What is CPR?
If unforeseen reasons beyond your control impacted your studies, they are referred to as compelling personal reasons or CPR by Student Finance.
If you were unable to continue to the next year of your course or had to leave your course due to personal reasons, then you may have to repeat a year of study when returning to your course. This may mean you have to pay an additional year of tuition fees, though if you were impacted by CPR then you could get an extra year of tuition fee support. Please visit the Gov.UK website for more information about this.
Compelling Personal Reasons can only be applied for an academic year where you did not progress. Student Finance will need to see that you did not progress as a direct result of your CPR.
You must be able to evidence that the Compelling Personal Reasons have:
- affected your studies, or
- prevented you from continuing
which meant that you:
- had to take a break from your studies part way through your course
- may not have passed all of your exams/assignments and were unable to continue to the next year of your course
- had to previously withdraw from a course of study
Examples of CPR
There are many unforeseen reasons beyond your control which can impact your studies. Examples of compelling personal reasons can include:
- Bereavement
- Mental health issues
- Physical health issues
- Illness
- Pregnancy
- Caring responsibilities
- Family crisis
- Issues arising from Covid-19
How to Apply for CPR
In order to secure your statutory funding due to compelling personal reasons (CPR) during a repeat year of study you will need to request this directly from Student Finance who will then consider your evidence and use their discretion to make a decision on your funding entitlement.
You need to submit this request in writing by providing a covering letter to Student Finance, explaining your compelling personal reasons and how they impacted your studies.
You will also need to provide supporting evidence to verify your CPR and how they impacted your studies.
What evidence is required?
Supporting documents must be from a professional person(s) on headed paper who was aware of your circumstances in the year that compelling personal reasons impacted your studies.
Supporting documents can include:
- Documents from your GP
- Letter from your Director of Studies
- Letter from a member of Student Support Services
- Letter from a social worker
- Letter from a counsellor
- Letter from a solicitor
- Death certificate
- Birth certificate
- Police report
Your supporting evidence must confirm the nature of your compelling personal reasons and how they impacted your studies.
Information for Tutors & Staff in a Supporting Capacity
For tutors or staff in a supporting capacity who need to draft a supporting letter, they can use our CPR Supporting Letter Guidance to refer to what information needs to be included.
Submitting your CPR Application
You should be able to upload the letter and supporting documents electronically from your Student Finance account by using the document upload facility. This short video explains how.
You can also send your evidence in by post, but it may take longer to process.
Student Finance England
PO Box 210
Darlington
DL1 9HJStudent Finance Wales
PO Box 211
Llandudno Junction
LL30 9FUStudent Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS)
Saughton House
Broomhouse Drive
Edinburgh
EH11 3UT
If you are funded by Student Finance Northern Ireland, please send your application to your local student finance office.
If you are sending documentation by post, we strongly advise using Royal Mail's tracking service. We would also recommend phoning Student Finance a few days later to ensure your paperwork has been received.
CPR timeline
It can take up to six to eight weeks for Student Finance to process your application and let you know if you have been successful.
Rejected CPR applications
If your CPR application is rejected, you may be able to submit additional relevant supporting documents and request Student Finance to reassess your application.
If you don't have further supporting documents, you can appeal to request Student Finance to review their decision. Read about the Student Finance England appeals procedure.
Useful Links
Here are some useful Student Finance England (SFE) resources to help you understand funding eligibility and postgraduate loan options. These links lead directly to the relevant sections of official guidance documents: