Advanced Learner Loan bulletin - September 2024
Last updated: 23 Sep 2024
Academic year 2024/25 housekeeping
Many of your learners have started or are soon to be starting their loan funded courses. We've included a checklist in preparation for the release of timely loan payments:
- Are all learning aim details, including start and end date, correct?
- Has the learner entered the correct fee amount and applied for the correct loan amount?
- If not, have you submitted the appropriate Change of Circumstance (CoC)?
- Have unique learning numbers (ULNs) been entered to allow us to make payments?
- Have you confirmed attendances for new and returning learners?
It's important each learner's information is correct before you submit initial attendance confirmations. You must enter within six weeks of the learning aim start date.
If applications are approved at least four weeks after the learning aim start date, you must confirm attendance within two weeks of approval .
Please remember to check your CoC Worklist and Payment Instalment Report. This will clear any outstanding admin tasks from previous academic years.
October performance management review point
It's almost the first Advanced Learner Loan performance management review point for academic year 2024/25. This is on 17 October 2024. You'll need to have used 75% or more of your loan facility to be in scope for a growth award.
If you do not meet the criteria set out in the funding rules but need growth, you should contact your ESFA provider facing team lead. You should also complete the exceptional case template which will be available from 1 October. You should return completed forms by 8 October.
You can track your facility usage with the Loan Facility Details report. This is available in the Financials Home section of the Learning Provider Portal.
Level 3 entitlement
You must check that learners taking level 3 qualifications are eligible for funding. You'll need to do this before they make their loan application.
Support is in place if learners mistakenly apply for a loan when full funding is available. They can submit a Fee Charged Change of Circumstance notification. If you've already confirmed their attendance you can submit the CoC on the Learning Provider Portal.
Submitting the CoC will reduce the learner's fee liability to zero and leave their application in an approved status. Please do not withdraw the application.
Suspension period
We'd like to remind you that if you suspend a learner on or after 1 August 2023 they'll have a maximum suspension period of 12 months. Any learner suspended for 12 months or more will be automatically withdrawn.
Learners who suspended their studies before 1 August 2023 will continue to have the 18-month suspension period. This is in line with the suspension policy that was in effect when they suspended from their course.
Account manager services
Please get in touch with me if you'd like any extra support. We can arrange an account review, see how your organisation is performing against service standards or set up a training session.
Learning Provider Services website
If you're looking for updates outside of our monthly bulletins, the latest news is always available on the LP Services website. We recommend that you bookmark this page. You can also access the LP portal from here by selecting the 'Sign into the LP Portal' button that appears at the top of every page on the site.
Partners Support Desk
Our Partners Support Desk is here to help you with any day to day operational questions you may have. This could be about individual learners, application processing, payments and system issues.
You can contact the support desk on 0300 100 0643 or by emailing lpservices@slc.co.uk.