Student support for higher education: September 2018 to August 2019 (provisional)

Key results for academic year 2017/18 (final)

• 74,000 student support scheme students in Wales were receiving support in 2017/18.
• The final amount of student support awarded in 2017/18 was £951.9m, an increase of 9% on 2016/17.
• A total of £127.9m was awarded in Welsh Government Learning Grant (WGLG), unchanged from 2016/17.
• 57,400 students were paid Maintenance Loans, which amounted to £274.0m, compared to 57,400 students paid £238.6m in 2016/17.
• Higher education institutions were paid Tuition Fee Loans amounting to £223.6m, on behalf of 57,100 students domiciled in Wales and EU domiciled students studying in Wales.
• £268.0m of Tuition Fee Grant was paid.
• £28.2m of postgraduate loans was paid.

Key results for 2018/19, by the end of December 2018 (provisional)

• Early figures show that, by the end of December 2018, 72,900 students have been paid £297.8m of student support. Compared with the same period in 2017, the total number of students paid increased by 5%.
• The increase in students being paid was mainly due to increases in part-time undergraduate and postgraduate students. The number of part-time undergraduate students from Wales awarded funding increased to 6,100 (up 35%). These students had been paid £7.9m up to the end of December 2018.
• Postgraduate students awarded funding increased to 4,900 (up 58%). Postgraduate students had been paid £16.1m up to the end of December 2018.
• This year marks the start of the awarding of Doctoral Loans. About 100 were awarded Doctoral Loans, amounting to £0.2m by the end of December 2018. Those students have requested payments for 2018/19 of £0.6m in total for the year.

Latest loan take-up rates, for academic year 2016/17

• An estimated 94.9% of eligible students took out a Maintenance Loan.
• An estimated 95.2% of eligible students took out a Tuition Fee Loan.