HEP bulletin - August 2026

The busiest period of term starts for AY 2026/27 is approaching. Please review and update any approved applications in the Student Information Service (SIS) before the start of term.

Use pre-liability Change of Circumstance (CoC) notifications to update:

• tuition fee amounts
• course details
• receiving provider information

We also recommend comparing SIS records against your student management system. You can then encourage students who have not yet applied for support to do so. This will help minimise any impact on initial tuition fee payments.

Students should use their student finance account. It's available to all Student Finance England and Student Finance Wales students.

Scottish students can sign into their online SAAS account to apply and check their application status.

Northern Irish students can apply for student support on the Student Finance NI website.

When validating your own courses or if they're validated by another awarding body, you must make sure students register with the correct awarding body. You must do this before you confirm attendance on SIS.

In preparation for AY 2026/27, please review internal processes to make sure you remain compliant with this process.

Check that all details are correct on SIS and the awarding body before you confirm attendance. This includes:

• student details
• the level of qualification
• that the student's application is against the correct course and the course names match

Please prioritise outstanding registration or attendance confirmations for AY 2025/26 courses. Particularly for later intakes, for which we have outstanding attendance confirmations. These may cause maintenance support overpayments or represent a shortfall in your fee loan income. You should follow up all registrations with an appropriate attendance confirmation. Please also review and clear all worklists for prior academic years to make sure student accounts are accurate and up to date.

Phishing and smishing

Scammers often target students as they receive their first Maintenance Loan payment. We're reminding students to be aware of phishing fraud scams through email or social media. This year we're also urging extra vigilance against text messaging scams, known as 'smishing'.

Fraudsters may send students emails or text messages claiming to be us. These communications will look urgent. They'll also often tell students that their payments will be withheld if they fail to comply. We’ll never ask students to provide or verify personal or financial information by email or text message. We'll also never contact students through social media channels such as WhatsApp or Instagram.

Please remind students to use our official channels or their online account to check if any suspicious contact is genuine. If they receive a suspicious message, they should report it immediately by emailing report@phishing.gov.uk. Please help us with tackling fraud by passing this information onto your students. There's also a range of resources to help recognise and avoid scams. You can share these with students to help them stay aware of any potential risks:

• Action Fraud - the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime
• Stop! Think Fraud - a campaign from the Home Office

Fee limits for part-time undergraduate foundation year courses

All students on the foundation year of a part-time undergraduate course must have their tuition fee reflected in line with the new regulations.

For courses that meet the criteria for the lower fee limit, there's guidance on the foundation year tuition fee limit available on the HEP Services website.

Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) provider guidance

GOV.UK has published a new LLE guidance page for providers. This brings together information on:

• course design
• modular delivery
• system readiness
• tuition fee payments

We encourage you to review the guidance as part of your ongoing preparations for LLE delivery.

LLE modular funding Expression of Interest (EOI)

The Department for Education has published an update. This applies to providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) that intend to deliver LLE-funded modular provision in England.

The guidance sets out the process for expressing interest when the approval cycle opens in October 2026. Subject to approval, we expect successful providers to become eligible to deliver LLE-funded modules from September 2027. This round applies only to new applicants and does not affect providers already approved through the first EOI process.

LLE regulations and practitioner guidance

The UK Government has now laid the key statutory instruments required to implement the LLE fee and funding system. Further information is available through the GOV.UK LLE overview page and the relevant legislation:

• The Lifelong Learning (Fee Limits) Regulations 2026
• The Lifelong Learning (Student Support) (Amendment of Fees and Awards etc.) Regulations 2026
• The Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) (Amendments for Lifelong Learning) Regulations 2026

We've also added new LLE guidance chapters to the policy section of the SFE practitioner website. The updates include information on:

• personal eligibility
• residency
• course eligibility

We'll add more content as it becomes available.

LLE communications and student-facing resources

The DfE has published the first edition of its LLE communications asset pack to help providers raise awareness of LLE funding. This includes:

• posters
• infographics
• social media assets
• supporting guidance

Supporting videos are also available via the DfE YouTube channel, including:

• essential information students need to know
• how tuition fee loans work
• how repayments work

A range of student guidance and support resources are also available:

• student guidance for courses starting on or after 1 January 2027
• how much LLE funding could you get?
• how to apply for LLE funding
• Skills for Careers LLE campaign page
• SFE LLE campaign page

Students can also use the GOV.UK eligibility checker and student finance calculator. This will help students understand their eligibility and estimate the support available to them.

You may wish to add these resources into your Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) activity. This guidance will help prospective and current students as preparations for LLE continue.

Maintaining contacts

The HE Gateway Maintain Contacts area holds the contact details used for:

• service updates
• communications
• HEP bulletins

Please review your organisation's contact list regularly and make sure contact roles remain accurate and up to date.

Guidance is available on the HEP Services website.