Expensive, delayed and now it's underused
The number of students using the Student Loan Company's new online application service has been "substantially less" than had been hoped for, it has admitted.
Student Finance Direct is part of a £30m computer system the SLC rolled out over the last two years, and it has been plagued by problems. Staff at local education authorities experienced difficulties inputting information – some reported that it took several times longer than before, but for others it wouldn't work at all.
The website for students was supposed to launch in April 2004, but it was put back until May, then the summer and we were still waiting for it last October – too late for last year's loan applicants to use it, despite them being advised to.
This time around applicants were able and encouraged to use the website instead of paper-based forms, but most have given it a miss. The SLC issued the following statement in response to questions from The Rundown: "The use of on-line application has been substantially less than we had hoped for, but this has had no material effect on the number of applicants being provided with the service they require."
A spokesman for the SLC said, "The target set for on-line applications in the run-up to this year's application cycle was 10% of the total number. All evidence points to the fact that the actual proportion of on-line applications will be a little under the target figure, but we can't give a precise figure until applications close next spring."
He wouldn't say how much it had cost in the end, or whether there had been any further problems with it.
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