Extended Non-means-tested Loan Scheme (ENLS)

• Applicants should decide the field and objectives of studies before selecting the course providers and courses. For the time being, numerous courses in different fields are being provided by various course providers, some of which purport to be qualified for awarding professional credentials; to recommend students for sitting internationally accredited examinations; or to recommend students with satisfactory results in their studies for employment by certain organisations. Applicants may hence be attracted to sign up for such courses which they are not quite familiar with or interested in. If applicants withdraw from their studies shortly after the commencement of the courses which they found unsuitable, it will be a waste of valuable time and money. Therefore, applicants have to ascertain what subjects they are interested in and what goals they hope to attain before selecting suitable course providers and courses.

• After confirming the field and goals of studies, applicants have to deliberate about their academic level, financial situation and time allocation for selecting a suitable course.

  • Academic level: Applicants should choose courses that suit their needs having considered their circumstances and should refrain from overestimating their capability. Applicants should understand their academic standards to avoid selecting a course with an academic level which is too high or too low for them which will waste both their precious time and money.
  • Financial situation: Although the government provides students with loans, there are requirements on the eligibility which applicants must ascertain. For more information on the eligibility and details of the loans administered by the Students Finance Office (SFO), applicants may browse the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency’s website. In addition, signing up for courses with expensive tuition fees may inevitably increase applicants’ financial pressure in future. For example, under the ENLS, not only do the loan borrowers have to repay the principal, but they also have to settle all accrued interest and annual administrative fees during the loan period. Applicants may find more information on loan repayment and repayment estimation from the Investor and Financial Education Council’s webpage and the Repayment Calculator by SFO.
  • Time allocation: Applicants eligible for the loan should also note the time required to process the application. If the information and documents provided are complete and in order, the loan will normally be paid within six weeks from the date of complete information submission to the SFO (the concerned processing time is only applicable to the application under the ENLS). Therefore, if the due day for payment of the tuition fee does not tie in with the loan payment date, applicants may need to pay the tuition fee first with the loan credited to the applicants afterwards.

• Applicants can gather course information from various channels, such as advertisements, friends and promotional leaflets by course providers, and compare courses with similar content offered by various course providers for screening courses. However, since the course providers may try to emphasise only the most attractive features of their courses to their customers, applicants should bear in mind the possible discrepancies between the promotional content and the actual circumstances of the course. Applicants should avert from relying on any single source of information and rush to sign up for courses. Besides, to tout for business, some course providers may claim that their students are eligible to apply for a loan under the ENLS administered by the SFO. In the applicants’ best interests, they should check the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency’s website to ascertain if the concerned course is included in the Register of Eligible Courses under the ENLS.

• Applicants have to remain cautious and sceptical in comparing promotional advertisements by different course providers. To ensure there is no exaggeration nor inaccuracy in the promotional information, applicants should never hesitate to make enquiries, particularly concerning the course content, the total amount of tuition fees, the number of tuition fee payment instalments, the tuition fee refund arrangement on withdrawal, the conducting agency, course duration, the number and timing of course sessions, mode of delivery, medium of instruction etc.

  Where there is any discrepancy between the promotional information and the explanation by the course providers’ staff, applicants may request the course providers to alter the information concerned and affix a seal thereto. Remember not to be trapped by propaganda or any verbal promise.

• After enquiring and screening out the unsuitable courses, applicants may list out the suitable ones for site observation. During the visit to the course providers, applicants may scrutinize the course providers’ registration documents, visit the classroom environment and, if agreed by the course providers, observe the lecture. Conducting site visits helps applicants verify the accuracy of the information gathered and further understand the course provider concerned.

• Unlike an insurance company, course providers do not provide customers with a cooling-off period. Once the part or all of the tuition fee is paid, it will be difficult to request a refund regardless of the payment method. Hence, though fully satisfied with the course providers after site observation, applicants should avoid any immediate payment of the tuition fee (including any deposit). Applicants should allow a few days to fully consider before deciding to enrol and pay for the course. When making payments, applicants should also avoid as far as possible a one-off payment of the tuition fee. Before fully assessing their own need, applicants should not hastily sign any contract with the course providers to agree on payment of a large sum of tuition fees by instalments. In the event of applicants’ subsequent refusal to pay due to their dissatisfaction with the quality of the course, the course providers may file a writ against the applicants in accordance with the contract terms. Applicants may request a short-term trial study and payment of tuition fees on a monthly basis. In doing so, applicants can ascertain if the course suits their needs before confirming signing up for the whole course.

• After paying the tuition fee, applicants have to request for a receipt issued by the course providers. The receipt should indicate the name of the course providers, the course of studies and the monies paid. Applicants may also attach all promotional leaflets to the receipt to facilitate future evaluation of the quality of the course. For applicants’ benefit, they should be circumspect in keeping the receipts.

• Applicants should select the course providers and course themselves instead of relying on others which may not be appropriate. For instance, applicants’ proxies may misunderstand applicants’ expectations and may not be able to thoroughly consider applicants’ situation in the process of course searching and screening. Applicants should personally take care of any procedure involving money, such as payment of the tuition fee or application for student loans, instead of authorising any unfamiliar acquaintance to do so.

• A handful of loan borrowers withdrew from their studies due to their dissatisfaction with the quality of the course and disputes with the course providers. These borrowers, misconstruing their liabilities for loan repayment, conceived that they need not be responsible for their loans under such circumstances. The SFO hereby reiterates that the borrowers shall not be immune from their liabilities for loan repayment under any circumstances, including but not confined to their failure to complete the course for any reason, and/or the institution's failure to provide the course in which applicants have enrolled for any reason etc.

The SFO earnestly hopes that applicants can select a suitable course which best suits their circumstances with the assistance of the above tips and realise ideals through continuous education.