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SLC Withdrawing Loans

DoublethinkDoublethink Admin, 8th Day Host
edited April 11 in Hell
This is fucking appalling. They should make good on what the students were promised to allow them to finish courses they are already doing with loans in place. Just not issue to new students if that’s their position - but screwing over existing students like this is entirely self-defeating from a national perspective, and grossly unjust.

Comments

  • ArethosemyfeetArethosemyfeet Shipmate, Heaven Host
    Doublethink wrote: »
    This is fucking appalling. They should make good on what the students were promised to allow them to finish courses they are already doing with loans in place. Just not issue to new students if that’s their position - but screwing over existing students like this is entirely self-defeating from a national perspective, and grossly unjust.

    It sounds like the universities (at least in some cases) misrepresented the courses and should be held responsible. Dumping it on individual students is nuts.
  • TheOrganistTheOrganist Shipmate
    Legally, I think this could be very interesting (no pun intended). If the SLC were ignorant of their own rules for lending - which is what is implied - then they shouldn't win if a case is brought because, as is quoted with great frequency, ignorance of the law is not a valid defence.
  • Barnabas62Barnabas62 Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I agree with @TheOrganist as well as @Doublethink.

    I suppose I see the hand of the Treasury behind this. It’s normal negotiating strategy for the Treasury to push economising to the limit and up to the responsible ministers to tell them to push off before they go too far.
  • HeavenlyannieHeavenlyannie Shipmate
    I also assume it was a misrepresentation by the universities too, as I believe most distance learning students aren't entitled to maintenance loans in England. Having weekend lectures doesn’t change the distance learning status; my own distance learning university used to do occasional in person lectures.
  • RockyRogerRockyRoger Shipmate
    How on earth are students supposed to find the money?
  • Barnabas62Barnabas62 Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I suppose if available the Bank of Mum and Dad?
  • HeavenlyannieHeavenlyannie Shipmate
    edited April 11
    If they are part time distance learning students they are likely to be mature students and in work, as the majority of my students are. That’s why they aren’t usually allowed maintenance loans. I worked full time as a nurse when I did my first distance learning degree.
    Though that doesn’t excuse the mess they have been put in.
  • mark_in_manchestermark_in_manchester Shipmate
    I think I read that the institutions had misrepresented the nature of attendance in order to secure loans for applicants (and, I imagine, make their courses more attractive). Sounds like whatever we in the UK call a 'class action' against the institutions, but someone will have to be up for organising it. Maybe a no-win-no-fee merchant will step up, for good or ill.
  • Marvin the MartianMarvin the Martian Shipmate
    The SLC rely on universities to correctly identify which of their courses are or aren’t eligible for loans. It looks like some universities, whether knowingly or by mistake (many universities are woefully understaffed in their professional services), incorrectly categorised some courses. The affected students were never actually entitled to the loans they were given.

    I completely agree that the responsibility for repaying the loans should lie with the universities rather than the students, and if the misrepresentation was deliberate then there should be even steeper consequences.
  • Schroedingers CatSchroedingers Cat Shipmate
    The universities are culpable if they misrepresented their courses. Especially if they misrepresented them to the SLC, which doesn't need to be the same as their representation to potential students.

    If the SLC gave out loans based on bad information from the universities, then they should honour those loans, which the students took out in good faith. Or even just write them off.

    There should be contracts to be investigated. Although I presume the SLC have covered their own behinds completely here.

    But the one participant group who did everything right, and believed they were eligible are the students, which is why making them pay is utterly wrong.
  • Alan Cresswell Alan Cresswell Admin, 8th Day Host
    It's a relatively small number of students, who would have been expecting to repay their loans in the same way as other students anyway, so the cost to the SLC for maintaining those loans is marginal. Investigate and ensure that future students don't get access to loans for courses that fall outside the remit of the scheme by all means, and if there's clear fraud conducted (presumably many of those students wouldn't have started those courses without access to loans, and hence informing students loans would be possible means that universities have got fees they otherwise wouldn't have, which is a temptation to bend the rules) prosecute those who have committed fraud.

    It does, of course, raise a whole load of questions about the loan system. When the system changed so tuition fees were paid by the student rather than the government, and the early end to maintenance grants, access to loans to cover these costs were made available because otherwise few students would be able to afford an education. Ideally students shouldn't be forced to encumber themselves with debt to get an education, when an educated work force is a good to society as well as the individual students, and fees should be covered by the nation. However, in the less than ideal world we are in making education available to all requires providing students with loans. Putting barriers to access those loans based on the nature of the course (eg: for distance learning and part time courses) prevents those who can't access traditional full time courses from an education, which is bad for their personal career development and life and also bad for the nation.
  • DoublethinkDoublethink Admin, 8th Day Host
    An attack of common sense has occurred.
  • ThunderBunkThunderBunk Shipmate
    Astounding, if welcome.

    Something tells me that the situations of many of these students will underline the weakness of the whole student loan system, but this is still welcome.
  • Schroedingers CatSchroedingers Cat Shipmate
    That is good. And yes, the whole loans approach is ridiculous. But then, we have been saying that since it was introduced.
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