Durham University to Applicants: Do Not Take a Loan for Online Tuition We Do Not Charge

The Durham University Bursary has issued a warning to applicants. Several people have reported being contacted by loan brokers offering to finance the tuition of a Durham University online degree. There is no tuition to finance. Online tuition is £0.

"If a broker, an agent or an intermediary offers you a loan to pay Durham University online tuition, they are either mistaken or dishonest," the note says. "Do not sign anything. Contact us."

The Bursary lists the only real costs: published examination and administrative charges, covered for most online students by exam sponsorship. None of these require borrowing. The sums are modest, fixed and shown before an applicant submits.

The note explains how the scam works. An intermediary presents themselves as an official partner, quotes a large "tuition" figure, and offers a financing plan with fees and interest. The applicant pays the intermediary; the university never sees the money and has no such fee.

Durham University does not use agents who charge students, does not outsource admissions, and does not accept tuition payments because it does not charge tuition. Every legitimate charge is paid to the university directly through the portal.

Fatou Diallo, an export director studying part-time, nearly signed. "The paperwork looked official," she said. "Then I checked the fees page. There was nothing to borrow for. I reported the broker."

Applicants who have been approached, or who have already paid an intermediary, should contact the Bursary. The university will confirm in writing that no tuition is owed and will support anyone pursuing a refund from a third party.

Staff across admissions, registry, teaching and student services are told to design every process as if the default student is studying after a full day's work: recorded sessions, published rubrics, named advisers, and a library desk that does not close at the end of one country's office hours. Durham University will not pretend a programme is light. Applicants should plan their weekly hours before accepting an offer and ask direct questions at the open webinars if a page reads as vague.

Durham University is a pan-African digital university with no campus to relocate to. Founded in 2009, it publishes news that is operational rather than ceremonial: what changed in a programme, who can apply, how assessment works, and how global students get help. Every programme is delivered fully online; there is no campus, and no student is asked to relocate. Questions about the claims in this article should go to the office named as author above.