SLC is Preparing for Payment
Chris Larmer, Director of Operations, explains how SLC is preparing to make maintenance loan payments to students across the UK this September.
Following a busy Clearing period (and we continue to process those applications), our attention is now turning to payment as we enter September.
It’s hard to believe summer is over and the return to university or college is just days away. Over the next few weeks, we anticipate paying over £2.4billion in Maintenance Loan funding to students and a further £2.8billion in Tuition Fees to higher education providers on their behalf. It’s a key milestone for the Operations Team here at SLC, as we fulfil our role as enablers of opportunity and students start the new academic year with their funding in place.
With more than one million student applications processed and ready to pay at this point, we are in a really strong position for the start of the 22/23 academic year. Students can find out their application status by checking their online account. All that’s then left to do is register for their course at their university or college.
This year, we have been focussed on improving the application experience for students and our commitment to improving the customer experience continues as we move into payment. Just as students can track the progress of their student finance application via their online account, they can also view their payment schedule online as well. And if students need more support, there is lots of helpful information on how to do this in our online guide to getting your first payment.
We also have some excellent short films on our SFE You Tube channels – including the one below which is dedicated to payment. And students logging into their online accounts will notice that they now have access to a new ‘common questions’ area, which provides instant answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about payment.
We know students will have questions. In the first instance, they should always access their online account and check our guidance before calling us. Our customer communications and customer experience teams have been working hard to ensure that all these resources are as informative, intuitive and as user-friendly as possible. But, our phonelines are very busy just now and students may wait for an answer that is already in their online account. It is almost always the quickest way to get information they need and allows our contact centre team to help students with the most complex issues.
We would also recommend checking their online account to make sure their bank details are correct and that they have registered with their university or college – as funding can’t be released until this has happened. Again there is more information available about this online and we are starting to email students, who will be receiving a payment, so that they know what to expect.
It’s also important to note that not all students will receive their full entitlement straight away. If they applied late, it may not be possible to fully process their application before term start. In these circumstances, SLC will award the Tuition Fee Loan and the minimum amount of Maintenance Loan before the start of the course, while we confirm household income and any other relevant details. Eligible students will get the remainder of their maintenance and any other funding entitlement as a top up payment as soon as possible once those details are confirmed.
Summer has gone by so quickly and as we enter September, we welcome the new academic year. We wish all students, starting or returning to university, good luck for the year ahead.
Chris
Students can follow Student Finance England on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and You Tube for all the latest student finance information.