Transcript providers.studylink.govt.nz

Verification of Study Online
Training for Tertiary Education Providers
0800 88 99 00 | www.studylink.govt.nz
THE VERIFICATION OF STUDY PROCESS
When a student applies for Student Allowance and/or Student Loan, StudyLink requires their study details
as part of confirming their entitlement. To collect this, we send a Verification of Study request (known as a
VoS request) to the student’s education provider. That education provider can then complete the relevant
study details and return the information (known as a VoS response) to us, so that we can assess whether
the student qualifies.
The VoS Process
StudyLink receives
an application for a
Student Allowance
and/or
Student Loan
Any
required evidence
is received; the
Student Allowance
is Pre-Approved
and/or the
Student Loan
is Post Contract
StudyLink sends a
VoS request to
their education provider
to confirm study details
The education provider
replies with a
VoS response
The application is
approved
or declined
based on VoS
details
A VoS response should reflect the student’s enrolment, for the period we’re requesting. We need to know
their course(s), their start and finish date, the EFTS value of the papers/modules they’re studying, and any
vacation periods/semester breaks that go for longer than three weeks.
For more information about what a VoS response should look like, and what it should contain, refer to your
VoS Rules and Processes for Education Providers document, or contact the StudyLink Helpline.
VOS ONLINE
VoS Online (also known as the Online Institution Interface or OII) is a website operated by StudyLink
where VoS requests are loaded for easy access and completion by education providers. Using this
system ensures the information is read correctly and can be processed swiftly, in order for us to confirm
an outcome for the student.
To use VoS Online you will need to submit a VoS Online user access form to the StudyLink Helpline,
which gives you authorization to confirm enrolment and attendance details on behalf of your provider.
VOS ONLINE
› The address for VoS Online is vos.studylink.govt.nz At the login screen, enter your allocated User ID
and password. The first time you log in, your password will be a temporary one provided by StudyLink.
The User ID and password fields are case-sensitive - if they contain uppercase letters, then each time
you log in you’ll need to use them.
› The first time you login to VoS Online, you’ll be required to nominate your own new password, and be
asked if you want to complete a challenge question and answer.
› Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the login process. If you do forget your password, there
is a link on the login page to allow you to reset it, as long as you have set up a challenge question and
answer. If you haven’t sent up one, you will need to contact the StudyLink HelpLine on 0508 885 885
for your password to be reset.
› Once logged in, you’ll be taken to the Home Page.
When navigating VoS Online, please DO NOT use your browser’s navigation buttons – this can have
an adverse affect. Instead, click the links within the site, or use the navigation buttons at the bottom
of some pages.
VOS ONLINE HOMEPAGE
› Home:
Returns you to the homepage
› Reference: Holds documents such as the
Information Matching Agreement, Memorandum
of Understanding and VoS guides.
› Contact us: Contains instructions on how to
contact StudyLink
› Help: A basic help guide
› Change Details: Lets you change your
password or challenge question
› Logout: Logs you out of VoS Online
› VoS Processing: Here you can view VoS requests from StudyLink, and return completed VoS
responses for them.
› VoS Reports: Selecting this link will display a list of VoS reports that you can view or download.
› Blank VoS: Using this section, you can initiate a VoS response to StudyLink to advise of any changes
in a student’s study. You can only use the Blank VoS option for those students who have had a VoS
request from StudyLink loaded to VoS Online previously.
VOS RECORDS
The VoS Processing Screen
› Within this screen there can be
multiple VoS requests waiting to be
completed. The system will display the
oldest VoS records first, with the
number of requests indicated at the
top of the page.
› The Sort and Filter button allows you
to customise how the VoS requests
are displayed (including ordering
alphabetically and listing based on
values such as surname) so you can
find a particular student when there
are multiple requests listed.
RESPONDING TO VOS REQUESTS
RESPONDING TO VOS REQUESTS
VoS Requests
Each VoS request contains the following read-only details:
•
The student’s full name and date of birth
•
The student’s Client Number with StudyLink.
•
The VoS study start date - the date that appears will be one month prior to the date nominated by
the student in their application. You need to return any study information starting on or after this
date. You cannot return information for study starting prior to this date.
RESPONDING TO VOS REQUESTS
Entering Study Information
When sending responses, enter the following information:
Student ID you
have allocated
(if any)
The student’s status. If the enrolment hasn’t been confirmed, select from:
Total fees for the
course(s), and the
amount requested.
These fields will
only be visible if
the student has a
Student Loan
they’ve nominated
to pay their fees
with.
•
•
•
•
•
Not Known:
The student isn’t known to your provider.
Unregistered: The student is known to your provider, but not enrolled
for the period we are requesting
Pending:
The student is studying for the period requested but
their enrolment is not yet complete
Mismatch
The student’s name or date of birth is incorrect on the
VoS record, compared to your provider’s records.
Withdrawn:
The student has formally withdrawn from the relevant
study period
Note: If you enter a value into this field, you can leave the other fields in
the request blank when submitting the response.
The Programme
Code for the
student’s course.
Be sure to
include both the
alpha and
numeric
characters (with
no spaces in
between the
characters).
