About VoS

Overview of Verification of Study (VoS)

A VoS that is returned from an education provider confirms the following main points;

• Study dates.
• Programme of study.
• The students EFTS for the period, which StudyLink then uses to determine whether the student is full-time or part-time.
• The fees required to be paid (for compulsory fees portion of Student Loan or Scholarship).

StudyLink cannot pay a student until confirmed VoS details have been received.

VoS Online

The transfer of VoS data is done through the VoS Online site (also known as the Online Institution Interface).

VoS Online is a secure site that allows the user to submit responses to VoS requests, view reports relating to payments made, and the statuses of Student Loan applications.

To gain access to the site, the relevant staff member at the provider needs to complete a VoS Online User access form.

Each user must have their own ‘login’. This means that a provider cannot set up a generic user name and password for multiple users to use.

This form needs to be counter-signed by the staff member’s manager – who would preferably already have access to the site.

A separate training PowerPoint for VoS Online explains in detail how this website is used.

Faxed VoS

The VoS process can also be done by fax. This is where a VoS request is faxed to an education provider, who then fax the VoS response back to StudyLink.

This process is not the preferred option though as it is both time intensive and manual for both parties. This process is generally only used by secondary schools that have a smaller volume of students receiving StudyLink assistance.

Where this process is used, the same rules still apply.

Some VoS requests are issued via fax for Scholarship purposes (regardless of whether the education provider is set up for VoS Online or not). More information about this can be found in the ‘Awards and Scholarship’ section.