Information for employers
Sponsoring an employee on a work-based degree supports their development and gives them knowledge and skills they can bring to your workplace. You can sponsor an employee on their undergraduate or postgraduate degree.
You'll pay your sponsored employee's fees directly to us. If you pay your fees to your employee, they'll be classified as a self-paying student and not a sponsored student.
If you're a government body, charity or non-governmental organisation (NGO) you can also sponsor someone's studies.
How to apply for sponsorship
As a sponsor, you'll need to let us know that you're planning to pay your employee's fees directly.
To do this, fill in an External Company Sponsorship (RE2) Form. You should complete this in full, sign it and send it to us.
You can use a digital signature, or print the form out and sign it.
Once you've completed the form, email it to feeenquiries@port.ac.uk
Additionally, if your employee is a new student (joining the University from September 2020 onwards), you can pass the completed form to them and they can upload it using their Applicant View – the online account which was set up when they applied to study with us.
Alternatively, you may want to send a standard confirmation letter, or an embassy's Financial Guarantee instead of our standard form. This is OK, but it must be on official headed paper and signed by the you.
You can use our template or copy details from this to your standard letter. See below for the template you should use:
Example letter
Student Name: <<insert name>>
University ID Number: <<if known>>
Reference/P.O. Number:<<if none, name of authorised signatory>>
Course Title: <<insert course>>
CURRENT SESSION: <<insert academic session>>
Please accept this letter as confirmation that <<company name>> will fund the tuition fees of the above named for the total amount of <<£>> and bench fees (where applicable) of <<£>>.
In consideration of us providing tuition and/or bench fees for the above named student, I/We accept responsibility for payment of the Tuition Fees set out above for the period stated, and agree to pay the said fees in full within 30 days of invoice date directly to the ºÚÁϳԹÏ. I/We confirm we have, or will make our own agreement with the student to cover his/her obligation to us, should he/she interrupt his/her studies (temporary suspension) or withdraw from the programme, or leave our employment.
I confirm I am authorised to enter into this contract, and am an authorised signatory of the organisation named below.
I/We have read and accept the University’s concerning fees charged which is available on our Tuition fees terms and conditions page.
Please forward the tuition fee invoice to:
<<Accounts Payable Generic Email>>
<<Address line 1>>
<<Address line 2>>
<<Address line 3>>
<<Address line 4>>
<<Address line 5>>
Please contact me on <<telephone & email>> if you have any queries.
Yours Faithfully,
<<Name>>
<<Position within Company>>
If you send us a letter without all the required details and declaration it could be rejected, leaving your employee liable for the tuition fees.
Additional information
There are a few things that you should be aware of.
Firstly, you must send an External Company Sponsorship (RE2) Form or official Letter of Sponsorship for each academic session your employee completes. This generally means you'll need to send this for each year of their course.
Secondly, you must pay their tuition fees in full within 30 days of the date on the invoice we'll send you.
If you can't pay invoices without a purchase order number, the External Company Sponsorship (RE2) Form or official Letter of Sponsorship should not be submitted without the relevant number. Your employee's progress could be interrupted or facilities withdrawn if the PO number has not been quoted and our invoice is returned unpaid.
If you don't have a purchase order or reference number, you should use the signatory's full name instead. We'll use this as a reference so your finance department can match the invoice up when they receive it.
To avoid any delays in payment, make sure the External Company Sponsorship (RE2) Form or official Letter of Sponsorship includes the following:
- Your employee's full name
- The course they'll be studying
- The amount you want to contribute (specified in £GBP)
- The purchase order number
- The email address of your Accounts Payable Department – this is where the invoice will be sent
- If you cannot provide an Accounts Payable email address, we must have your full address, including postcode or zip code – this is where the invoice is to be sent instead
- The academic session the letter covers – for example, if your employee's course takes place within the period of 1 August 2018–31 July 2019, this would be 2018/19
- A contact email address of the person signing the letter or form, and the name of the sponsoring company or government body
If the form or letter is incomplete or doesn't contain enough information, we won't be able to accept it and your employee will need to pay the full tuition fee amount.
You can choose to pay for more than 1 year's course fee at the start of your employee's programme of study, allowing you to pay a fixed entry fee for all of your course. See terms and conditions and application details of this policy here: .
What if my employee leaves their course?
The External Company Sponsorship (RE2) Form or official Letter of Sponsorship confirms your contractual obligation to pay fees for your employee for the period stated, even if they withdraw from their course or leave your employment.
We recommend that you form your own agreement with your employee to cover their obligation to you if they decide to leave the course or your employment.