Student Finance England is working to a 22 working day wait
This applies in England. The Student Loans Company updated its published timescales on 28 September: apply this week for full-time or part-time undergraduate finance, or for the Childcare Grant, Parents’ Learning Allowance or Adult Dependants’ Grant, and it expects to come back to you between Monday 26 October and Friday 30 October. Sending evidence or a change of circumstances takes the same 22 working days, and Disabled Students’ Allowance work takes 14. It asks you not to chase, and says a recent applicant may be paid the minimum amount first.
Student Loans Company, 28 September
Government now funds 16p of every £1 spent on teaching in England
An analysis by London Economics for Universities UK finds Westminster funding for teaching and supporting home undergraduates in England fell from £8.9 billion in 2012-13 to £3.3 billion in 2024-25, leaving the government paying 16p in every £1 and students and graduates the rest; in 2012-13 they paid just over half. Per student, the expected contribution from you and other graduates rose from £9,160 to £13,800. Universities UK wants the balance reset; the government points to the raised fee cap.
Research Professional News, 28 September
Almost a third of reported university sexual assaults come in the first six weeks of term
Florence Carter, raped in her final year at Newcastle by a man posing as a student she met at a house party, is warning students about Freshers’ Week, when in her words no one knows anyone and people can pretend to be who they want. Freedom of information requests she made to 14 UK universities found nearly a third of the sexual assaults reported last year fell in the first six weeks. Her own advice is to believe people less quickly than you would elsewhere.
A £4,000 tuition deposit was lost because a visa application went in late
An applicant paid Teesside University a £4,000 deposit in May 2025 and lost it when their visa application was not submitted before the deadline and they could not travel. Teesside told The PIE News it refunds deposits until a CAS — the sponsorship reference you need before applying for a student visa — is issued, and that its policy matches what UK Visas and Immigration expects. If you are an international applicant, read the refund policy before you pay.