DfEE has made it very clear in its SSINs what it expects by way of HEI
notifications to LEA's and SLC of withdrawal, suspension, transfer and
course changes .
The situation regarding SAAS students is less clear, particularly with
regard to course changes. On behalf of Scottish HEI's I have therefore
asked for a clarification from SAAS and they are looking into it at the
moment. However, it occurs to me that their reply will also be useful to
all institutions with SAAS funded students so I will pass it on when it comes.
Meantime, this institution will adopt the DfEE's procedures to the letter
when dealing with SAAS, except for Course Change notifications where we
will follow previous habits.
For those of you furth of this cold place, the reason this is an issue is
that those Scottish institutions which operate Faculty entry regard the
course of study to be almost as flexible as the choice of modules and units
and changes are frequent, routine and do not affect the length or integrity
of the degree programme. If we had to fill in a form for every course
change, we estimate we would be doing several thousand per year. In the
past, SAAS has always taken the view that this would waste a lot of time
and trees for no clear benefit.
So far SAAS says:
Thank you for your e-mail regarding procedures for students who withdraw
from their course.
The Agency is currently reviewing how these students should be dealt with,
and it will be necessary for me to consult further with DfEE and SLC
regarding the action they would like taken.
Therefore, I will get back to you ASAP regarding any changes that
institutions will need to take when informing SAAS of such students.
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Mr Alastair E W Work MA MIPD
Director of Registry
University of St Andrews
Scotland
[log in to unmask]
+1334 46 2115 (phone) 2123 (fax)
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