Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) policy on retention of student data: FOI release

Information requested

1. SAAS's policy regarding the retention of student data, including notices of awards of student loans. In particular, the policy which specifies the length of time for which this information is retained by SAAS.
2. Information regarding any reconciliation exercise conducted by SAAS which has resulted in SAAS sharing data regarding historic student loan awards with the Student Loan Company (SLC) in order that the SLC can recover payment of these student loans.
3. In relation to the exercise referred to in point 2 above, please provide a full breakdown of the scope of the reconciliation exercise, including:

• The number of students whose student loan accounts are affected;
• The amount of funding which is concerned per academic year;
• The dates on which SAAS notified affected students and, in each case, how long this date was after the academic year for which the funding was awarded.

Response

1. SAAS's policy regarding the retention of student data, including notices of awards of student loans. In particular, the policy which specifies the length of time for which this information is retained by SAAS.

The information that you seek is contained within our published Data Retention Schedule which can be found here: Personal Data Retention Schedule

This is currently under review and may be subject to change.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to provide you with information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the links provided, then please contact SAAS again and we will send you a paper copy.

2. Information regarding any reconciliation exercise conducted by SAAS which has resulted in SAAS sharing data regarding historic student loan awards with the Student Loan Company (SLC) in order that the SLC can recover payment of these student loans.

The Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. SAAS are responsible for assessing applications for funding including student loans and tuition fee loans.

The Student Loans Company (SLC) exercises functions on behalf of Scottish Ministers in relation to the payment, management and collection of student loans in accordance with arrangements made under s.73A(3) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980.

In early 2025, in line with good governance, SAAS and the SLC conducted a review of loan balances for Scottish students who had received tuition fee loans. This exercise identified 601 records which required adjustment as the loan balance held by the SLC did not match the data on SAAS systems, due to data not transferring between SAAS and SLC as expected. As part of the exercise, these records required to be updated to reflect the total amount of funds that were loaned to the student and paid to their chosen college/ university on their behalf, which the student is liable to repay.

When applying for student financial support, students are required to sign a declaration which confirms that they agree to the Terms and Conditions set out regarding loans (incl. tuition fee loans). Following a successful application, students receive an Award Notice from SAAS which sets out the amount of tuition fee loaned, which will be paid to their college or university on their behalf.

Further information on the personal data SAAS process, why it is processed and who SAAS share it with can be found in our published Privacy Statement linked here: Student Privacy Statement

3. In relation to the exercise referred to in point 2 above, please provide a full breakdown of the scope of the reconciliation exercise, including:

i. The number of students whose student loan accounts are affected;
601 student records required adjustments following the reconciliation exercise.

ii. The amount of funding which is concerned per academic year;
Balance adjustments varied across all impacted academic years range from increases of £9,250 and reductions of £9,250, with the average increase being approx. £4,250.

The table below shows the total amount to be reconciled to the overall loans for that year. Please note that loan balance adjustments across the whole cohort have ranged from increases of £9,250 to reductions of £9,250. The average adjustment was approx. £4,250.

Table 1: Amount which requires reconciliation between SAAS and SLC based on successful payments to Institutions:

Academic Year	Overall adjustment needed to reconcile from SAAS to SLC (£)
2011/12	454,170
2012/13	186,843
2013/14	81,063
2014/15	49,026
2015/16	8,164
2016/17	124,049
2017/18	30,033
2018/19	141,863
2019/20	135,716
2020/21	94,069
2021/22	38,075
2022/23	-47,316*

*Please note this figure is minus £47,316 as in that academic year the total amount being reconciled overall was negative adjustment between SAAS/SLC. This is due to the number of cases with a balance reduction in that year.

iii. The dates on which SAAS notified affected students and, in each case, how long this date was after the academic year for which the funding was awarded.

For the purposes of the reconciliation exercise SAAS are not responsible for notifying affected students. It was requested that Student Loans Company (SLC) communicate with impacted customers , as the matter relates to the administration and recovery of student loans (incl. tuition fee loans), therefore SLC have been writing to those impacted, from May 2025, to inform them of their adjusted balance and next steps.

In relation to the second part of your request. The academic year in which the funding was awarded will differ by case but the timespan across the whole affected cohort ranges from 3 – 13 years.

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