In the coming weeks the Student Loans Company will
distribute approximately £2billion in maintenance funding
to around 1 million students across the UK – supporting
them to access opportunities in higher and further
education.
With the new academic year set to start, SLC is urging
students to get ready for the first payment by following
our top tips.
-
Register at your college or university – with some
universities or colleges, students can register
beforehand to receive payments on the first official
day of their course. However, students should follow
the registration guidance provided by their education
provider. Until students register, they won’t receive
any payment and it can take three to five days for
payments to reach a student’s account once they are
registered. Students should make sure they have money
to cover any initial costs.
-
Don’t worry if due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re
studying online initially –some students will be
studying at home instead of in classes. They will still
be paid as normal provided they have registered for
their course. See tip number 1.
-
Tell us if your term time living arrangements have
changed – If students have changed their plans about
where they will live during term time – for example
will be living with parents instead of moving away –
they must update their application in their online account
This also applies to students who were planning to be
studying abroad but will now be learning online.
Failing to do this could result in the student
receiving overpayments. Students will have to repay any
funding that is overpaid and it could affect their
funding in future years.
-
Check with your provider to make sure your course start
date hasn’t changed – Your Maintenance Loan payment is
based on your course start date so if that changes your
first payment date will change too. If in doubt check
with your university or college.
-
Make sure you have provided up-to-date bank details –
often when a student goes to college or university they
open a new bank account. It’s important that they
update their online student finance
account with the new details to ensure their money
goes to the right place.
-
Provide any evidence you have been asked for as soon as
possible – parents, carers and partners may also be
asked to provide financial information and evidence.
They should do this through their own online account
which they can set up at www.studentfinancewales.co.uk.
Most evidence can be uploaded online via SLC’s new
digital upload service which can also be accessed via
their online account.
-
Check the status of your payments. Students can view
their payment schedule and check the status of their
payments via their online accounts. Check out www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/payment
for an explanation of what each of the payment statuses
mean.
-
Tell us if your parent, carer or partner’s income has
changed. If a student applied for a Maintenance Loan
based on their household income, they would have been
asked to provide details for the 2018-19 tax year. If
their annual household income has dropped by more than
15% they can apply to have their estimated income for
the current tax year used instead. Find out more about
supporting your child or partner’s application
www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/parents-and-partners/how-does-household-income-affect-an-application
-
Let us know as soon as possible if you plan to suspend
or withdraw from your studies If a student is planning
to leave or suspend their course it’s important that
they consider the impact on their funding needs. They
should talk to their university or college and let SLC
know of any changes as soon as possible. Find out more
here www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/undergraduate-students/grant-and-loan-overpayments
We can help with queries via social media so follow Student
Finance Wales on Twitter @SF_Wales and
Facebook www.facebook.com/SFWales
SLC’s Executive Director of Operations, Derek Ross said:
“This is a busy time for students as they prepare to start
or return to their university or college. We are doing
everything we can to ensure the payment process is as
smooth as possible for students, and they can do their part
by following our advice. We appreciate some students may
still have changes to make to their course, university or
college and it’s vital that they update their information
online as soon as possible to ensure their finance is in
place at the start of term.
“Our contact centres are open daily and there is also lots
of information available at www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/payment
and on our social media channels to help students, and
their parents and partners, to get prepared for payment
this autumn.”
For further information contact the Student Loans Company
press office on 0141 306 2120 / press_office@slc.co.uk
