Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Higher Education FundingCouncil for England (HEFCE) publish performance indicators for all UK highereducation institutions (HEIs) annually. The latest figures show that 10% of full-timefirst degree entrants to Scottish HEIs in 2000-01 failed to continue aftertheir year of entry.

Themechanisms in place to support students to the successful completion of ahigher education qualification are the responsibility of HEIs themselves; theseare supported through Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) grantsfor teaching and learning. The nature of these support mechanisms is notdetermined by SHEFC, as they are based on the local circumstances andpriorities of the institution in question. However, SHEFC introduced itsWidening Access Premium in 2001-02 in order to support institutions inimproving the retention and progression of students from under representedareas. The total allocated to the sector through this grant in 2003-04 is£4,236,000.

In August 2003, the ScottishFurther Education Funding Council (SFEFC) published performance indicatorscharting the achievements of Scotland’s 46 further education colleges, in relation to theacademic year 2001-02. The performance indicators show that 85% of studentsstaying at college beyond the first quarter of their course completed theirprogrammes.

The performance indicatorsenable individual colleges to benchmark their own achievement against that ofother colleges and thus lead to quality improvement. SFEFC recently consulted on proposals for its futureapproach to quality improvement and assurance. SFEFC has agreed to proceed with changes to achievea differentiated review model, with greater emphasis on the effectiveness ofstudent learning. A working group has been set up to manage the detaileddevelopment of the review methodology.

Any costs incurred by theStudent Loans Company (SLC) are met on a proportional basis by Her Majesty’sGovernment and the devolved administrations, based on the numbers of borrowerswho were domiciled in each country when they received their loan and value of thoseloans. Any additional development costs incurred by SLC as a result of policychanges by one administration are generally met by that administration.

While costs incurred by SLChave financial implications for student support budgets they do not have anydirect effect on students. Student loan borrowers only begin to repay theirloans when they have left full-time education and earn more than the specifiedincome threshold. The amount to be repaid is uprated by inflation to ensurethat it is the same, in real terms, as the amount borrowed.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-6049 on 2 March 2004.All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

Information on the number ofdebtors subject to sequestrationproceedings who are undergraduates isnot held centrally.

The number of Scottishstudent loan borrowers who have been declared bankrupt in each calendar yearare detailed in the table.

Year	Number of Borrowers
1990	0
1991	0
1992	2
1993	3
1994	3
1995	6
1996	13
1997	31
1998	75
1999	142
2000	150
2001	194
2002	329
2003	429
Total	1,377

Source: Student Loans Company

Information on whether thebankruptcy proceedings in each case were the result of a petition by the debtoror one of his/her creditors is not held centrally.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-6052 on 2 March 2004for the numbers of Scottish student loan borrowers who have been declaredbankrupt. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

The information requested isgiven on table number 2, page number 57 of the Student Loans Company annual report2001-02, published by the Student Loans Company in 2003, a copy of which isavailable in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 30921). The StudentLoans Company annual report 2002-03 will soon be published and copies will beplaced in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

The information requested isgiven on table number 6, page number 58 of the Student Loans Company AnnualReport 2001-02, published by the Student Loans Company in 2003, a copy of whichis available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 30921). TheStudent Loans Company annual report 2002-03 will soon be published and copieswill be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

The average length of timefor a graduate to repay their student loan is 13 years.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18120 on 27 September 2001. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.