The Education (Student Fees, Awards and Support) (Amendment) Regulations 2025

4 Amendments relating to the amount of fee loan for a lower-fee foundation year

(1) In Part 1 (general), in regulation 2 (interpretation: general)— (a) in paragraph (1), after the definition of “long courses loan”, insert— “lower-fee foundation year” has the meaning given in paragraph (16); ; (b) after paragraph (15) insert— (16) In these Regulations, a “lower-fee foundation year” is a foundation year (as defined in paragraph (17)) in relation to which more than 50% of the CAH3 codes, for student loan purposes, are listed in Schedule A1. (17) For the purposes of paragraph (16)— (a) a “foundation year” is a period of study that— (i) is of one academic year’s duration if undertaken full time, or equivalent to that duration if undertaken part time, (ii) is integrated with an undergraduate course at the start of that undergraduate course, and may be enrolled for at the same time as enrolling for that undergraduate course, (iii) is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge that are needed for progressing to an undergraduate course, (iv) a student must complete successfully in order to progress to the first year of an undergraduate course, (v) may result in the student being awarded a qualification that is separate from the qualification awarded as a result of completing the undergraduate course to which the student progresses, and (vi) may, where contractual arrangements are in place, be undertaken at an institution (which may or may not be a registered higher education provider) that is different from the provider to which the student applied and with which the student has enrolled for the undergraduate course, and (b) “CAH3 code” means a Common Aggregated Hierarchy 3 code associated with a subject, as referred to in version 1.3.4 of the Higher Education Classification of Subjects coding system. (2) In Part 4 (fee loans), in Chapter 3 (fee loans for current system students), in regulation 23 (amount of the fee loan)— (a) in paragraph (3)— (i) in the closing words of sub-paragraph (b), for “paragraph (3)(d),” substitute “paragraph (3)(d) or (e),”; (ii) omit the “or” at the end of sub-paragraph (c); (iii) at the end of sub-paragraph (d) insert— ; or (e) £5,760 where— (i) the current course is provided by or on behalf of an approved (fee cap) provider in England, and (ii) the academic year in respect of which the person is applying for support— (aa) begins on or after 1st August 2025, and (bb) is a lower-fee foundation year. ; (b) in paragraph (4ZA)— (i) in sub-paragraph (a), for “sub-paragraph (e),” substitute “sub-paragraph (e) or (f),”; (ii) omit the “or” at the end of sub-paragraph (d); (iii) at the end of sub-paragraph (e) insert— ; or (f) £3,735 where the academic year in respect of which the person is applying for support— (i) begins on or after 1st August 2025, and (ii) is a lower-fee foundation year. ; (c) in paragraph (4B)— (i) in sub-paragraph (a), after “unless” insert “sub-paragraph (k), or”; (ii) at the end of sub-paragraph (j) insert— ; or (k) £3,835 where the academic year in respect of which the person is applying for support— (i) begins on or after 1st August 2025, and (ii) is a lower-fee foundation year. ; (d) in paragraph (5)— (i) in sub-paragraph (a), after “unless” insert “sub-paragraph (ba), or”; (ii) in sub-paragraph (b), after “unless” insert “sub-paragraph (bb), or”; (iii) after sub-paragraph (b) insert— (ba) £5,760 where— (i) the current course is provided by or on behalf of a publicly funded institution, and (ii) the academic year in respect of which the person is applying for support— (aa) begins on or after 1st August 2025, and (bb) is a lower-fee foundation year; (bb) £3,735 where— (i) the current course is provided by a private institution (other than on behalf of an approved (fee cap) provider, a publicly funded institution or a regulated institution), unless paragraph (4A) applies, and (ii) the academic year in respect of which the person is applying for support— (aa) begins on or after 1st August 2025, and (bb) is a lower-fee foundation year; ; (e) in paragraph (5ZB)— (i) in sub-paragraph (a), after “unless” insert “sub-paragraph (ba), or”; (ii) in sub-paragraph (b), after “unless” insert “sub-paragraph (bb), or”; (iii) after sub-paragraph (b) insert— (ba) £5,760 where— (i) the current course is provided by or on behalf of a regulated institution, and (ii) the academic year in respect of which the person is applying for support— (aa) begins on or after 1st August 2025, and (bb) is a lower-fee foundation year; (bb) £3,735 where— (i) the current course is provided by a non-regulated institution (other than on behalf of an approved (fee cap) provider, a publicly funded institution or a regulated institution), unless paragraph (4A) applies, and (ii) the academic year in respect of which the person is applying for support— (aa) begins on or after 1st August 2025, and (bb) is a lower-fee foundation year; . (3) In Part 11A (fee loans and allowances for designated part-time courses), in regulation 145 (amount of the fee loan - courses beginning on or after 1st September 2012), in paragraph (2)— (a) at the end of sub-paragraph (a) insert “, unless sub-paragraph (d) applies”; (b) at the end of sub-paragraph (b) insert “, unless sub-paragraph (e) applies”; (c) at the end of sub-paragraph (c) insert— , unless sub-paragraph (f) applies; (d) £4,315 where— (i) the current part-time course is provided by or on behalf of an approved (fee cap) provider or a publicly funded institution, and (ii) the academic year in respect of which the person is applying for support— (aa) begins on or after 1st August 2025, and (bb) is a lower-fee foundation year; (e) £2,800 where— (i) the current part-time course is provided by— (aa) an approved provider in England (other than on behalf of an approved (fee cap) provider or a publicly funded institution), (bb) an unregistered provider or a private institution on behalf of an approved provider, or (cc) a private institution in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales (other than on behalf of an approved (fee cap) provider or a publicly funded institution), and the provider of the course does not have a high level quality rating, and (ii) the academic year in respect of which the person is applying for support— (aa) begins on or after 1st August 2025, and (bb) is a lower-fee foundation year; (f) £2,875 where— (i) the current part-time course is provided by— (aa) an approved provider in England (other than on behalf of an approved (fee cap) provider or a publicly funded institution), (bb) an unregistered provider or a private institution on behalf of an approved provider, or (cc) a private institution in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales (other than on behalf of an approved (fee cap) provider or a publicly funded institution), and the provider of the course has a high level quality rating, and (ii) the academic year in respect of which the person is applying for support— (aa) begins on or after 1st August 2025, and (bb) is a lower-fee foundation year. . (4) Before Schedule 1 (eligible students), insert Schedule A1 as set out in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.