Apologies for cross posting but I am hoping for a response to this
from as many institutions as possible.  I should be grateful,
therefore, if you would forward this message to the appropriate
person in your institution if that is not you.

For those of you not on the admin-loans list, there have been a
number of concerns expressed recently about certain aspects of
the loans system and I have undertaken, as Chair of AMOSSHE and a
member of the group meeting with the DfEE to monitor this year's
student support arrangements, to collate some information.

I should be grateful, therefore, if people would spare a few minutes
to complete the following questionnnaire and return it to me by
Friday 13 November.  My apologies for the short timescale but the
DfEE are trying to arrange a meeting for next week and it would
obviously be useful if I could have collated the material by then.

This is not meant to be an attack on the SLC so I should be grateful
if those institutions which have not experienced significant
difficulties would make a return as well as those who have had major
problems.

Institutional details
Name of institution
Person to contact with any queries about this return
How many students in your institution are eligible for student loans?

Staff
How many staff normally deal with student loans?
How many extra staff have you taken on and for how long? (if
part time, please give FTE and number of weeks)

Number of loans
How many loans had you processed by 6 November:

existing students -
new applications
RAPS

new students -
applications for main loan
applications for hardship loan

Processing of loans
new applications (new and existing students) - what has been the
average length of time between certifying a student's eligibility and
sending the information to the SLC?
hardship loans - what has been the average length of time between
certifying a student's eligibility and sending the information to the
SLC?
RAPS - what has been the average length of time between a student
handing in his/her form and sending the information to the SLC?
all - what percentage of applications have been delayed because of an
error in the completion of documentation?

Forms
did you receive all the forms you requested at the beginning of the
year?
if not, which forms were you short of?
what percentage of the forms you requested did you receive?
have you now received all the extra forms you require?
on average, how long did you have to wait for replacements?
what percentage of the replacement forms contained your original
reference?

Comments about the SLC
have you had a significant number of students complaining about
the SLC?
if yes, can you provide an estimate of the number of students with
the following complaints:
- SLC taking too long to process application
- SLC blaming institution for not forwarding forms
- inability to contact SLC
- rudeness of staff at SLC
- others (please give examples)
would you, if necessary, be able to give specific examples of
complaints detailed above?
do you have any positive comments about the way the SLC has been
operating?

Finally,
does anyone have firm evidence of how long loans are taking to be
paid where there are no problems with the application?


Thanks to everyone for your help.  I will, of course, circulate the
results of this survey in due course.

Pam

----------------------
Pamela Bell-Ashe
University of Liverpool

Chair
Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education

Tel:  0151 794 2243
Fax:  0151 794 2249
e-mail: [log in to unmask]



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