Online courses have become an extremely convenient way of studying for many students in recent years. If a student is working a full-time job whilst they study, is stuck in a different country or area from their preferred institution, or prefers the distance-learning route over traditional learning, an online course has proven beneficial in all of these cases.
Considering its growing popularity, one might begin to wonder whether any developments have been made to accommodate the cost of tuition for online courses as there have been for traditional schooling. Well, students looking to pursue an online course will be happy to know that there have been, as some banks have made it possible to take out a student loan for online courses.
These banks include the following:
Nedbank
A student qualifying for a student loan will be allowed to take one out for their online course so long as:
- The institution and course that they have applied to is accredited with the South African Qualifications Authority
- The qualification that they wish to complete is at least an NQF Level 5, which is a Higher Certificate
This also applies to online learning abroad. As long as the course that you are looking to study is NQF Level 5 and above, and the Nedbank Student Loans team confirms that your online course qualifies, then you should be able to take out the study loan.
If your online course does not qualify, however, Nedbank still welcomes students to take out a personal loan instead, though they warn that the student loan benefits would not apply in that case.
Absa
The Absa student loan is also available to be taken out for online courses. The only condition is that:
- The online course has to be accredited by the United States Department of Education or the UK Government of Higher Education Quality Assurance Agency, but you as the borrower are required to be in South Africa.
Capitec Bank
Capitec Bank offers Credit-for-Education for students who wish to enrol at any one of their partner institutions. Some of the partner institutions that students can take out credit for, and which offer online courses, include:
- Boston City Campus
- Johannesburg Business School
- Milpark Education
Standard Bank
Although Standard Bank does not explicitly mention that students will be able to take out student loans for online courses, they do mention that they have adjusted their Student Loan scheme to accommodate study equipment for online learning.
This means that students can apply for a student loan for laptops, tablets, and software for up to R20 000 per year.
Fundi
Although not a bank loan, the Fundi loan scheme supports the education pursuits of students in need, whether they wish to study online or in-person. Fundi boasts itself as a student loan that caters to all students’ educational needs, admitting on their website that:
“The funding possibilities are endless with Fundi. We finance everything you need from private and tertiary education, to postgraduate qualifications, executive education programmes, short courses and MBAs.”
