TheParagon-Education

Tuition fees and fee loans
Tuition fee limits are currently set on an annual basis by the government. For example, the maximum an approved, fee cap provider can charge in the 2023 to 2024 academic year is £9,250. This will increase to £9,535 from the 2025 to 2026 academic year.

Under the LLE, tuition fee limits will be based on credits. This is instead of being based on the number of academic years in the course, as is the case under the existing system. There will be a maximum financial amount per credit and a maximum number of credits that can be charged for in each course year. This will be set by the government.

Lifelong Learning Entitlement: tuition fee limits has a list of the:

•standard numbers of credits for every course type
•maximum or default numbers that can be charged for in any one course year

We will treat certain course types under the LLE as ‘non-credit-bearing’. This means that different rules will apply. Non-credit-bearing courses include:

•medicine
•PGCEs
•courses where the provider has not assigned a qualifying credit value

Maintenance loans and grants
Maintenance loans are designed to help learners with living costs while they study. There is a maximum claim amount based on a student’s course, location and personal circumstances.

Under the LLE, the loan for living costs and targeted support grants, such as the Childcare Grant, will be available for all designated courses and modules that require in-person attendance. This includes an expansion of the maintenance offer for part-time learners and those studying technical courses. It will not be available for online courses, unless this entitlement already exists.

Learners for online and distance-learning courses will still be able to:

•use the LLE to pay tuition fees
•access the Disabled Students’ Allowance for additional study costs related to a disability

Maintenance support will be subject to personal criteria such as income.

The LLE will not impact learners who are already eligible for targeted support grants. This is money that does not need to be repaid.

Advanced learner loan funding at providers not registered with OfS
OfS will regulate all providers offering LLE-funded provision. This means that all providers wishing to offer LLE-funded provision will need to register with OfS. However, some level 4 to 6 courses offered by providers not registered with OfS will be eligible for extended advanced learner loan funding in the 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027 academic years.

In the 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027 academic years, students will be able to access advanced learner loan funding for:

•a course leading to a qualification approved for LLE funding through the new qualification gateway
•a course leading to a qualification that has been approved for LLE funding through the advanced learner loan transfer process
•some approved HTQs

Advanced learner loan funding will only be available for eligible courses with providers that:

•are not registered with OfS
•have a funding agreement with the Department for Education (DfE)

Funding will be available through the LLE for courses offered by OfS-registered providers.

If students are funded through advanced learner loans, they will not be entitled to LLE funding. This includes LLE’s maintenance support and access to modular funding options.

Advanced learner loan funding for students starting a course before January 2027 will not be affected by the introduction of the LLE.

Use the list of approved qualifications to see if a qualification has been approved for funding:

List of Qualifications approved for funding:
Overview
The Department for Education approves qualifications for public funding if they meet the criteria for funding approval. This website contains funding approval information for all of the qualifications funded through the qualification offers in England (except apprenticeships and traineeships).

The Department for Education (DfE) will only fund students to undertake qualifications through a funded offer if those qualifications are approved for public funding.

Finding qualifications approved for funding
To see if a qualification has been approved for funding, you can use either the search function or download the list of all approved qualifications.

LLE loan repayments
Students must start repaying their loan once they have left their course and earn more than a certain amount. This is known as the repayment threshold. A borrower’s repayments will depend on what they earn over the threshold, not the total amount that is owed.

Repayment of LLE loans will follow the new system of student loan repayments, known as Plan 5. This means that repayments will only start once a borrower earns more than £25,000 a year before tax, equal to £2,083 a month or £480 per week.

The amount repaid is 9%, or 9p for every £1, of an individual’s gross salary over the repayment threshold. For most people, this is automatically deducted from their salary at the same time as Income Tax and National Insurance. Repayments continue unless:

•you have repaid your loan
•your salary drops below the threshold
•a 40-year period has passed and the loan is cancelled

Some learners may have an existing undergraduate student loan and then choose to use the residual entitlement they have left under the LLE, to fund further undergraduate level study. In this situation, they will continue to make a single repayment of 9% of their gross salary above the repayment threshold.