Course design

Q1: Do I have to modularise all my courses?

A: Providers will not need to offer any modules separately from their parent course. They will have the freedom to choose which courses and modules they offer. The Government has set out the criteria for modules to be eligible for funding as part of its LLE Consultation Response.  

Q2: Are credits required only for modules?

Credits will be the basis of fee limits and fee loans under the LLE. To support this, certain types of provision will need to be credit-bearing to be designated for LLE funding.

Credits will be needed for all LLE funded modules and also for the following LLE funded courses:

• Ofqual regulated qualifications
• Any new course types designated for LLE funding
• All parent courses of any modular provision
• All courses shorter than a year

Courses not listed, such as degree programmes, do not need to be credit-bearing. However, all LLE courses in CMS will need to have a credit value recorded. For courses/course years which are not credit-bearing, a default credit value will be captured in CMS (for example 360 credits for a three-year undergraduate degree). 

Providers will continue to have full autonomy over whether or not to modularise any given course or whether to make it credit bearing. The government has created a mechanism that will allow providers to choose whether or not to use credits for degree courses, without any penalty or impact on the overall fee limit for those courses.

Q3: Can a module be designed as standalone?

Updated 14 December 2023

A: For a modular course to be funded, it cannot be designed as “standalone”. It must form part of a designated full course (“parent course”). Initially, just HTQs and some Level 4 / Level 5 former ALL funded qualifications will be eligible to be “parent courses”. Modules of a smaller size can also be funded through the LLE, provided they are “bundled” together from a parent course in a single entry to meet the minimum requirement of 30 credits, to allow sufficient flexibility for retraining purposes. For example, funding would be available for a 20 credit module and a 10 credit module of the same course, if combined.

Q4: Is there a fee cap on what a HE Provider can charge for a foundation year?

Added 23 November 2023

A: If a foundation year is integral and allows progression to a full degree course designated for student finance, students enrolling on the foundation year can access tuition fee and maintenance loans for the full duration of their extended course. The government has announced that from January in academic year 2025/26, the maximum fee and loan limit for foundation years for courses fully delivered in a classroom setting (OfS price group D) will be lowered depending on the category of OfS registration and TEF status. For approved (fee cap) providers with TEF the fee cap will be lowered to £5,760. The maximum fee and loan limit for foundation years for all other providers will be announced in due course.

For courses not fully delivered in a classroom setting (OfS price group D), the current fee and loan limit will remain as is.

Q5: How will credits help determine the fee limits in LLE? 

Added 23 November 2023

A: The government’s introducing a credit-based method for setting fee limits that will work across all courses and modules funded by the LLE, regardless of whether they’re studied on a full-time, part-time, or accelerated basis. This means that the fee limit will directly relate to the amount of study in the course, rather than the number of academic years that are studied.