This is an information page for students on the BSc Social Work course in 2024/25.
Overview
Overview
It has come to our attention that the University has provided incorrect course dates to Student Finance England (SFE) for the BSc Social Work course for the 2024/25 academic year. The course has been reported to be longer than it is by a small number of weeks for year one and year two students, and by one week for final year students.
We have emailed all the students we believe could be affected, but not all these students will be affected.
This will affect you if you have a long course maintenance loan. Whether you have a long course loan or not depends on your household income (if you have chosen to be means-tested) and the length in weeks of your course year.
We have now provided SFE with the correct course dates, and it is possible that your maintenance loan entitlement will be reassessed as a result. This means that the April loan instalments for this academic year are likely to be lower than previously advised for some students.
What you could receive
The University will make sure students aren’t financially disadvantaged by this error. We can only make a payment that relates to the over-reporting of the length of your course. If your student loan has been reduced for any other reason, not caused by us, then we are unable to make up this shortfall.
Who can apply
If you were eligible for the long course loan, you should be contacted by SFE to notify you of a reduction in your maintenance loan within four weeks.
When to apply
After 10am on Wednesday 12 February and once you have received confirmation from SFE of a reduction in your April loan instalment, you should upload this to our BSc Social Work Student Loan form.
Please do not submit a form before you have received confirmation from SFE as we are unable to approve claims without acceptable formal evidence.
How to apply
Upload formal notification from SFE of the April student loan instalment you were expecting to receive in April and the revised maintenance loan you are now due to receive. The evidence must be in your name and for the 2024/25 academic year.
You should upload your original SFE entitlement letter for the 2024/25 academic year and your new updated SFE entitlement letter for 2024/25. This must show your new maintenance loan payment amounts and dates. This will be available to you by logging into your Student Finance England account.
You will also be asked to provide your bank details so that we can make a payment to you.
What happens next
Once your claim has been assessed, we will send an outcome email to your student email address. If your claim is approved, we will make a one-off payment to your bank account on Tuesday 22 April equal to the amount your loan has reduced. This payment will not be a loan, so you won’t need to repay it.
FAQs
This page will be updated with responses to frequently asked questions.
What will happen to my student loan in 2025/26?
The course dates will be reported correctly to Student Finance England so students should not receive the long course loan.
Why can’t I access the UniHub form?
We think we’ve emailed all the students we believe could be affected, and only these students can access the form. If you think we’ve missed you, please let us know by emailing studentfunding@shu.ac.uk.
Need help
If you have any questions about the BSc Social Work Student Loan that are not answered here, please email studentfunding@shu.ac.uk.
We have emailed all the students we believe could be affected, but not all these students will be affected.
This will affect you if you have a long course maintenance loan. Whether you have a long course loan or not depends on your household income (if you have chosen to be means-tested) and the length in weeks of your course year.
We have now provided SFE with the correct course dates, and it is possible that your maintenance loan entitlement will be reassessed as a result. This means that the April loan instalments for this academic year are likely to be lower than previously advised for some students.
What you could receive
The University will make sure students aren’t financially disadvantaged by this error. We can only make a payment that relates to the over-reporting of the length of your course. If your student loan has been reduced for any other reason, not caused by us, then we are unable to make up this shortfall.
Who can apply
If you were eligible for the long course loan, you should be contacted by SFE to notify you of a reduction in your maintenance loan within four weeks.
When to apply
After 10am on Wednesday 12 February and once you have received confirmation from SFE of a reduction in your April loan instalment, you should upload this to our BSc Social Work Student Loan form.
Please do not submit a form before you have received confirmation from SFE as we are unable to approve claims without acceptable formal evidence.
How to apply
Upload formal notification from SFE of the April student loan instalment you were expecting to receive in April and the revised maintenance loan you are now due to receive. The evidence must be in your name and for the 2024/25 academic year.
You should upload your original SFE entitlement letter for the 2024/25 academic year and your new updated SFE entitlement letter for 2024/25. This must show your new maintenance loan payment amounts and dates. This will be available to you by logging into your Student Finance England account.
You will also be asked to provide your bank details so that we can make a payment to you.
What happens next
Once your claim has been assessed, we will send an outcome email to your student email address. If your claim is approved, we will make a one-off payment to your bank account on Tuesday 22 April equal to the amount your loan has reduced. This payment will not be a loan, so you won’t need to repay it.
FAQs
This page will be updated with responses to frequently asked questions.
What will happen to my student loan in 2025/26?
The course dates will be reported correctly to Student Finance England so students should not receive the long course loan.
Why can’t I access the UniHub form?
We think we’ve emailed all the students we believe could be affected, and only these students can access the form. If you think we’ve missed you, please let us know by emailing studentfunding@shu.ac.uk.
Need help
If you have any questions about the BSc Social Work Student Loan that are not answered here, please email studentfunding@shu.ac.uk.