Student support for higher education: September 2018 to August 2019

Main points

The amount paid out in supporting Higher Education students reached £1.01 billion in Academic Year 2018/19, up 6.2 % from £0.95 billion in 2017/18. The number of students receiving funding also increased with around 77,600 students receiving funding, a 3.9% increase from 74,700 in Academic Year 2017/18.

Overall, the amount received in Higher Education funding has increased by 50.6% (in cash terms) since Academic Year 2013/14 from £671.6 million. The number of students who received funding has increased by 19.5% (from 65,000).

In Academic Year 2018/19 the total amount of full-time undergraduate Tuition Fee Loan payments increased by 43.3% from £223.6 million in 2017/18 to £320.5 million. This is as a direct result of Tuition Fee Grants being discontinued for new students.

The actual amount paid out in Tuition Fee support to Higher Education providers for full-time students remains constant. This is made up of a higher percentage of loans than in previous academic years.

Full-time undergraduate Maintenance Loan payments decreased 4.1% on the previous year, whereas the number of students taking out Maintenance Loans remained relatively stable (-0.6%). Maintenance Loans paid out to full-time Welsh domiciled students reduced from £274.0 million in Academic Year 2017/18 to £262.9 million in 2018/19.

This is predominantly as a result of a policy change in 2018/19 following the Diamond Review of Welsh student funding. The review saw reduced Maintenance Loan amounts, offset by increased Welsh Government Learning Grants (WGLG). This is evident in the amount awarded in WGLG to full-time undergraduates in 2018/19 being 29.7% higher than that in the previous academic year.