TheParagon-Education

Higher education tuition fees for foundation years provides guidance for HE providers on tuition fees for foundation years in the 2025 to 2026 academic year.

Foundation years are not:

•the same as foundation degrees
•standalone courses and do not typically lead to the award of a recognised qualification
A foundation year is a 1-year (or equivalent, if studied part-time) programme of study that is integrated at the start of an undergraduate course.

Foundation degrees are 2-year undergraduate courses that lead to the award of a level 5 qualification.

Both foundation years and foundation degrees will be eligible for funding under the LLE. To be eligible, a foundation year must form part of an eligible undergraduate course.

Qualification gateway
The qualification gateway is:

•a process that will allow new qualifications to be approved
•separate from the HTQ approval process, which will continue to operate for LLE funding

Further information on the gateway will be available in 2025.

Qualifications approved through the gateway must be:

•level 4 to 6
•Ofqual regulated
•at least 30 credits
•occupational, but not necessarily employer-led or developed

We will continue to collaborate with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) on this approach, recognising that its functions will largely transfer to Skills England.

How funding will work
LLE-funded modules
Modular funding will be available for modules starting from January 2027. This will be for the following qualifications:

•HTQs
•technical level 4 and level 5 advanced learner loan transfer qualifications
•level 4 and level 5 qualifications approved through the new LLE qualifications gateway, when launched

We want new modular provision to be high quality and support wider progression to full qualifications. To be eligible for funding, modules must be:

•part of an existing designated full course, its ‘parent course’
•at least 30 credits, or a bundle of modules from the same ‘parent course’ equalling at least 30 credits
•have a single qualification level which should initially be level 4 or 5 to determine if they are eligible for funding
•assessed and given a standardised transcript when they’re completed, to support credit transfer and facilitate labour market currency

Examples of modules that equal at least 30 credits are:

•two 20-credit modules (40 credits)
•one 10-credit module and a 20-credit module (30 credits)
•two 15-credit modules (30 credits)
•three 10-credit modules (30 credits)

Unless they wish to, there is no need for providers to redesign their course structures if they do not already operate on a 30-credit basis.

This funding will only be available to students living and studying in England at a provider registered with the Office for Students (OfS). Eligible students will be able to apply for LLE funding for modules from September 2026.

Credits
We are introducing a fair and consistent credit-based method for setting fee limits. This will work across all higher-level courses and modules funded by the LLE, regardless of whether students study them on a full-time, part-time or accelerated basis.

The fee limit will directly relate to the amount of study in the course, rather than the number of academic years which are studied.

Credits are already used in HE and further education to record and measure the amount of learning a student completes.

Loan entitlement
New learners are those who have not yet received government support to undertake higher-level learning.

They will be able to access a full entitlement equal to 4 years of full-time tuition. This is currently equal to £38,140 across 4 years. It is based on the current maximum fee limit of £9,535 per year and academic year 2025 to 2026 fee rates.

This means a student could use their £38,140 to pay for more than 480 credits of learning, depending on the per-credit cost of the course.

Example
A student can borrow £38,140 and they use £7,000 for a 120-credit course. They would have £31,140 of the LLE left for other courses, regardless of the size or duration of the original programme.

Students will be able to draw down loans to study up to 180 credits per year. This includes credits taken across multiple courses or modules within the same year.

Returning learners are those who have previously received government support to undertake higher-level learning. They may only have some, or none, of their entitlement left, depending on previous funding received.

Those who have not used it all, will have access to a residual entitlement.

Example
A typical graduate who completed a 3-year degree worth £28,605 based on current fees, will have a £9,535 residual entitlement. This amount will be adjusted should the modern fee limit change.

An additional entitlement above the core 4-year entitlement will be available for some priority subjects and longer courses such as medicine.