Universities Step In To Bail Out Students

Fri, 20 Nov 2009

Many universities across England and Wales are offering students financial support due to the on-going delays with the student loans system, the BBC has revealed.

A survey of 58 UK establishments found that 49 have increased hardship payments to their students, with 43 blaming the increases on the loan delays.

It showed the universities had paid an average of £44,000 to students who were short on cash for rent, food, books and course materials.

The University of Portsmouth said it has had to pay nearly double (£80,000) to students waiting for their loans and grants to arrive.

University Vice-Chancellor John Craven said: "We are angry on behalf of our students who have been badly hit by this".

According to the BBC, around 70,000 students are still waiting for their loan payments from the Student Loans Company (SLC).

The SLC, which took over processing the applications from local authorities, said an unexpected rise in student loan applications had contributed to the delays.

In a statement, it said: "We are working hard to ensure that this does not happen again next year and are working on a number of measures including offering clear advice and guidance including on application deadlines, simplifying the application process and increasing our call handling capacity."
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