Version 1.0 - Last Updated: 25 Oct 2023
Creating a part-time undergraduate course
Higher Technical Qualifications
From academic year 2023/24, Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) are eligible for student finance support.
These are level 4 or 5 qualifications approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE).
An eligible course must be:
- IFATE approved
- level 4 or 5
- at least one academic year in duration
- provided by or in conjunction with an Office for Students-registered provider in England
- offered by an awarding body with degree awarding powers (or foundation degree awarding powers, where applicable)
You should mark courses that meet the eligibility criteria as HTQ courses on CMS.
Creating a new part-time HTQ course on CMS
To create an HTQ course, go to the Courses tab and select Add a course. Enter all the course details and select the Higher Technical Qualification attribute. Please note that you can only add the attribute at the point of course creation and you cannot add it later.
You can do this from academic year 2023/24.
English students may be entitled to Part-Time Maintenance Loans for these courses. You must add the HTQ attribute so we can correctly assess them.
You can add these courses with additional domiciles if you need to. However, only English students may be entitled to Part-Time Maintenance Loans for HTQs.
The Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) does not need part-time courses saved on CMS. You should not include Scotland as a domicile.
Students from Wales can already qualify for part-time maintenance support from Student Finance Wales. This is based on a course’s underlying higher education qualification type, such as HND or HNC. This is not a change to existing eligibility criteria.
Students from Wales cannot qualify for any form of higher education finance if they're undertaking an HTQ course with an underlying further education qualification, such as a Level 4 Diploma. This also applies to Part-Time Maintenance Loans.
Only new students should apply for new courses you create with the HTQ attribute. There is guidance on what to do for returning students on existing courses you had on CMS before they gained HTQ approval.
How to manage part-time HTQ courses that were previously designated for further education funding
You may have courses that received further education funding in the previous academic year and have now gained HTQ approval. For the upcoming academic year, you should select the applicable qualification on CMS. The system will then automatically apply the HTQ attribute. If it does not apply the HTQ attribute, you should check that you're using the correct qualification.
Returning students who received further education funding in the previous academic year must not apply for higher education funding. They should continue to follow their current funding arrangements.
Direct entrants joining a cohort that received further education funding in the previous academic year must also not apply for higher education funding. This applies whether they join in academic year 2023/24 or later. They'll instead be entitled to the same package of support as the students in their cohort when the course originally started.
You must only make HTQ courses that were previously designated for further education funding available for English-domiciled students. Make sure no other domiciles are selected when you enter the course details.
We'll check all courses with the HTQ attribute to make sure they match the approved HTQ list from the Department for Education.
How to manage part-time HTQ courses that were previously designated for higher education funding
You should roll over your existing part-time courses that have gained HTQ approval but do not have the HTQ attribute and set these to returners. This is because returning students are only entitled to the support that was available when they started their course. They should continue to apply against the course that does not have the HTQ attribute.
Direct entrants will be entitled to the same package of support as the students in their cohort when the course originally started. This applies whether they join in academic year 2023/24 or later.
You should add 'HTQ' to the course title so we can recognise it on CMS.
If you need part-time HTQ courses for new students, please follow the guidance above to create one.
We'll check all courses with the HTQ attribute to make sure they match the approved HTQ list from the Department for Education.
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