Accredited official statistics

Definitions (Northern Ireland)

Published 27 November 2025

Applies to Northern Ireland

• Publication for England
• Publication for Wales

Term	Definition
Applicant	This is a person applying for student support. Not all applicants take up a place. Applicants become students once they take up a place and the SLC has received a confirmation of their attendance.
Award	If an applicant for student finance is assessed as meeting the eligibility criteria as stipulated within the student finance regulations, then they will be awarded student support. Awards will be paid on condition that the applicant subsequently attends the higher education provider at which point they will be considered a student, and payments will be released according to the payment schedule for the support types awarded.
Country of study	The country in which the higher education (HE) provider is located and which the applicant intends to / is studying at.
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)	Disabled Students’ Allowances help pay for extra costs a student might incur as a direct result of their disability. This also includes long-term health conditions such as mental-health illnesses, specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia or dyspraxia etc.
Domiciled	The country in which the applicant would normally reside in the three years prior to the start of the course.
Full time	This refers to the mode of study for which student support is being paid, primarily to undergraduate students. For the purposes of this publication, the full time data also includes part time and flexible ITT students who started their courses before 2010/11, as these students were also eligible for full time student support. Students starting the same courses after 2010/11 are not included.
Higher education provider	For the purpose of this publication it is an organisation designated for student support and can include universities which receive the bulk of their funding from public sources and further education colleges.
Household residual income	This is the income associated with the household where the applicant normally resides. It comprises of the taxable earned and unearned incomes of the applicant or those of the applicant’s parents’ minus any allowable deductions.
Level of support	Identifies if the applicant was awarded the full level of means tested grant, the partial level or no grant at all (Nil).
Maintenance Loan	Applicants are entitled to a different amount of Maintenance Loan depending on their term-time residence. Rates differ for applicants living at home, in London or elsewhere (excluding London). The amount of Maintenance Loan available to students also varies between those studying in their final year and those studying in an earlier year of their course. Students in their final year will be entitled to a reduced amount to reflect the reduced length of time in attendance at their university over which maintenance support is required.
Other targeted support	These are grants and allowances provided to students meeting specific circumstances. Targeted support includes Adult Dependants Grant, Parental Learning Allowance, Childcare Grant and Travel Grant.
Student	For the purpose of this publication, an applicant for student support becomes a student once the Student Loans Company has received confirmation that the person is attending a course with a higher education provider. Not all applicants take up a place.
Student support available	This is the arrangement available at the time of the application for support. It includes the range of support available, the eligibility rules and the income thresholds.