st January in an academic year may be entitled to free tuition fees from the second half of the academic year. Students who acquire EEA citizenship from 1st February may be entitled to free tuition fees from the commencement of the next academic year.
In order to be eligible under this ‘Change of Nationality’ clause students must have met all other criterion of the HEA FFI, apart from nationality, at date of entry to their course of study.