Student Awards Agency for Scotland
Encyclopedia
The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) is an Executive agency
of the Scottish Government. It pays the tuition fees of eligible Scottish higher education students, bursaries and supplementary grants. It also assesses students applying for loans
. The Agency administers the Individual Learning Accounts Scotland scheme (ILA's) in partnership with Skills Development Scotland
(SDS).
Students only start repaying their loans after they have left their courses and started earning. They pay 9% of any income over £15,000.
Some students did not need to pay the graduate endowment. They included, but were not limited to, students who have received disabled student allowance and those studying specified courses.
Repayment of the endowment is by the same method as described above for loans, i.e. administered by the Student Loans Company.
Following a sustained campaign by NUS Scotland, Coalition of Higher Education Students in Scotland
, the Scottish Young Greens
, Scottish Socialist Youth
and the Federation of Student Nationalists
, the Scottish Government announced plans to scrap the graduate endowment for all current and future students in June 2007. The Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament
by Executive minister Fiona Hyslop
on 22 October 2007. On the 23 January 2008, the Bill passed stage two of the legislative procedure and on 28 February 2008 passed stage three with only the formality of Royal Assent
to come, however this decision led to SAAS being asked by Ministers to call in all outstanding Graduate Endowment, including those on post-graduate courses who had previously deferred it. After pressure in the Scottish Parliament
Ministers reversed this decision forcing SAAS to cancel any loan agreements made with students repaying the GE while new arrangements were made to allow them to defer payment again.
Executive agency
An executive agency, also known as a next-step agency, is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate in order to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland...
of the Scottish Government. It pays the tuition fees of eligible Scottish higher education students, bursaries and supplementary grants. It also assesses students applying for loans
Student loan
A student loan is designed to help students pay for university tuition, books, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in that the interest rate may be substantially lower and the repayment schedule may be deferred while the student is still in education...
. The Agency administers the Individual Learning Accounts Scotland scheme (ILA's) in partnership with Skills Development Scotland
Skills Development Scotland
Skills Development Scotland is Scotland's skills public body which operates across Scotland as a whole.-History:Created on 1 April 2008, SDS is a merger of former organisations and services which delivered skills related services across Scotland....
(SDS).
Services provided
SAAS provides many vital services to Scottish students. Some of the most important are:Online Services
The SAAS website http://www.saas.gov.uk contains all the information students need about the support available to them and how to apply for it. Students can use the site's calculator to work out how much they may get and apply online.Tuition fees
SAAS pays the tuition fees of eligible Scottish and EU students. SAAS will pay these fees regardless of a student's financial situation.Fee Loans
SAAS can authorise loans to hover the tuition fees of Scottish students going to study elsewhere in the UK.Student Loans
Student loans are subsidised by the Government. Loans are paid by the Student Loans Company but students apply through SAAS. Everyone can apply for the minimum loan (£605), irrespective of their income. The maximum loan is £4,625, however this is income assessed and the family would need to make less than £20,645 a year. An applicant living at home will receive less than if they were to stay in University accommodation.Students only start repaying their loans after they have left their courses and started earning. They pay 9% of any income over £15,000.
Bursary
The Bursary is a non-repayable income assessed grant of up to £2640. To be eligible to receive a bursary, an applicant’s family have to have a household income of no more than £34,195.Graduate Endowment
The Graduate Endowment was a fixed amount that graduates had to pay after completing their degree successfully. Students needed to pay the Graduate Endowment to allow continued funding of future students, as this money was ring fenced to allow payment of tuition fees and the Young Student's Bursary, Student Outside Scotland Bursary, the Disabled Students Allowance and all of the other supplementary grants, such as Travel Expenses.Some students did not need to pay the graduate endowment. They included, but were not limited to, students who have received disabled student allowance and those studying specified courses.
Repayment of the endowment is by the same method as described above for loans, i.e. administered by the Student Loans Company.
Following a sustained campaign by NUS Scotland, Coalition of Higher Education Students in Scotland
Coalition of Higher Education Students in Scotland
The Coalition of Higher Education Students in Scotland is a body representative of students in Scotland founded in 2001 by the Students' Associations of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities, and Glasgow University's Students' Representative Council.CHESS was founded in 1999 out...
, the Scottish Young Greens
Scottish Young Greens
The Scottish Young Greens is the youth wing of the Scottish Green Party. It formally, and amicably, split from the Young Greens of England and Wales in 2003, more than ten years after their parent organisations had similarly split. The two still work closely together...
, Scottish Socialist Youth
Scottish Socialist Youth
Scottish Socialist Youth is the youth wing of the Scottish Socialist Party. They are an anti-capitalist, anti-racist and anti-globalisation organisation. SSY stands for the creation of an independent, socialist Scotland....
and the Federation of Student Nationalists
Federation of Student Nationalists
The Federation of Student Nationalists is the student wing of the Scottish National Party , representing students in Scottish higher education...
, the Scottish Government announced plans to scrap the graduate endowment for all current and future students in June 2007. The Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
by Executive minister Fiona Hyslop
Fiona Hyslop
Fiona Hyslop is the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs and Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Linlithgow.-Family life and background:...
on 22 October 2007. On the 23 January 2008, the Bill passed stage two of the legislative procedure and on 28 February 2008 passed stage three with only the formality of Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
to come, however this decision led to SAAS being asked by Ministers to call in all outstanding Graduate Endowment, including those on post-graduate courses who had previously deferred it. After pressure in the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
Ministers reversed this decision forcing SAAS to cancel any loan agreements made with students repaying the GE while new arrangements were made to allow them to defer payment again.