New Student Loan Initiative at Trinity College Dublin Aims to Help Students Access Higher Education
Posted on: 09 July 2012
‘TCD Finance’ Enables Parents to Spread the Cost of Student Contribution Charges with Payments of €100 per Month for the Duration of Study
A student loan initiative for current and new undergraduate students at Trinity College Dublin, provided by Bank of Ireland, was announced today. The initiative, ‘TCD Finance’ aims to assist students and parents in easing the burden of payment arising from the Student Contribution Charge during the students’ undergraduate College years. The new loan will enable parents to spread the cost of university with payments of €100 per month for the duration of study.
Welcoming the initiative, TCD Provost, Dr Patrick Prendergast said: “Trinity is conscious of the difficulties faced by students and their families in financing a university education as a result of the current economic downturn, coupled with the increases in the cost of the Student Contribution Charge. This initiative is the first of its kind offered by an Irish university and it is hoped to help students access a quality education at Trinity.”
TCD Chief Financial Officer, Ian Mathews, outgoing Students’ Union Welfare Officer, Louisa Miller, Group Chief Executive, Bank of Ireland, Richie Boucher, TCD Provost, Dr Patrick Prendergast, outgoing SU President, Ryan Bartlett, Dean of Students, Dr Amanda Piesse, SU President, Rory Dunne, SU Welfare Officer, Aisling Ní Chonaire.
Bank of Ireland, Trinity College and its Students’ Union worked together to explore and develop ‘TCD Finance’; an innovative solution to support students and parents with the cost of the annual Undergraduate Student Contribution Charge. ‘TCD Finance’ is a loan for parents or guardians of undergraduate students of Trinity College. The loan is available to cover the full cost of the Student Contribution Charges for the undergraduate course, with approval for the full amount up front but payments made annually to TCD directly from Bank of Ireland. The Student Contribution Charge is currently €2,250 per year therefore for a 4-year undergraduate course; parents can apply to borrow a maximum of €9,000.
The loan is designed to provide low repayments of €100 per month for the duration of study, at a rate of 5.1% APR variable. When students complete their studies, the loan will revert to the Bank of Ireland standard graduate rate of 9.7% APR variable for a further 3 years.
Commenting on the new product Group Chief Executive, Bank of Ireland, Richie Boucher said: “Bank of Ireland has an absolute focus on deploying its capital, funding and resources to ensure that it is the leading Bank in Ireland. A critical part of this is anticipating our customers’ needs and coming up with solutions to meet those needs which work for our customers and work for us. The development of the ‘TCD Finance’ offering has been a true partnership with the team in Trinity College who have really helped us understand the needs of students and strongly challenged us to come up with an offering to meet those needs. We are very excited to have been able to rise to the challenge and we will work very hard with Trinity College to ensure its success.”
“This development will help a lot of students who were struggling with the annual increase in the Student Contribution Charge. The Students’ Union is delighted to have worked on an innovative scheme that will maintain access to Trinity College for current and prospective students. The partnership with Bank of Ireland has delivered a creative option to ease the problems of student financing,” continued TCD Students’ Union President, Ryan Bartlett.
Notes to Editor
Based on the 2012-13 Student Contribution Charge, parents will be able to budget for a €100 per month repayment schedule for the duration of undergraduate study. On completion of study, the parent can continue to repay the loan, or the student can apply to Bank of Ireland to take over the remaining 3 years of the loan (subject to standard assessment criteria). At a rate of 9.7% APR variable, the typical monthly repayment on a €9,000 loan to cover a 4-year course would require monthly repayments of €155.24 per month on the balance for the remaining 3 years.
While the vast majority of TCD’s courses are run over four years, the new product also allows for a 5-year undergraduate course, with the Graduate rate applying in years 6-8. Parents and guardians can apply for ‘TCD Finance’ upon receipt of their annual TCD Fees Remittance Invoice in August, and a closing date of 28 September applies to applications for ‘TCD Finance’. ‘TCD Finance’ is available from the Bank of Ireland Trinity College branches, who are on hand to service the needs of students throughout their time in Trinity College.
‘TCD Finance’ is not a financial services entity and does not require a banking licence or regulatory approval. Trinity College will not be involved in the contractual relationship between the bank and its customers. Bank of Ireland is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.