1. Advising students
When advising students and ex-students about debt, you may need to adopt different strategies and be aware that students expect to owe money before and at the end of their studies. Most creditors (banks and the Student Loans Company) have structured repayment programmes for student debt once the student starts earning. Such debts should not adversely affect the student’s creditworthiness (see here). Some students can cope with increased debt, accepting that a certain level of indebtedness is inevitable. For others, it can have a more negative impact. The stage at which the student presents may affect their emotional state, as many wait until the situation can no longer be dealt with without external assistance before seeking help. The impact can be that the student may be experiencing poor mental and physical health, relationship problems and difficulties with their course – eg, low marks and missed deadlines. Some students may feel forced to withdraw from their course completely.
Student funding arrangements are different in Scotland than in the rest of the UK. Generally, tuition fees for Scottish students at Scottish colleges or universities (‘home students’) are paid by the Scottish government (see here). To cover living costs, there are repayable student loans (see here) and non-repayable grants and bursaries (see here). Home students
In general, to count as a ‘home student’ and get tuition, loans, bursaries and grants, students must have a ‘relevant connection’ with Scotland. This means they must be ‘settled’ in the UK and ‘ordinarily resident’ in Scotland on the first day of the first academic year of the course. They must also have lived in the UK for the three years immediately before this date.1The Education (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 No.156); The Student Support (Scotland) Regulations 2022 No.157 Students who are in Scotland to study, but otherwise would be living elsewhere, are not ordinarily resident in Scotland.
Get advice from Student Awards Agency for Scotland if you are unsure.