Executive Director, Operations, Chris Larmer blogs as SLC make the first maintenance loan payments for the new academic year.

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. This week, we are starting to make Maintenance Loan payments to new and returning students across the UK and in the coming weeks we will support approximately 1.5 million students with access to finance.

Today we have made payments to approximately 170,000 new and returning students and we will continue to do so over the coming weeks with the biggest payment date expected to be 20 September, when the majority of students start the new term.

Those students that applied before the application deadline, will receive their first payment at the start of term. However, we can only release funding once we have received confirmation of registration on the course from the university or college that a student has registered (or enrolled) on. It can take three to five days for payments to reach students’ bank accounts once they have registered, so it’s a good idea that they have some money available to cover initial costs.

If a student applied late (after the deadlines) their application may not be fully processed by term start. However, we are working hard to ensure that all eligible applicants have some money in place by awarding the minimum Maintenance Loan amount first, followed by a top-up payment if they are entitled to more funding. Students can find out more about how to get their first student finance payment if they have applied late online.

The start of a new academic year can be a busy and exciting time for students when there is often a great deal to organise. It is also our busiest time of the year, and it may be difficult to get through to us on the phone. We have tried to make it as simple as possible for student to track their payment without having to contact us. They can check the status of their payment easily at any time via their online account – our short film explains what each of the payment statuses mean.

Short film

We will also send an SMS message just before payment is due to let students know it’s on its way, so it’s important that they make sure that their mobile number is up to date in their online account. This is also a good time to check that we have the correct bank details and National Insurance Number too, so they can be sure that their money is going to the right place.

To provide our student customers with more support with payment we have published information and resources in our online guide. And if they missed our recent payment Facebook Live event, they can watch the recording of our customer advisors answering payment questions.

I hope these resources are useful, and to all students that are starting or returning to university or college this autumn, I’d like to send my very best wishes for the year ahead.

Published 14 September 2021