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NOTES TO NEWS EDITORS

1. The information presented in this news release is provided by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland ( SAAS), and analysed by the Scottish Government.

2. SAAS administers the student support arrangements for Scottish domiciled higher education students studying throughout the UK and EU students studying in Scotland.

3. Most full-time first degree courses and equivalent level qualifications are covered by SAAS student support, as well as the postgraduate teaching qualifications and some sub-degree courses. Certain other postgraduate qualifications are also covered. Information on support provided by SAAS is covered in the main body of this publication, in the section entitled 'Mainstream Student Support'. Pre-registration Nursing and Midwifery students are supported by the Scottish Government's Health Directorate, though SAAS deals with their applications and administers their payments. Top level information on such students in provided in the 'Supplementary Tables' section of this publication. Additional support is also available to students experiencing financial difficulties through the Higher Education Discretionary and Childcare Funds. Some data on these funds is also included in the 'Supplementary Tables' section.

4. Since 2001-02, support for new entrants has consisted of up to 3 elements: tuition fees paid by SAAS on behalf of all eligible students (direct to the institution of study); living cost support through a loan extended by the Student Loans Company; and targeted allowances to certain groups of students (e.g. young students, students with disabilities, students with dependents).

5. Over the period covered in this publication several changes to the student support package available through SAAS occurred. The main changes are outlined below.

Grants & Awards

For undergraduate students, Standard Maintenance Allowance ( SMA) only applies to those who entered the system before 1998-99. In 2001-02 new grants targeted towards young students and students with dependants were introduced. Postgraduate students on taught postgraduate diplomas (excluding education) who come under the PSAS scheme (Postgraduate Students Allowances Scheme) are eligible for income assessed SMA.

The Dependants Grant for children and the School Meals Grant were abolished in 2004-05, following the introduction of the new tax credits system.

The Young Students Bursary ( YSB) income thresholds were changed in 2005-06, meaning that more students were eligible for the full amount of YSB. The maximum amount of YSB available to students was also increased in 2005-06.

Student Outside Scotland Bursary ( SOSB) was introduced in 2006-07 for new students studying outside Scotland. This replaced the Young Students Outside Scotland Bursary for such students and extended eligibility to mature students.

Fee Payments

Scottish and EU domiciled students studying in Scotland are eligible to have their tuition fees paid by SAAS.

Students who entered their course between 2001-2002 and 2005-2006 can apply for fee support and can receive £1,225 which is paid directly to the institution. Those who entered in 2006-2007 or later, or those returning after a break in study of a year or more, can receive £1,735 in fee support for a first degree or post graduate teaching qualification. The fee for medical students is £2,760 and for an HNC/ HND level course it is £1,225. Postgraduate (excluding teaching qualifications) course fees are £3,235.

Fee loans were introduced in 2006-07 for new Scottish students who were studying outside of Scotland in the rest of the UK. In 2007-08 both new students and those who began their course in 2006-07 could apply for fee loans. In such cases fees are paid direct to the institution on the students' behalf and are repaid by the student in the same way as maintenance loans.

Loan Assessments

Prior to 1999-00 students applied for a loan through their institution and not SAAS. From 1999-00 onwards new entrants have applied to SAAS for a loan. SAAS calculates a student's loan entitlement and the Student Loans Company ( SLC) extends the loan. The data on loans included in this publication relate to the level of loans assessed by SAAS. This might not match the final loan that a student draws from SLC due to a number of factors such as non-completion of course.

In order to compare the numbers being assessed by SAAS and the final uptake figures of loan from the Student Loans Company ( SLC), figures from the SLC are included in this publication.

Details on loans issued under previous arrangements in the period before 1999-00 are not included in this publication (including mortgage-style repayment loans).

In academic year 2007-2008 students received their loan instalments on a monthly basis for the first time. Prior to this, payments were made at the start of each term.

6. The level of income assessed support payable to students is dependent on the unearned income of the student, as well as his/her parents' (or spouse's/civil partner's) residual income. The residual income of the parent(s) or spouse/civil partner is calculated as the total income from all sources (including earned income from employment, income from property/pensions/benefits, interest from savings, etc.) less allowable deductions (such as superannuation contributions, retirement annuity premiums, life assurance premiums (up to 2001-02), interest paid on loans (up to 2001-02), allowances for dependants, etc.). The residual income is then used as the basis for income assessment for awards, fee payments and loans as appropriate.

7. Each year student support levels and income thresholds are uprated by the forecasted Retail Price Index excluding mortgage payments ( RPIX).

8. In considering the statistics presented in this paper it may also be useful to be aware of the sources of finance which fund different types of student support. Fees and Awards are paid directly from the Scottish Government's Barnett allocation (also know as the Departmental Expenditure Limit or DEL). Funding for loans is provided by HM Treasury from what is known as the Annual Managed Expenditure ( AME) budget. However, for every £1 of loan paid by HM Treasury from its AME budget, it costs the Scottish Government 31p from its DEL budget to cover the cost of subsidising interest on the loans and the cost of loans which may eventually be written off.

9. The following classification has been used in this publication to define the level of study of students receiving support. This classification is consistent with other Scottish Government National Statistics publications on higher education.

• Postgraduate: Students attending courses where a first degree qualification is an entry requirement. This includes students doing research or on a course leading to a higher degree, postgraduate diploma or equivalent (including post graduate diploma in education - PGDE - students).
• First Degree: Students on courses leading to a first degree or equivalent.
• Sub-Degree: Students on courses classified as higher education but not classified as postgraduate or first degree, such as HNCs and HNDs.

A small number of the qualification types supported by SAAS do not obviously fall into postgraduate/first degree/other undergraduate levels. For the purposes of this publication these have been coded at first degree level with the exception of those on Adult Education courses at residential colleges who have been included in 'other undergraduate courses'. This only affects around 30 students in each academic year.

Although certain students are classed as undertaking postgraduate levels study, they are funded through the undergraduate support stream. These mainly include Post Graduate Diploma in Education ( PGDE) students. In Table 4 (which shows supported students by domicile and level of study) such students are counted under the 'postgraduate' category.

10. This is a National Statistics publication. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.

11. This publication contains some corrections of data published in the previous year's Statistical release. These corrections account for errors which have been picked up during quality assurance. For academic years 2002-2003 to 2006-2007 corrected figures are shown in the relevant tables and indication of where they occur is given either in the footnotes or in the text accompanying the table. As it is customary to include time series data for six academic years in these publications, data for academic year 2001-2002 was included in last year's publication but not this one. Corrected data for 2001-2002 and previous years can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Lifelong-learning/SAAS

12. This news release, together with associated tables listed above, is published on the Scottish Government website at the following address: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Lifelong-learning/Publications

13. Tables showing the figures contained in the publication back to 1997-98 will also be available on the Scottish Government website at the following address: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Lifelong-learning/datasets

14. The Student Loans Company recently published data on student loans and outstanding debt and the publication can be accessed via the following address: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Lifelong-learning/PubStudentLoansHE

15. Further information on all aspects of student support provided by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland, including types of support and eligibility, can be found on their website at the following address: https://www.saas.gov.uk/

For further information ( non-media), enquiries and comments on this news release, please contact:

Tel. (0141) 242 0271
Fax. (0141) 242 5455
E-mailfhestatistics@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

For media enquiries please contact:

Tel. (0131) 244 3070
E-mail:CommunicationsEducationAndLifelongLearning@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

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