Student Alternative 2021/22 - Student Support Number
Student Alternative 2021/22Fields required from institutions in EnglandStudent Support Number | return to field list |
Type | field | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Short name | SSN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Description |
This field holds the Student Support Number assigned by Student Support Award Authorities (Northern Ireland Library Boards, Welsh Local Authorities, Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) and Student Loans Company (SLC)). It is the student identifier that is used in student finance communications between the Student Support Award Authorities, providers and SLC. The SSN is unique to each funded instance of engagement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Applicable to | England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coverage | Compulsory for all students in receipt of statutory finance in relation to any live instances they are attached to, except where Course.COURSEAIM ends in 90 or 99. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes |
The SSN field is held at Student level, rather than Instance, as in practice it is rare for a student to possess more than one SSN. Where this is the case, the provider should return the most recent of the SSNs held. It is also acceptable for an SSN to be returned even if an associated instance does not attract student support. If the student received a loan on Instance A for the first year, but not for the second year of the same instance, the SSN would still need to be returned in the second year. If Instance A closes and Instance B is opened but is not financed, the SSN would be removed. SSN should be returned where any kind of funds from the SLC are being received by the returning student e.g. Maintenance loans, PG loans, etc. Where a SSN number is assigned to a student, this should be returned throughout their instance of engagement, regardless of whether the student received any support during the session. We would only expect this value to change under exceptional circumstances, such as when a new SSN has been assigned to a student if they have changed domicile. In which case you would return the latest number. Format of the SSN The SSN is 13 characters long. The first four characters are alpha. The next 8 characters are numeric. The last character, which is a check character, is alpha. Where a student may be in possession of multiple SSNs from different loan providers, the SSN returned in this field should be the one relating to the loan made for the payment of tuition fees. Calculation of Checksum The algorithm for calculating the checksum is as follows: For positions 1 to 4 of the SSN:
For positions 5 to 12 of the SSN:
Calculate the check character:
Note: characters I, O, Q are not valid characters in the SSN. Z is only valid in position 13. Worked example When the Student Support Number = WADM46891352A
(W=19*13=247), (A=0*12=0), (D=3*11=33), (M=11*10=110)
(4*9=36), (6*8=48), (8*7=56), (9*6=54), (1*5=5), (3*4=12), (5*3=15), (2*2=4) (247+0+33+110+36+48+56+54+5+12+15+4=620) (620/23=26 with a remainder of 22) (23-22=1=A) This is the check character and this matches position 13 of the SSN. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Examples |
For example Student Support Number = WADM46891352A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Quality rules |
Quality rules to follow
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Reason required | To enable robust linking between HESA data and the student finance data held by SLC. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Part of | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Field length | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minimum occurrences | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maximum occurrences | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schema components |
Element: SSN
Data type: SSNType | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | SLC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Version | 1.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date modified | 2022-02-09 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Change management notes | Guidance added to provide clarification around exceptional circumstances for when an SSN number may change. |
Contact Liaison by email or on +44 (0)1242 388 531.