Products & Services
Government policy on student finance is set by the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (for England) and the Education Departments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It is the Student Loans Company's role to undertake the administration and processing involved in the payment of loans and grants to students, and the payment of tuition fees to higher and further education institutions. In doing so, the Student Loans Company provides a broad range of products and services to education funding in the UK.
- Tuition Fee Support
- Maintenance Support
- Other Services
- Targeted Support
The Student Loans Company distributes the tuition fee payments to universities and colleges for all eligible students from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the EU.
Repayment of student loans is a shared responsibility between SLC and Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC). We undertake account maintenance and communication with borrowers in repayment, and collection is undertaken by HMRC through the PAYE process.
The system of collection is known as Income Contingent Repayment (ICR).
Repayments on loans issued before 1998 are not collected by HMRC; instead they are collected directly by SLC by direct debit and are known as fixed-term repayments.
Find out more on how student loans are repaid, write-off terms, loan cancellation and how the interest rate is applied to a loan.
The Student Loans Company administers a range of products encompassing the areas of tuition fee support, maintenance support, and targeted support, on behalf of the English, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh Parliaments and Devolved Administrations.
2010/11 Policy Announcement
On 1 July 2009 the Department for Business Innovation and Skills confirmed the arrangements for the higher education support regulations for English students for 2010/11.
The full Ministerial statement can be found here.
The main changes to the 2010/11 support package for English students are as follows:
- Support to cover the cost of full-time tuition fees and for those on part-time courses will increase by 2.04%.
- The full-time student support rates for living costs and for targeted support have been maintained at 2009/10 levels.
- Student support for new students on full-time and part-time post graduate and equivalent initial teacher training courses will be brought in line with that available for full-time and part-time undergraduate courses.
- Students in receipt of EMA and who wish to go onto higher education will be given a quote of the support they could receive if they choose to do so, instead of a guarantee of future support.
10/11 Application Cycle
The application cycle for Student Finance England will open around November 2009.
