Student Loan January – December 2021
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For this report, a student is defined as a person who received at least one payment from StudyLink in the calendar year, up to the end of the specified reporting month.
The data in this report are cumulative calendar year-to-date figures. All percentages are computed using randomly rounded numbers, and then rounded to the nearest one decimal point. Total percentages may not add up to exactly 100 percent because of rounding effects. The last three years of data and annual comparisons are presented in summary tables. Earlier figures are included in the downloadable Excel files.
Loan Components
The number of students who have drawn down Student Loans decreased
From January to December 2021, 146,994 students borrowed under the Student Loan (SL) Scheme. This was 1,911 fewer students (-1.3 percent) when compared with the same period last year.
The total amount borrowed for course fees, course related costs and living costs was $1,490,282,134, a decrease of 4.0 percent when compared with the same period last year.
From January to December 2021, 82.2 percent of borrowers borrowed to pay for course fees.
Number of Student Loan borrowers, amount borrowed, and average amount borrowed, by loan component
| Loan component | January to December | Annual change | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | |
| Course fees | 126,387 | 124,143 | 120,873 | -1.8% | -2.6% |
| Course related costs | 95,574 | 98,460 | 89,358 | 3.0% | -9.2% |
| Living costs | 86,907 | 85,962 | 86,463 | -1.1% | 0.6% |
| Total number of Student Loan borrowers | 149,229 | 148,905 | 146,994 | -0.2% | -1.3% |
| Amount borrowed for course fees | $866,133,763 | $870,618,548 | $874,331,603 | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| Amount borrowed for course related costs | $93,799,443 | $178,776,774 | $87,935,086 | 90.6% | -50.8% |
| Amount borrowed for living costs | $503,732,911 | $502,229,689 | $528,015,445 | -0.3% | 5.1% |
| Total amount borrowed | $1,463,666,117 | $1,551,625,011 | $1,490,282,134 | 6.0% | -4.0% |
| Average course fees | $6,853 | $7,013 | $7,233 | 2.3% | 3.1% |
| Average course related costs | $981 | $1,816 | $984 | 85.1% | -45.8% |
| Average living costs | $5,796 | $5,842 | $6,107 | 0.8% | 4.5% |
Note 1: Course related costs entitlement was temporarily increased in 2020 as part of the COVID-19 tertiary support package.
Note 2: “Total amount borrowed” includes borrowings for course fees, course related costs and living costs.
Note 3: Administration charges/establishment fees, repayments and refunds are not included in the above summary table but are available in the downloadable Excel file.
Note 4: Amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
