COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, February 14, 2011
QUESTION NO.15
QUESTION: Councillor D. Looney
To ask the Manager to provide a report on the Higher Education Grants Scheme for the current academic year, detailing the numbers applying, the numbers processed, comparisons to previous years, the performance of new systems and any planned changes for the coming academic year in light of the advanced status of the Student Support Bill in the Oireachtas.
REPLY:
South Dublin County Council in agreement with the other Dublin Local Authorities extended the Department of Education’s closing date of 31st August 2010 to 26th November 2010. As of that date the Council had received a total of 1,807 applications. This compares to a total of 1,578 (708 new and 870 renewals) in the previous year. The breakdown between new and renewal applications for the current year are as follows:
Application Statistics
2010/2011 (to date)
| New Applications | Renewals | Granted New | Granted Renewal | Ineligible total new & renewal | Awaiting Further Information | Forwarded to other Local Authorities |
| 872 | 959 | 382 | 675 | 376 | 252 | 146 |
2009/2010
| New Applications | Renewals | Granted New | Granted Renewal | Ineligible total new & renewal | Awaiting Further Information | Forwarded to other Local Authorities |
| 708 | 870 | 474 | 726 | 301 | 0 | 77 |
Financial Position
| Academic Year | 1st Main | 2nd Main | 3rd Main | Special Main | Fees | TOTAL |
| 2009/2010 | 384,690 | 1,246,843 | 434,774 | 507,134 | 2,444,614 | 5,018,555 |
| 2010/2011 (Academic Year to date) | 494,673 | 265,464 *combination of 1st & 2ndM | 242,080 | 1,208,852 | 2,211,069 |
It should be borne in mind that payments for all categories continue throughout the year depending on particular circumstances e.g., final approval of grant on receipt of all documentation, return of Registration Form, College verification of attendance etc.
In view of the increase in applications it is envisaged that the total amount of grants for 2010/2011 will be in excess of the €5m paid in the previous year, albeit that there has been a monetary downward adjustment of 4% applied (at national budget) by the Department of Education & Skills for the 2nd and 3rd maintenance installments for the current academic year. This over expenditure has been approved during the Budget process and all money paid is fully recoupable from the Department of Education and Skills.
The EFT method of payment to students which was introduced in the 2009/2010 academic year is working to the satisfaction of the Local Authorities, Colleges and Students Union alike. Since the introduction of the Electronic Funds Transfer the second maintenance payments are dependent on the return of ongoing student registration verification files from each institution. Subject to satisfactory verification of students’ attendance by the colleges, all payment are processed and transferred to students’ bank accounts within ten days. This method gives greater clarity as to when grants will be paid as the agreed dates are Countywide. It relieves pressure on College administration offices and gives students instant access to funds when transferred directly to their bank accounts.
Although internal systems continue to be reviewed to identify gaps in the current practices the process remains quite laborious, requiring staff to identify on a case by case basis if all appropriate documentation has been submitted, contacting students by phone, letter and SMS to follow up applications, and dealing with individual applications where circumstances are unique.
A number of significant advances have been made at national level in terms of service provision which should positively impact at local level within a short period of time
A Pilot Scheme for automation of HEG data entry rolled out in September 2010 for 2010/2011 Academic Year. There are 11 awarding authorities involved in the partnership involving Department of Education & Science, CDVEC, Centre for Management and Organisation Development and Revenue and the project is managed by the CDVEC.
The Dublin Local Authorities are represented on the pilot by DLR County Council and while SDCC is not part of this initial pilot it is kept fully informed of developments and is considering involvement in the further roll out for 2011/2012. There has been strong positive customer reaction to the pilot which provides
· Greater resource efficiency on data input
· The “intelligent” online data entry reduced the form size
· Initial reports suggest significant qualitative improvements through fully completed forms – system requirement
· Production of documentation checklist based on completed fields
Student Support Act 2011
Student Support Act 2011 was signed into law on 2nd February 2011. Under its terms, four types of student grant will be replaced by one, with one agency to administer it. At present, 66 agencies, made up equally of Vocational Education Committees (VECs) and local authorities, handle student grants. The current grant schemes are
· the higher education scheme for the university sector;
· the third-level maintenance grant scheme for trainees and students at levels six and seven in institutes of technology;
· the VEC scholarship scheme; and
· the maintenance scheme for students attending post-Leaving Certificate courses, which are mostly run by the Further Education and Training Awards Council.
Single Agency System: Invitation for Expressions of Interest for designation as the single awarding authority for student grants” has been issued by Department of Education & Skills. Responses are due by mid-February.
Any recommendations, enhancements or changes to the Scheme as a result of the recent passing of the Act will be fully embraced by South Dublin County Council.
Finance Bill:
In another move aimed at the third-level sector, an amendment to the Finance Bill has enabled parents of students who pay registration fees to deduct the fees against their tax liability if they have more than one child at college.