Finishing placement early

Hello,

Im currently experiencing bad mental health which has had a knock on effect of having to quit my part time job. For this reason I cannot afford to live where I am living and also struggling with placement. If I was to finish my placement year early (I’m due to complete in June) would I still get my student loan maintenance payment in April? I rely on that for rent.

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Laurenbrown2222

Your student loan payments are based on being confirmed as registered on the course by your uni. The exact times of that don't factor in except those on a long course may get a bit extra. As long as you are confirmed by your uni to be registered on the course you would get your loan disbursement as per usual normally.

Not finishing your placement is a much more significant matter which needs to be discussed with your university (i.e. personal tutor/placement tutor) immediately. As a placement may well be required as part of your course, and failure to complete it may lead to you being withdrawn from the course - which would stop you getting a maintenance loan payment.

This is not a decision you should be making independently without your university being directly involved. Student finance are not involved in that, you need to talk with your uni about it.

Reply 2

Laurenbrown2222

Original post by artful_lounger

Your student loan payments are based on being confirmed as registered on the course by your uni. The exact times of that don't factor in except those on a long course may get a bit extra. As long as you are confirmed by your uni to be registered on the course you would get your loan disbursement as per usual normally.
Not finishing your placement is a much more significant matter which needs to be discussed with your university (i.e. personal tutor/placement tutor) immediately. As a placement may well be required as part of your course, and failure to complete it may lead to you being withdrawn from the course - which would stop you getting a maintenance loan payment.
This is not a decision you should be making independently without your university being directly involved. Student finance are not involved in that, you need to talk with your uni about it.

its a placement year so it’s not part of my 3 year degree. Ive spoke with my academic advisor and she believes finishing placement early is the best option, she wasn’t sure if my student loan would still come in. Do you know the guidance on this?

Reply 3

Laurenbrown2222

Original post by artful_lounger

Your student loan payments are based on being confirmed as registered on the course by your uni. The exact times of that don't factor in except those on a long course may get a bit extra. As long as you are confirmed by your uni to be registered on the course you would get your loan disbursement as per usual normally.
Not finishing your placement is a much more significant matter which needs to be discussed with your university (i.e. personal tutor/placement tutor) immediately. As a placement may well be required as part of your course, and failure to complete it may lead to you being withdrawn from the course - which would stop you getting a maintenance loan payment.
This is not a decision you should be making independently without your university being directly involved. Student finance are not involved in that, you need to talk with your uni about it.

So it would be a 4 year course with the placement. Does that mean if I don’t complete the placement I wouldn’t get my final maintenance loan?

Reply 4

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Laurenbrown2222

In that case I would assume that not completing the placement would involve somehow an interruption of studies for the remainder of this academic year then switching course to the 3 year version?

Original post by Laurenbrown2222

So it would be a 4 year course with the placement. Does that mean if I don’t complete the placement I wouldn’t get my final maintenance loan?

I'm not so sure - if you were interrupting your studies you would normally not get the remaining maintenance loan and would pay back pro-rata any "overpayment" from the previous disbursement. Same with if you withdrew from the course. As you're continuing the course I would think the former situation would apply, although SFE might have more specific guidance on this.

In terms of switching from the 4 year to the 3 year course this might also affect your funding entitlement, as you normally get funding equal to the length of your degree plus one year (the "gift year") minus the number of years of prior study. If you're switching to a shorter course but after initiating the "extra" year so to speak, you would then likely end up having that use up your "gift" year of funding. If you had prior study or had to resit or interrupt your studies before this might have a knock on effect to your further funding for the rest of the course. Although if it's due to health issues and you have documented medical evidence for this you may be able to apply for an additional year of funding under compelling personal reasons (CPR) if it comes to that.

I think you probably will need SFE to confirm exactly how this affects your funding for loan disbursements this year and how it will affect your entitlements (if at all) going forward. You should also confirm with your uni exactly what this process will look like from their side. Not just "yes this seems like a good idea" but exactly what it means in terms of which programme you are on and which formal process there you are going through - interruption of study and/or change of degree programme.

You may also want to liaise with your GP and employer for the placement about what other options you have rather than simply not completing the placement (e.g. being signed off work and completing the placement after a period away from it potentially).

Reply 5

SFE Jason

Official Rep

Original post by Laurenbrown2222

Hello,
Im currently experiencing bad mental health which has had a knock on effect of having to quit my part time job. For this reason I cannot afford to live where I am living and also struggling with placement. If I was to finish my placement year early (I’m due to complete in June) would I still get my student loan maintenance payment in April? I rely on that for rent.

Hi Lauren,

Would your university still be classing you as in study until the end of the term? If they are and you're term dates aren't being changed then you'd still be eligible for the next payment and this won't be reassessed or reduced. Thanks, Jason