Student Finance England – Business Update

Derek Ross

Director of Operations and Customer Services

1st March 2013

Overview of Academic Year 2012/13

• Over 1.1 million applications received

• All core operational targets achieved

• Over 91% of calls answered

• Over 99% of ‘on time’ applications paid before start of their course

• Over 40,000 DSA Applications

• Launch of part time fee loans

Overview of Academic Year 2012/13

• Introduction of new attendance confirmation processes

• Increased fee levels

• Knowledge management tool rolled out

• Launch of part time fee loans

• Introduction of new style online application for part time

• Step Change in customer satisfaction

2013/14 – Current Position

• Launched later than AY12/13

• Forecast same level of applications as last year

• Around 20% (198,000) of applications already in

• 78% (155,000) of these are already processed

• No early concerns

2013/14 – Challenges Ahead

• Introduction of 24+ fee loans

• Part time returners

• Lack of clarity around forecasted volumes for part time

• Welsh modernisation

SLC Strategic Priorities

Sustaining our Business & systems

Transforming SLC

Delivering change

Serving our customers

Managing our people Managing public money

7

Sustain Programme – Vision and Scope

• Sustain’s vision is that SLC continues to fulfil its key roles and deliver services that meet the needs of its customers and stakeholders until the Transformation Programme has completed the planned changes to systems and processes.

• Achievement of this vision will be demonstrated by:

successful delivery of the annual operating cycle in each of the academic years 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15, effective business processes supported by ICT applications, infrastructure and services that are stable, fit for

purpose and provide sufficient resilience to support SLC’s business continuity plans and reduction in exposure to risks relating to stability of SLC’s operation as documented in the SLC Corporate Risk

Register.

• A number of projects have been set up under governance of the Sustain Programme and the agreed scope is shown below.

Business & IT Capacity Planning

CLASS Sustaining

COMPLETE

Imaging Healthcheck COMPLETE

Imaging Improvements - Tactical

ICT DR GSi DR

Strategic Data Centres

Infrastructure Design

BCP Business Impact

Analysis

BCP Governance

Service Delivery Planning

Business Critical Processes Business Continuity Planning

Data Centres

Current Facilities Improvement

Business Priorities & Risk Assessment

Planning for 2013-14

ICT Service Management

Lotus Notes Email

Stability

Project Proposals

Imaging Improvements -

Strategic

Network Stability

Audit

Systems Performance Improvement

Core Systems Replacement

Digital Delivery

Business Improvements

OrganisationDesign

Transformation Programme

SLC Transformation Programme: How will it be delivered?

SLC (CSR) Transformation programme

“The Core Systems Replacement project is a key element of SLC’s Business Transformation. The requirements will be Customer and Business driven and will ensure we stand with the best public and private organisations in the UK in terms of digital delivery.

“This is not a soft aspiration, but critical to our mission. It will allow us to provide agile and efficient services, providing access to education and tax payer value for many years to come.”

Gordon Simpson

Chief Information Officer (CIO) & Director of Transformation, Student Loans Company

Security

Man. Users glow

Marketing * Comms glow

Contact Services GlowOutbound Payments Glow

App Services glow

Finance

Accounting systems glow

Customer AC Mgmt Glow

HE Services glow

Correspondence glow Mi and Reporting GlowData Services & Analysis

Accounting Systems

Collections

FEServices

Financial Operations

Repayment Services

Repayment Services

Application ServicesMarketing & Communications

Process & Assess Application

Validate Evidence

Approve Application

Verify Identity & Income

Information, Advice & Guidance

Customer Insight

Stakeholder Services

External Affairs

HE Services

Schedule HE Payments

Attendance Registration & Confirmations

Approve Application

Verify Identity & Income

FE Services

Schedule FE Payments

Approve Application

Outbound PaymentsRepayment Services

Process Payments to Customers

Process Payments to Third Parties and HEIs

Schedule Repayments

Process Deferments

Process Old Scheme Repayments

Process New Scheme Repayments

Customer Account Management

Financial Account Maintenance

Apply Interest to Accounts

Contact Services

Customer Contact Routing

Customer Self Service

Customer Search Customer Account Enquiry

Collections

Account Monitoring

Recoveries Management

Arrangement Schedule Management

Legal Status Monitoring

Financial Operations

Financial Accounting

Internal & External Reporting

Manage Users and System Access

Protect Data Security and Privacy

Forensic Readiness (Activity Logging)

