Pam,
We have processed about only 40 hardship loans since the
start of term out of a 5000 first year intake. We had to
devise a scheme to be jointly operated by our SL office,
part of Finance, and our student advice staff. The
means-testing element had to be made very simple, on the
lines of self-certification of hardship. We have had to
hire a half-time administrator to check the forms, and send
them to Finance for assessment of eligibility.
Our chief gripe is that the sum available to students is
not enough to warrant the additional staff costs, both
direct and indirect, and that evidence of hardship at the
start of term or during the term is not sufficient to take
this loan but that evidence of having received the full
amount of the loan is needed. This, given the inefficiency
of the SLC in processing loans and the delays in having
loans deposited in bank accounts has meant we have not used
the additional staffing in the way we should have.
The sum itself is so small - less than a fiver a week that
even for poor students it can be barely worth applying for.
Eira
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