Consumer Information

Durham University Consumer Information Disclosures as per the requirements of the US Department of Education for participating Title IV schools (OPEID 00858700).

Last updated 2 August 2023.

Notice of Availability of Institutional and Financial Aid Information

Durham University shall email all registered students, on an annual basis who are identified within the University student record system as being United States citizens information which will inform recipients that Durham University is a participating Title IV school, and participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program.

In order to access US Student Federal Aid, students must first complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and specify Durham University as a nominated school.

Upon receipt of the student's FAFSA information by Durham University, it shall dispatch to the email address provided in the FAFSA application the application instructions for US Student Federal Aid at Durham University.

Applications for US Student Federal Aid cannot be considered without the application to Durham University by the above procedure, and completion of a FAFSA alone is not a completed application process.

Contact Information for Assistance in Obtaining Institutional or Financial Aid Information

General institutional information can be obtained from the Durham University webpage.

Admissions information (including contact information) can be obtained from Admissions Policy - Durham University  webpage.

General financial aid information (including contact information) can be obtained from the Student Financial Support - Durham University  Financial Support webpage and the Scholarships & Bursaries webpage.

Specific financial aid information for US Citizens, including for US Department of Education Student Financial Aid is administered at Durham University through the "Student Funding and Immigration Service", general information can be obtained from the Foreign Loans Foreign Loans - Durham University webpage.

Foreign Loans Queries

Email us.loans@durham.ac.uk

Written Communications

US Student Federal Aid Handling, Student and Immigration Funding Service, The Palatine Centre, Durham University, Stockton Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom.

Student Financial Aid Information

• The Terms and Conditions in force at Durham University for recipients of Title IV, HEA loans are available from:
  • Terms and Conditions Student Federal Aid
• The Terms and Conditions in force at Durham University for recipients of Sallie Mae Private Educational Loans are available from:
  • Terms and Conditions Sallie Mae
• Criteria for selecting recipients of Student Federal Aid is dependent upon the recipient satisfying the Federal Aid rules for eligibility and the Durham University rules for admission, and continuation of study. The determination of loan amount is capped at the value of the "Cost of Attendance" as determined by the school through means of its Cost of Attendance spreadsheet calculator for the academic year in question.
• Eligibility requirements and procedures for applying for aid are available from our Direct Loans section and are also sent out when Durham University receives the notification of your FAFSA application.
• Federal Student Aid is disbursed at the start of each term of the academic year (or as near to the start of term for late applicants).
  • Students have a right to cancel their disbursements at any point prior to the disbursement date of the loan. Students also have a right to cancel up to two weeks after the actual disbursement date. Requests later than two weeks after the disbursement date cannot be processed. However, as the origination and disbursement process will involve Foreign Exchange from USD to GBP (and any post-disbursement cancellation from GBP back to USD), the University strongly recommends that the right to cancel is invoked at least one week prior to the disbursement date before any currency exchange has occurred.
  • Students have the responsibility to remain in 'good standing' with the University. Good standing means that the student has maintained a) appropriate conduct within the student disciplinary regulations, and do not have disciplinary procedures outstanding, b) appropriate conduct within the University Student debt policies, and do not have outstanding debt which is older than its due dates, c) appropriate conduct within the student academic regulations, and do not have an Academic Progression Notice against them.
  • Students also have an obligation of Satisfactory Academic Progression within the Federal Aid program, and the Durham University policy is available from here:
    • Federal Aid SAP Policy SAP Policy
• The terms of any loans received through Student Federal Aid are available to all students through the Master Promissory Notes, and the Entrance and Exit Counselling requirements of the Federal-Aid process at Durham University. Durham University requires new Master Promissory notes to be completed during each year of access to Student Federal Aid and requires both Entrance and Exit counselling to be completed annually. Through these means, students are informed of the terms of their loans, provided with sample loan repayment schedules and counselled in the necessity of repaying their loans.
• Students enrolled at Durham University in a program of study abroad, where that study abroad has been approved for credit by Durham University may be considered enrolment at Durham University for the purposes of applying for Student Federal Aid, except where the program of study abroad takes place within the United States of America.
• All US Citizens and eligible non-nationals receiving Student Federal Aid at Durham University are obliged to meet the obligations of the 3 organisations below in ascending order of priority, to maintain their entitlement to US Student Federal Aid:
  • Adhere to the Terms and Conditions of their visa requirements as set out by the Home Office/UK Visas & Immigration.
  • Adhere to the Federal rules for the receipt of Federal Aid.
  • Adhere to the general terms and conditions of being an enrolled student at this institution as approved by the Senate and University Executive Council of Durham University.
• Durham University requires all recipients of Student Federal Aid to undertake Exit Counselling every year. The University provides this counselling in the form of electronic access through the student loans website and requires students to submit the proof in the form of a screen-capture of the successful completion of this counselling.

Facilities and Services Available to Students with Disabilities

Disability Support exists to provide information and support for all students with disabilities.

For information about the service, and the facilities they provide please visit the Disability Support website.

Price of Attendance

Durham University operates a variety of tuition fees depending on the course being followed, residency status and other criteria. To determine the tuition fee for the specific criteria that pertain to your circumstances please visit our Tuition Fees section.