Correspondence

Inbound Correspondence

Outbound Correspondence

Fraud Services

Identify and Investigate potential and actual student fraud

In scope

Out of scope

Accounting Systems

Internal & External Reporting

Financial Accounting

Operational Reporting

Answer Parliamentary Questions

National Statistic Provision

Student Finance MI

Attendance Registration & ConfirmationsVerify Identity & Income

Sold Debt Handling

Business Services Scope (draft)

Supporting Services

HR Internal Audit Facilities Procurement Complaints

Core Systems Replacement: Customer Personas (Examples)

AY12/13 baseline

Core Systems Replacement: Customer Engagement

• Online Questionnaires and forums undertaken over period of 2 weeks • The 452 online survey completions breakdown is as follows:

139 new 12/13 students 31 currently making repayment198 returners 26 classed as repayers but not actively

repaying56 parents of students 2 finished repaying their loan

CSR Timescales

• Procurement requirements signed off December 12

• OJEU notices issued Jan 13

• Initial responses received and being evaluated

• Separate procurement for transformation partners

What is “Digital Delivery”?

• A programme of work to deliver a new customer experience

• Aligned with government strategy

– “Digital by default” – online self-service the main channel

– “Assisted digital” – help customers to help themselves

• Begin by replacing the online applications & self service

• Move on to look at:

– Mobile access (e.g. application tracker)

– Excluded groups (e.g. DSA & EU)

– Repayment services

– UCAS integration, removal of signatures…

What is the goal of the new solution?

“Improve customer satisfaction while simultaneously decreasing

the number of incorrect/incomplete online applications and minimising

the level of assistance required throughout the process”

DIGITAL BY DEFAULT Key aspects from Martha Lane Fox Letter to

Francis Maude…

Martha Lane Fox Recommendation Digital Delivery Commitment

“Make Directgov (GOV.UK) the government front end for all departments' transactional online services to citizens and businesses “

All new application services being released through GOV.UK website and meeting design requirements

“focus on improving service quality for citizens and delivering significant cost savings from service simplification and a shift to digital only services “

Through our customer focussed design (User Experience Testing) we are simplifying the digital service and expect to save £1.77m per annum in avoidable calls

opening up of Application Programme Interfaces (APls) to third parties.

We are currently looking at improving our integration (through APIs) with both UCAS and HMRC

“the time is now to use the Internet to shift the lead in the design of services from the policy and legal teams to the end users.“

We are challenging policy where possible to simplify the customer journey – this is balanced however by the returns the Exchequer may make from some policy that isn’t necessarily user friendly.

“A new central commissioning team should take responsibility for the overall user experience on the government web estate…“

We have had our screen designs reviewed by Government Digital Services and by virtue of being the first large complex transactional system are providing insight to the GDS team on design outcomes

“…develop a single shared, more agile, suite of web services. “

We have adopted an Agile methodology within Digital Delivery (now embedded) and are rolling the practices out across other delivery teams

“It was awful, none of the options work properly. I've had to submit it anyway because of the deadline tomorrow. Every option I have tried to do doesn't work properly.”

“Because the button that allows me to change which course I wanted to apply to in some form of sick practical joke was grayed out. I couldn't make any changes.”

“…why do they want to know household income? Why do they want to know if you're going to be living at home or not living at home? Does that mean they will help towards the cost of living away? I don't know – do you get that help?”

“I'm, like, really baffled. It makes me feel a bit stupid. I don't know, it's not worded very well.“

USERS VOICE

WHAT MEASURES DIGITAL DELIVERY SUCCESS?

June

August

October

USER EXPERIENCE TESTING – Example of how our design has improved through UXT…

Applications build on old system

• 61.4% of users dissatisfied with application

• 3.6 calls per application

Applications build on new system

• 82% of users satisfied with application

• 2.5 calls per application

HOW DID WE DO?

Happier customers

Lower support costs

This is just the beginning...

“Improve customer satisfaction while simultaneously decreasing the number of incorrect/incomplete online applications and minimising the level of assistance throughout the process”

80% OF USERS SURVEYED AGREED

11% DID NOT AGREE

80%82%83%80%

77%

7% 14% 12% 10% 12%

83% OF USERS SURVEYED GAVE A POSTIVIVE RATING

10% GAVE A NEGATIVE RATING

84%

10%

80%

7% 13%

82% 85%

11%

Derek Ross

Director of Operations and Customer Service derek_ross@slc.co.uk 0141 306 2025 www.slc.co.uk