I was told by the SLC helpdesk a few days ago that the system they use (which I believe is called CLASS), and the ELP site are separate.  Presumably they have a scheduled job to synchronise them, but if you phone at the wrong time (i.e. before the job has run) the helpdesk system shows that confirmation hasn't been confirmed, whereas the ELP site states that it has.  Could this also explain the discrepancy between paper and electronic documentation???

>>> [log in to unmask] 09/28/06 10:48 am >>>

We're getting some cases this year where students have the payment schedule
with the correct University indicated on it but we have not had the
electronic record in the SSAR file - it's bizarre that they can produce
paper documentation for the student but not get the data to flow to us
correctly.

Tim



--On 28 September 2006 10:37 +0100 David Ealey <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Yes. we always have a number of students demanding that we scan their
> letters and being quite insistent that they have been told that we do
> this.
>
> We get this every year but added to it this year is the SLC  telling
> students we have not confirmed attendance when we have and they have
> simply not processed the files.
>
> I seriously wonder what it will take for the powers that be to wake up to
> the fact that they are simply not up to the job.
>
> David
>
> SN Croll wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> It might be worth noting that a large number of students, including
>> returning students, were sent an SMS text message yesterday that reads as
>> follows:
>>
>> "Take your payment schedule letter to registration; your Student Loan
>> will be paid into your bank within 5 days of your uni/college confirming
>> attendance."
>>
>> This has proved to be extremely unhelpful here at Bradford as, like a
>> number of other institutions, we re-enrol our students on-line and don't
>> have a paper-based 'face-to-face' re-enrolment.  We don't need or want
>> students queuing outside our offices trying to present us with a payment
>> schedule, asking us to 'scan' it because the SLC had told them.
>>
>> Given all the recent problems with the ELP site, this is proving to be
>> even more frustrating considering that the majority of delays to SL and
>> grant payments have been as a result of the SLC's system problems.
>>
>> Despite several attempts to get the message through to the Student Loan
>> Company that we don't all use the process of scanning payment schedules
>> for confirming attendance, this message is not getting through.  I am
>> starting to run out of energy and patience with them.
>>
>> Anyone else experiencing similar problems?
>>
>>



Tim May
Head of Student Systems
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9RH
01273-678761