Advanced Learner Loan bulletin – September 2021

Attendance confirmation

You must submit any outstanding attendance confirmations by close of business on 14 October to ensure payment on 20 October. Please check that your learners' details are correct and up to date, especially when submitting initial attendance confirmations.

You will also need to action any changes to learners' circumstances by 14 October.

For more information please see the payment and drawdown section of the Learning Provider Portal user guide .

We will monitor your returns to ensure ongoing compliance with the service standards.

Changing a learner's start date

Learners wishing to amend their start date from AY 2020/21 to AY 2021/22 will need to reapply with all evidence of their eligibility. Data integrity is a priority for us and as requirements have changed for this application cycle, we will ask learners to provide some additional information.

Loan allocation monitoring

It is your responsibility to monitor your loan allocation and ensure you do not exceed it. If you exceed your allocation, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will ask us to block the approval of any new applications.

You can use the financial reports on the Learning Provider Portal to monitor your loan allocation. You can find more information about these reports in our Learning Provider Portal user guide.

You will be assessed for growth through 2 desk-based reviews. These will take place in October and January. Funds will be increased if you meet certain criteria. If you do not meet the criteria but have an exceptional case, you should raise this with your ESFA territorial team lead ahead of the review point.

You can find the Advanced Learner Loans funding rules 2021 to 2022 on GOV.UK.

Access to HE Diploma applications

Learners are only entitled to one Advanced Learner Loan for an Access to HE Diploma.

It is not possible to enable learners a second opportunity to apply for an Access to HE Diploma, even when the loan liability has been removed and the tuition fees have been amended to zero.

This is because these learning aims are focussed on a progression-related outcome. This applies whether the qualification is achieved or not. The only exception is if a learner has had to withdraw from their studies due to compelling personal reasons (CPR).

In accordance with policy we are unable to process retrospective withdrawals or fee adjustments on these applications, especially where the course end date has passed.

Partner Services satisfaction survey reminder

Those who were sent the satisfaction survey invitation, please remember that the survey will close on Thursday 30 September. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help us improve our service to you and learners.