Study
start and
end
dates
EFTS value for
the student’s
study period
The start and end dates of any breaks
during the course that are longer than
three weeks
RESPONDING TO VOS REQUESTS
Updating Requests
At the bottom of each VoS record are three buttons, to be used in the following circumstances:
RESPONDING TO VOS REQUESTS
Adding Additional Course Details
Selecting the Add Additional Course Details button will cause a duplicate VoS request to appear under the
current one. It can be used where a student is studying more than one course at your education provider, but
a VoS request has not been received for each of the courses. The multiple VoS requests can then be used to
return study information for each separate course.
RESPONDING TO VOS REQUESTS
Adding Segments
The Segments button is used where a student is
studying a course made up of different periods with
different EFTS values for each period.
You can enter up to four separate VoS segments
per record. Selecting the Update button transfers
the segment info to the record, with VoS Online
automatically calculating the student’s earliest
start, latest end dates and total EFTS.
RESPONDING TO VOS REQUESTS
Deleting Requests
In most cases there is no need to delete VoS records; once the VoS has been filled in and submitted to
StudyLink, it will no longer show in the system. In cases where StudyLink has sent out multiple VoS requests
without receiving a response, once one of the records has been returned, the others can be deleted from the
system by selecting this button for each of duplicate VoS requests. Before deleting records, check if the
student is studying more than one course, as that may explain why the additional requests have been sent.
Clicking Delete record will bring up a
confirmation message box:
If you select Ok the website will return you to
VoS processing page, with the deleted record
displaying a black message box underneath.
The record will now be read-only and will not
appear in VoS Online the next time you log
in.
RESPONDING TO VOS REQUESTS
Submitting Responses
› Once you have completed the relevant
VoS request(s), the next step is to send
or Submit the completed VoS record(s)
to StudyLink.
› Click on the Completed box located
directly below the relevant record. This
tells VoS Online that the particular VoS
record is ready to be submitted.
› Once all of the relevant records have
been ticked off as completed, you will
need to select the Submit button at the
bottom of the page.
RESPONDING TO VOS REQUESTS
The Checking Process
In order to ensure the information received is as accurate as possible, VoS Online carries out some
basic checking functions. Once you’ve clicked the Submit button, the following messages may appear
under each VoS record:
Submitted
Errors
Unticked Changes
There are no issues with the information, and the record has been
submitted to StudyLink
There is an error in the information entered into the VoS record.
The submit button was pressed without a Completed box being ticked.
Once you have submitted a VoS response for each of the VoS requests, a confirmation message will
appear and the process is then complete.
Submitted VoS requests will still be viewable in the VoS Processing screen, as read-only, while you’re
still logged in. The next time you login, those VoS requests will no longer be displayed.
You can elect to have an email sent to you when new VoS requests have been loaded to VoS Online.
This option saves you having to continually check for new requests, and can be nominated on the VoS
Online User Access form.
SENDING A VOS, WITHOUT A
REQUEST
SENDING A VOS, WITHOUT A REQUEST
Blank VoS
Blank VoS is the term given to the process where an education provider sends VoS details for a student
without receiving a VoS request from StudyLink. There are only four instances when you should use the
Blank VoS function to send StudyLink a student’s VoS details:
›
A student who StudyLink has previously sent a VoS request for, has withdrawn from their course of
study
›
A student who StudyLink has previously sent a VoS request for, has a change in their study details for example, when a student has dropped papers from their course.
›
StudyLink has specifically asked for one – this could be because our requests are not being received
correctly, or waiting for a system-initiated one could put the student into hardship
›
The VoS your system will send does not accurately reflect the student’s actual enrolment, and only a
blank VoS will do this
Blank VoS responses are applied to the student's applications automatically, typically within an hour of
submittal. However, if the study start date (lower case) does not match on the blank VoS does not match
that of the previous VoS return sent to StudyLink, the VoS will not apply. In this case manual intervention
will be required, and StudyLink will need to be contacted.
COMPLETING A BLANK VOS
Completing a Blank VoS
Select Blank VoS on the VoS Online home page. The Blank VoS page will display, with the field Student
Withdrawn? defaulted to Yes.
•
If the student has withdrawn from the course, complete all the relevant fields (with the End Date being
the date the student withdrew) and then submit the VoS.
•
If this VoS is for a student who has not withdrawn, change the Student Withdrawn? field to No.
Additional fields will appear, along with a Segments button, for you to provide the updated enrolment
details. Complete all the relevant fields.
Student Withdrawn? - Yes
Student Withdrawn? - No
VOS REPORTS
VOS REPORTS
› The VoS Reports section lists different reports
regarding the progress of your students’ loans
and payments. This includes the Status
Reports (which show the status of a student’s
Student Loan application, if they are using it
to pay their fees with your provider), and
Payment Schedules (which show fee
payments made to your provider).
› These reports can be viewed on VoS Online,
or downloaded as a .CSV file. A Status
Report Convertor is available from the
StudyLink Helpline to view downloaded files.
› Reports are automatically removed from the
site after seven days – if you will need these
files for reference outside that period, please
use the download option to save them to your
own system.
REMEMBER
› A VoS request is StudyLink asking for a student’s enrolment details. The information you provide in
return is a VoS response.
› Keep your User ID and password details safe, and set up a Challenge Question and Answer in case
you ever forget your password.
› Don’t use your internet browser arrows to navigate – click the links or navigation buttons within the site.
› Remember to logout once you have finished.
› If you experience any issues or have any queries, contact the StudyLink Helpline on 0508 885 885.