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Case ref:202111792
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Date:November 2022
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Body:Student Awards Agency for Scotland
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Sector:Scottish Government and Devolved Administration
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Outcome:Resolved, no recommendations
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Subject:Handling of application
Summary
C complained about the withdrawal of their student award by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). SAAS acknowledged errors in this case, but stated that they had no alternative but to withdraw funding immediately when they became aware of their mistake. We asked SAAS whether they had given any consideration to the impact on C of their decision, why they were unable to take alternative action, why the errors appeared to have been made on multiple occasions and why funding had to be withdrawn without warning. We asked SAAS to reconsider whether they could resolve C’s complaint, after they had previously rejected this approach.
SAAS proposed the following resolution:
reinstation of the student fees for session 2021-22 and paying the amount directly to the relevant university on C’s behalf
pay tuition fees for session 2022-2023 on the basis that C had a reasonable expectation to funding for their course of study. C would need to submit an online application for this session and funding would be awarded on receipt of this.
C agreed to this resolution, and the case was closed accordingly.