7 August 2000

FARREN URGES STUDENTS TO ACT QUICKLY

It is thought that up to a third of local students who intend starting higher education this September have not yet submitted applications for financial assistance, the Minister for Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment, Dr Sean Farren, revealed today.

Speaking as he announced that his Department is about to publish a leaflet designed to guide students through the process for obtaining loans, the Minister said that those who had not already applied for loans should do so immediately if they want to get their money in time for the coming academic year.

Dr Farren said: "In the past some students have tended to leave applying for financial support to the last minute. The simple fact is that if they do that, then they might not have money waiting for them when their term starts.

"It is vitally important for all students, whether they are returning to, or beginning, higher education courses in the coming academic year, to make sure that they submit their applications for financial assistance immediately to their local Education and Library Board.

"The leaflet we are publishing today will help guide students through the process. It should encourage them to look carefully at their finances and work out how much they might need to borrow."

Dr Farren stressed that there is no need for students to wait until examination results are known before applying for financial support.

He continued: "I appreciate that many students may have decided to take a well earned break now that they have finished their exams. But they should not leave things to the last minute.

"Any student who wants financial support for the coming year should get their application in and get further up the queue.

"The bottom line is that it is their responsibility to provide their local Education and Library Board with all the relevant documentation, which should help the Board, and the Student Loans Company, ensure that cheques are available at the start of term."

The leaflet being published by the Department will be available from Jobcentres, schools and directly from the Department. It sets out clearly the 7-step process which all students requiring financial assistance should take:

• Step 1 - Complete an eligibility application form (available from the local Education and Library Board (ELB)) and return it, along with your original birth certificate, to the ELB immediately.
• Step 2 - The ELB will check the details on the form and decide on your eligibility for tuition fee and loan support. If you are, you will be sent a Financial Assessment Form.
• Step 3 - You or your parents will be asked to complete the Financial Assessment Form, giving details of income and supporting documentary evidence (legible photocopies of documentary evidence are acceptable). This form should be returned to the ELB immediately so that it may be possible to receive the first instalment of your financial support at the start of your term. If parents are still awaiting certain documentation they should submit what they currently possess to the ELB and then forward the rest immediately upon receipt of it.
• Step 4 - Your ELB will work out from your financial details how much of your tuition fee (if any) will be paid for you and how much you will have to pay yourself (if any) and the amount of loan you are entitled to and will send you and the Student Loans Company (SLC) a financial notification setting out these details.
• Step 5 - You must advise the SLC as soon as possible how much of the loan you want by completing the Loan Request Form on the back of the financial notification and sending this to the SLC. IF YOU DON'T RETURN A LOAN REQUEST FORM TO SLC YOU WILL NOT GET A LOAN. Don't wait until you get your A Level results.
• Step 6 - As soon as the SLC gets your loan request it will prepare your first instalment cheque and send it to your university or college for you to collect when you start your course. Subsequent instalments will be paid into your bank or building society account, details of which should be advised to SLC on the Loan Request Form.
• Step 7 - If your university course changes from that detailed on previous communication with the ELB and SLC YOU must notify the ELB immediately. Failure to do so will mean that the first instalment cheque will not be available for collection at your college.

All students should by now have completed the first three steps of the process, but local Education and Library Boards estimate that up to one third of new applicants may not even have completed step 1. The message therefore is: SEND IN YOUR ELIGIBILITY APPLICATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Some students may have already received notification of fees and loan entitlement (step 4) from their ELB and notified the SLC of how much they wish to borrow (step 5). These students are presently having their loan cheques prepared and need not contact the ELB or SLC unless their original choice of course changes.

Students who require application forms to begin the process should contact their local ELB.

 

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The system of delivering student loans involves three partners - the Education and Library Boards, the Student Loans Company (SLC) and the student.

In the first instance, students who want a loan apply to their local Education and Library Board. The Board then determines a student's eligibility, assesses the maximum amount that can be borrowed and notifies both the student and the SLC.

The student must then decide how much of his/her loan entitlement he/she wishes to borrow and then notify the SLC of that amount. On receipt of this notification the SLC will prepare an appropriate cheque (loans are normally paid in three instalments, one each term) and send it to the higher education institutions for collection by the student at the beginning of the course. The second and third instalments are paid directly to the student's bank or building society account at the beginning of subsequent terms.

Depending on their circumstances, students may be entitled to loans up to a maximum of £4,590 (when studying in London), £3,725 (when studying elsewhere) and £2,950 (when studying whilst living with their parents).

Students are not expected to repay the loans until they have graduated and earn at least £10,000 per year. Once they do gain such employment, they will repay 9% of the balance of their income over the £10,000 figure on an annual basis until the loan is cleared eg a student who earns £12,000 a year will be expected to repay 9% of £2,000 which works out at £180 over the year.

For further information please contact Simon Burrowes or Kevin Mulhern on 028 90257790/2 or 0850 976067/0788 1550849.

To arrange interviews with representatives of the Education and Library Boards please contact Neil Lynas on 0771 3157902.