Scotland’s Chief Statistician has published statistics on Higher Education Student Support in Scotland 2017-18. The figures show that the number of students supported and the amount of support provided by the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for those studying in Higher Education increased in the 2017-18 academic session.
There were 147,920 full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students supported (those receiving any form of bursary, grant, fees or loans support), an increase of 3.1 per cent from 143,500 in 2016-17. Other key findings include:
- The total amount of support was £882.7 million, an increase of 4.5 per cent from £844.7 million in 2016-17.
- The average support provided per student rose from £5,890 in 2016-17 to £5,970 in 2017-18, up 1.4 per cent.
- The total amount provided in non-repayable bursaries and grants increased by 8.9 per cent, from £70.1 million in 2016-17 to £76.3 million in 2017-18 – awarded to 53,620 students (up from 52,165 in 2016-17).
- The total amount authorised in loans was £528.4 million, a 2.5% increase from £515.5 million in 2016-17, at an average of £5,290 per student.
- There were 15,240 European Union (EU) students supported in 2017-18 (10.3 per cent of all students supported) who received £32.0 million of support – 3.6 per cent of the total amount of support given to all students.
Scottish Government press release.