Get ready for payment as the 23/24 academic year begins
Jackie Currie, Executive Director of Operations, explains how SLC is preparing to make Maintenance Loan payments to students across the UK this autumn.
Jackie Currie, SLC Executive Director of Operations
As we head into September, we enter a pivotal time for students across the country as the new academic year begins. As well as starting or returning to their studies, students will shortly be receiving their first instalment of Maintenance Loans. It’s a key milestone for our organisation, as we fulfil our role to support students to invest in their future.
With over one million student applications processed and ready to pay at this point, we are in a strong position for the start of the 23/24 academic year. We expect to pay more than £2 billion in initial maintenance throughout autumn.
If a student is due to receive funding, they will receive an email from us explaining how they can help ensure that the payment process is as seamless as possible. The email includes simple tips like making sure their bank details are up to date as well as a reminder that we can only release funding once they have registered with their university or college.
Students can check their online account for updates on their application and payment status. And when we receive registration confirmation, we will send a text message a few days before the expected payment date to let them know their Maintenance Loan is on the way.
Not all students will get their full entitlement all at once. It can take six to eight weeks to process a student finance application, which means that if they applied late or during Clearing (after our application deadlines), we may not have their application fully processed by term start.
Our priority is to ensure that all eligible applicants have some money in place by awarding the minimum Maintenance Loan amount first, followed by a top-up payment if students are entitled to more funding. Students can find out more about how to get their first student finance payment if applying late online.
It will come as no surprise that September remains our busiest time and this is reflected in the high demand for our contact services, with lots of customers wanting to speak to us. To help students get quick access to the information they need, we would encourage accessing the ‘common questions’ area in their online accounts in the first instance.
It’s been a busy summer at SLC, and as we welcome the new academic year, we send our best wishes to those starting their university journey as well as students returning to study in 23/24.