Student Awards Agency Scotland - Information regarding funding of the pg dip in careers guidance and development course with Edinburgh Napier University: FOI release

Information requested

1.) I need you to confirm what arrangement you had with an Edinburgh Napier University regarding the funding of the pg dip in careers guidance and development in 2009/10 academic year and confirm how allocated nominated funded places were managed and funded and provide a copy of this nominated funding arrangement.

2.) I need you to confirm if you have agreed to any further postgraduate funding for anyone with nominated funded place enrolled on the Edinburgh Napier University pg dip in careers guidance and development course since 2009 to date after they completed the course. If you did agree to further postgraduate funding then please confirm for how many people and what funding you agreed to and on what basis.

3.) I need a copy of all data relating to SAAS postgraduate tuition fee loan applications based on medical and/or compassionate or any other ground (please state what ground) when someone already had some previous postgraduate level funding and SAAS granted further postgraduate level funding despite previous postgraduate level funding, namely guidance issued about applying on medical and/or compassionate ground, the application process for this basis and how many application for the postgraduate tuition fee loan on these grounds you granted in 2020-2026(to date 01.06.26)

Response

1. I need you to confirm what arrangement you had with an Edinburgh Napier University regarding the funding of the pg dip in careers guidance and development in 2009/10 academic year and confirm how allocated nominated funded places were managed and funded and provide a copy of this nominated funding arrangement.

Whilst our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) does not hold the information on the funding process for 2009-2010 in relation to nominated places data for the categories requested.

Therefore, this is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Student Awards Agency Scotland does not have the information you have requested.

2. I need you to confirm if you have agreed to any further postgraduate funding for anyone with nominated funded place enrolled on the Edinburgh Napier university pg dip in careers guidance and development course since 2009 to date after they completed the course. If you did agree to further postgraduate funding then please confirm for how many people and what funding you agreed to and on what basis.

For the period 2009-2010 to 2024-2025 there was one student who received funding for a PGDip in Careers Guidance and Development and subsequently received a living cost loan only for a subsequent Postgraduate course.

You may wish to know that eligibility for living-cost loans is not currently impacted by previous study.

Whilst our aim is to provide information whenever possible, we are unable to provide any details for 2025- 2026 as this has not yet been finalised or validated as part of SAAS’s year-end reporting processes.

Therefore, this is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Student Awards Agency Scotland does not have the information you have requested for 2025-2026.

3. I need a copy of all data relating to SAAS postgraduate tuition fee loan applications based on medical and/or compassionate or any other ground (please state what ground) when someone already had some previous postgraduate level funding and SAAS granted further postgraduate level funding despite previous postgraduate level funding, namely guidance issued about applying on medical and/or compassionate ground, the application process for this basis and how many application for the postgraduate tuition fee loan on these grounds you granted in 2020-2026(to date 01.06.26)

Unfortunately, it is not possible to identify specific grounds on which applications were made or support granted. However, the data below are those students in years 2020-21 to 2024-25 in receipt of a postgraduate tuition fee loan, who had previously received Postgraduate funding.

Every postgraduate student is entitled to an additional year of funding, providing they did not use this additional year at undergraduate level, and have not already received a postgraduate qualification.

From 2020/21 to 2024/25 there were 212 instances where Tuition Fee Loans were provided to Postgraduate students who had previously received Postgraduate funding. Note that these previous instances of support date back to 2009/10.

Whilst our aim is to provide information whenever possible, the data requested for 2025-2026 has not yet been finalised or validated as part of SAAS’s year-end reporting processes.

Therefore, this is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Student Awards Agency Scotland does not have the information you have requested for 2025-2026.

You ask for guidance issued about applying on medical and/or compassionate grounds. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, the data requested is not held by SAAS. Therefore, this is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Student Awards Agency Scotland does not have the information you have requested.

You also asked what the basis of an application on medical and/or compassionate grounds would be. This would need to be submitted as an appeal and I understand that the SAAS Complaints and Appeals Team has been assisting you with this.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.