Student Loans Company pays Maintenance Loan support to a record number of students

This week SLC has completed the majority of first term Maintenance Loan payments to new and returning students. So far this year we have advanced £2.8bn* of funding and we will continue to make payments to students who are starting courses in the coming weeks.

SLC exists to enable students to invest in their futures through higher and further education by providing access to trusted, transparent, flexible and accessible student finance services. We are delighted that this year we look set to support more students than ever before – processing and paying a record number of student finance applications.

Although the majority of students will now have received their first payment, not all of them will get their full entitlement straight away. Eligible applicants who applied late (after the deadlines) will be awarded the minimum Maintenance Loan amount first followed by a top-up payment if they are entitled to more funding. To help speed up the process, students are advised to check their online accounts and send any evidence they have been asked for straight away. Students can find out more about how to get their first student finance payment if they have applied late online.

Our telephone lines remain busy and we continue to urge students to seek answers to their payment questions online first, where they will find information to help with their query. I would like to thank applicants for their patience to date and remind them that they can view their payment status anytime via their online account.

I also recommend that they check out our online payment guide which covers the most common payment questions.

As well as making Maintenance Loan payments to the remainder of students, this month will also see us make Tuition Fee payments to universities and colleges on their behalf. This is a critical part of our work, and key to our vision of enabling student opportunity.

Chris Larmer, SLC Executive Director, Operations

*Please note these are provisional figures. Full year figures are published in our Student Support for Higher Education statistical release which will be published on 25 November.