student finance deadline last year
Surprisingly, a high number of new students in England failed to meet the essential deadline of applying for student finance last year and hence concerns of the educators and policymakers. Based on the figures released recently regarding the first-time loan applicants by the Student Finance England (SFE), close to half of them were unable to present their work on time hence risking to receive delayed financial assistance at the onset of their academic path.
Widespread Delays Impact Student Preparedness
The student finance deadline is an important deadline for the potential university students. Failure to meet this deadline can lead to huge delays in the payments of maintenance loans and payment of tuition fees, a critical source of funding in catering for living expenses and university expenses. The previous year’s information showed that many students started their courses without the presence of financial aid, and, thus, stress and uncertainty were brought onto an otherwise new beginning of their lives.
The causes that have been cited in connection to failing to meet the deadline have been a blackout in the supermarkets and the barrenness of buses heading into Uganda. These range from lack of awareness, delay by the administration and confusion with regard to the application process. In certain instances, students complained of lack of sufficient guidance from such institutions of learning as schools and colleges. The others complained about the problems with the online portal or obtaining the required paperwork, like the proof of one’s identity or household income information.
The Large Financial Stress Hangs
For late comers, the punishment was even beyond the bureaucratic. Many suffered immediate financial crisis as some had to borrow money or depend on support from the relatives, while waiting for the processing of their loans. The administrators of the universities across the England had increased emergency requests during the first weeks of the academic term, further throwing into light the size of the problem.
When a student is under financial stress at the onset of his/her university life, the implications can be very far reaching. Those who are under pressure at ensuring they meet the costs without having their loans in place are likely to be anxious, have lower academic performance and even think of leaving their courses. Crossroad between financial insecurity and mental health is emerging as a problem in higher education institutions, timely availability of student loans will continue to serve as a key factor in securing the student welfare.
Appeals to increase awareness and the systems
Promoters of education and student unions are appealing to the government and educational outlets to take proactive measures so that the students can appreciate working early in applying for finance to study. There are those who voice out the need for better communication strategies, and improved outreaches in institutions of learning and focused campaigns in social media sites predominantly patronized by students.
Department for Education (DfE) has recognized the problem and said that it is closely cooperating with the Student Loans Company (SLC) to elaborate a better application system and streamline the process. Suggestions range from bringing the applications’ opening dates closer, to reduced documentation, and better support for those with the problems.
Apart from that, there are those universities which set their own initiative to fight the issue. For instance, there are institutions that are conducting financial literacy workshops, one-on-one advising meetings, and reminder alerts to help the students go through the application process before the deadlines near. These interventions are not just aimed at those students to enable them gain access to funding in good time, but are also meant to prepare them better so that they are able to manage their money during the course of their studies.
The Road Ahead: Making the student support available in time.
The very fact that almost half of new students failed to meet such critical deadline highlights systemic issues with student finance application process. Now that the cost of living keeps on increasing, and the financial burden on the students pushes on and on, the issue of making sure that the students get loans in a timely manner becomes even more aggravating.
The focus for the future has to be on early involvement, transparency of communication, and elimination of bureaucratic procedures that prioritise student needs. Although individual accountability is involved, the education ecosystem, made up of schools, universities, and governmental bodies needs to come together as an orchestra to close the awareness gap and no student should be left behind by dint of unnecessary administrative delays.
With next academic cycle just around the corner, improvements in the student finance application experience will be important in driving educational access and equity throughout England.