Durham University has a wide range of accommodation options, both on and off-campus. As such, there is no one accommodation plan. Therefore in order to determine the price of attendance at Durham, a "cost of attendance" (COA) calculator spreadsheet has been developed where the individual circumstances of the student can be inserted and a price calculated (including for other costs such as books, transportation etc). This COA will be dispatched as part of the Student Federal Aid application process, but can be downloaded from here:

• CoADurham2023

Refund Policy, Requirements for Withdrawal and Return of Title IV Financial Aid

• The Durham University Refund Policy with respect to Tuition Fees can be found on our Finance Department website.
  Refund policies with respect to your accommodation will be dependent upon the accommodation contract that was signed. Due to the wide range of accommodation options that are available to students at Durham University a summary cannot be provided, but it should be noted that most private landlords in the city do not operate a refund process within the terms of a standard 12 month let unless a new occupant can be found.
• Student's wishing to withdraw from the University before the completion of their studies must complete the appropriate process. For postgraduate students, this is handled by your Department, and for undergraduate students, this is handled by your college. For both types of student, the withdrawal process will result in a "withdrawal" date, which will be used for any refund or return of funds calculations.
• Durham University return of Title IV funds policy can be downloaded from here:
  • Return to Title IV R2T4 Policy

Academic Program (Educational Program, Instructional Facilities, and Faculty)

All prospective and enrolled students can obtain the latest information about the academic programme of the school including:

• Current degree programmes and other educational training programmes
• Instructional, laboratory, and other physical plant facilities that relate to the academic programme
• Faculty and other instructional personnel
• Any plans by the school for improving the academic programme

Can all be found on the University website.

School and Program Accreditation, Approval, or Licensure

Durham University is a legally independent and autonomous institution established by the Act of Parliament in 1832 and the Royal Charter in 1837. It is also an educational charity.

Privacy of Student Records - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act does not apply within the UK, however, the UK has similar legislation designed to protect personal data in a similar fashion, this is called the Data Protection Act (DPA). The DPA is the legislative authority that underpins the University Data Protection Policy.

Student Loan Information Published by the US Department of Education

Prior to any origination of Direct Loans, all applicants are required to submit a digitally signed copy of the 8-page Direct Loan Master Promissory Note, which contains information about the rights and responsibilities of students and schools under Title IV, HEA loan programs.

Prior to any origination of Direct Loans, all applicants are required to submit proof of completion of Entrance Counselling conducted on the Studentloans.gov website. The counselling procedure contains information about the rights and responsibilities of students and schools under Title IV, HEA loan programs.

Prior to any origination of Grad PLUS or Parent PLUS Loans, all applicants are required to submit a digitally signed copy of the 10-page Plus Loan Master Promissory Note, which contains information about the rights and responsibilities of students and schools under Title IV, HEA loan programs.

Prior to any origination of Grad PLUS, all applicants are required to submit proof of completion of Entrance Counselling conducted on the Studentloans.gov website. The counselling procedure contains information about the rights and responsibilities of students and schools under Title IV, HEA loan programs.

National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)

Durham University's notification that it is required to inform students or parents that the loan will be submitted to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) where it will be accessible to guarantee agencies, lenders, and schools determined to be authorized users of the data system is contained in its Terms and Conditions for Student Federal Aid, which is located here:

• Terms and Conditions Federal Aid

Entrance Counselling for Student Loan Borrowers

Prior to any loan origination for Direct Loans, students must complete, and submit proof of completion of Entrance Counselling, as provided on the Federal studentloans.gov website. This counselling complies with all Federal Entrance Counselling requirements.

Exit Counselling for Student Loan Borrowers

Prior to the final disbursement within an academic year for Direct Loans, students must complete, and submit proof of completion of Exit Counselling, as provided on the Federal studentloans.gov website. This counselling complies with all Federal Exit Counselling requirements.

Private Education Loan Disclosures (including self-certification form)

Durham University does not endorse any Private Education Loan provider located in the United States who offer loans for study at Foreign Schools. At the date of publication of this document only one Private Education Provider issues loans to Foreign Schools, Sallie Mae. Durham University will certify loans from Sallie Mae, but only when a certification request is received from Sallie Mae, and only when a student has submitted a Cost of Attendance calculation to the University which is considered to be an accurate record of the student's cost of attendance and completed and returned a Self-Certification form issued by the University.

Preferred Lender Lists

Durham University does not endorse, promote or recommend any preferred United States Based Private Education Loan provider. At the time of publication of this document, there is only one Private Education Loan provider that will provide loans to students at Foreign Schools which is Sallie Mae. Therefore any reference to Sallie Mae on Durham University communications does not represent the existence of a preferred lender; merely that it is a lender. In the event that other companies decide to exploit the market they will be given equal visibility.

Durham University makes every effort to ensure that the information published on this page is accurate. However, the University cannot guarantee the information may not be altered owing to circumstances beyond the University's reasonable control. Such circumstances include (but are not limited to) change in Government policy, or change of law. Any changes will be incorporated into the University's website as early as possible. Any person wishing to obtain confirmation of any particular item should contact the University via us.loans@durham.ac.uk.