I was also under the impression that the HEI helpline was for Universities and Colleges to use for student queries, in addition to administrative queries. We had had to ring this line almost 200 times up to now this year to assist our students, not including the 170 or so queries re misdirected cheques, and especially over the christmas period when the notification to students was sent out informing them that 'they had left or withdrawn' from their course' and their Spring cheques did not go into their Bank accounts. We certainly would not be able to get through on the students helpline, this is difficult enough for students. The staff at SLC are always helpful and have not suggested up to now that we use any other number.
Pauline Walmsley
UCLAN
>>> [log in to unmask] 03/12/01 04:05pm >>>
I have just been looking at the March 2001 issue of the Student Support
Update and was surprised by the message from the SLC as regards contacting
them.
If you look on page 5 (this is available on the DfEE website if you don't
have a copy), there is a section entitled 'A message from SLC's HEI
helpline' which says:
WE ARE STILL receiving a number of calls from students as well as HEIs
phoning on behalf of students.Whilst we understand you may prefer to ring
the HEI Helplines,the helpline was originally set up at the request of HEIs
to provide dedicated phone lines dealing specifically with administrative
queries (such as Course Database returns and queries,Tuition Fee Enquiries
and stationery).The freephone Student Helpline has been set up to provide a
dedicated information helpline for all student enquiries. We would
appreciate your help in ensuring that where a query relates to a
student,the Student Helpline is used. The exception to this would be if it
were a genuine emergency or a problem that cannot be resolved by the
Student Helpline.
________________________________
I would be interested to hear your reactions to the above. Whilst I
understand that the SLC may want to streamline the type of phone calls they
receive etc, it seems rather odd to me that HEI's will need to ring the
already overburdened student number and have to be dealt with through that.
The number of complaints we get from students who say they can't get
through/ get cut off etc is quite high and for us to have to join that
process (and also therefore increase the traffic on that number) seems
strange.
You may also be interested to learn that in that same note it says that the
HEI contact number is 0845 702 3316 - which I presume is meant to inform us
that the 0345 number is not to be used anymore at all - but it doesn't
actually tell you this is a change of number etc and so I presume we are
meant to guess.
I would also be interested to hear from people who were working in this
area when the phone line was introduced, was that why you understood that
the helpline was set up? I have spoken to colleagues who have dealt with
this area for longer than me and they have never heard that before.
I would be interested to hear comments from people.
Louise
Louise O'Sullivan
Brunel University, UK
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