Version 1.0 - Last Updated: 12 Jun 2024

Creating a full-time undergraduate course

Foundation year tuition fee limits


From academic year (AY) 2025/26, there will be an introduction of lower-fee limits for 'classroom-based' foundation years. This will be for English providers and will have a maximum fee limit of £5,760.

The maximum tuition fee in AY 2025/26 for a 'classroom-based' foundation year depends on your provider category. It also depends on whether you have a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) award or an access and participation plan (APP) from the OfS. Further information on the fee limits is available on GOV.UK.

The lower fee cap of up to £5,760 will apply to 'classroom-based' foundation years from 1 August 2025. 'Classroom-based' subjects are currently in OfS price group D. They take place in a classroom setting and do not include laboratory, studio, or fieldwork elements.

Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) codes determine the fee limit for a foundation year under the specified Common Aggregation Hierarchy (CAH) 03 groupings.

The list of lower-fee subjects and the HECoS codes are on GOV.UK.

Single HECoS codes

When you are saving or adding a new course with a single HECoS subject code, if this is in the list of lower-fee subjects, there is a cap at the lower rate for the foundation year fee.

Courses that have any other single HECoS code (higher-fee subjects) attached can charge up to a maximum of £9,535.

If you need any HECoS code changes on existing courses, please contact ssin_queries@slc.co.uk.

Multiple HECoS codes

Where a course with an integrated foundation year has multiple HECoS codes (a combination of both lower-fee and higher-fee codes) you will need to identify the proportion of HECoS codes that are in the lower-fee subject list.

  • If more than 50% of the subject codes are lower-fee subjects, there should be a cap at the lower rate for foundation year tuition fees.
  • If 50% or fewer of the HECoS codes are in the lower-fee subject list, there should be a cap at the higher rate for the foundation year tuition fees.

Providers in the rest of the UK

You should enter the fee rate you are charging for your course on CMS. Students who live in England and apply to study a 'classroom-based' foundation year in another part of the UK may qualify for tuition fee loans of up to £5,760. You should advise your students if this loan will not cover the full cost of their tuition fees.

Example:

If you are charging £7,000 for a foundation year, this is the fee you should enter on CMS.

An English student who applies to the course may be eligible for up to £5,760 tuition fee loan. This means they will have an outstanding amount of £1,240 which they will need to self-fund.  


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