The Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) Regulations 2008

Period of eligibility

6.—(1) An eligible student retains his or her status as an eligible student in connection with a designated course until the status terminates in accordance with this regulation or regulation 4.

(2) The period for which an eligible student retains the status is the “period of eligibility” (“cyfnod cymhwystra”).

(3) Subject to the following paragraphs and regulation 4, the “period of eligibility” terminates at the end of the academic year in which the student completes the designated course.

(4) The period of eligibility terminates when the eligible student—

(a)withdraws from his or her designated course in circumstances where the Welsh Ministers have not transferred or converted or will not transfer or convert his or her status as an eligible student under regulation 74 or regulation 88; or

(b)abandons or is expelled from his or her designated course.

(5) The Welsh Ministers may terminate the period of eligibility where the eligible student has shown himself or herself by his or her conduct to be unfitted to receive support.

(6) If the Welsh Ministers are satisfied that an eligible student has failed to comply with any requirement to provide information under these Regulations or has provided information which is inaccurate in a material particular, the Welsh Ministers may take such of the following actions as they consider appropriate in the circumstances—

(a)terminate the period of eligibility;

(b)determine that the student no longer qualifies for any particular support or particular amount of support;

(c)treat any support paid to the student as an overpayment which may be recovered under regulations 60,78,91,100 and paragraph 16 of Schedule 4.

(7) Where the period of eligibility terminates before the end of the academic year in which the student completes the designated course, the Welsh Ministers may, at any time, renew the period of eligibility for such period as they determine.

(8) Despite paragraph (1), a new system eligible student or gap-year student who has not attended a previous course is only eligible for a grant or loan for fees or a grant for living costs in respect of the present course for the number of academic years equal to OD+R+1.

(9) Despite paragraph (1) and subject to paragraph (6), a new system eligible student or gap-year student who has attended a previous course is only eligible for grants or loans for fees and grants for living costs in respect of the present course for the number of academic years equal to (OD+R+1)−PC, except that—

(a)no deduction equivalent to PC applies in the case of a teacher training student; and

(b)one additional year is added in the case of an eligible student who did not complete successfully the latest previous course because of compelling personal reasons.

(10) Paragraph (6) applies to —

(a)a new system eligible student who is on an end-on course of the kind described in paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of “end-on course” in regulation 2;

(b)a new system eligible student who —

(i)has completed a full-time course mentioned in paragraph 2 or 3 of Schedule 2;

(ii)is on a full-time first degree course (other than a first degree course for the initial training of teachers) that he or she did not begin immediately after the course referred to in paragraph (i); and

(iii)has not taken a full-time first degree course after the course referred to in paragraph (i) and before the present course;

(c)a new system eligible student who —

(i)has completed a full-time foundation degree course;

(ii)is on a full-time honours degree course that he or she did not begin immediately after the course referred to in paragraph (i) and before the present course; and

(iii)has not taken a full-time first degree course after the course referred to in paragraph (i) and before the present course; and

(d)an old system eligible student who is a student on an end-on course of the kind described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition of “end-on course” in regulation 2.

(11) Despite paragraph (1), an eligible student to whom this paragraph applies is only eligible for grants or loans for fees and grants for living costs in respect of the present course for the number of academic years equal to (D + X) − Pr C.

(12) Despite paragraph (1), a continuing student is only eligible for a grant or loan for fees or a grant for living costs in respect of the present course for the number of academic years equal to (A+R+1)−Y.

(13) Despite paragraph (1) and subject to paragraph (9), a transferring student is only eligible for a grant or loan for fees or a grant for living costs in respect of the present course for the number of academic years equal to (A+R+1)−Y.

(14) A transferring student starting the first full academic year of a further course to which he or she transfers under regulation 8 after 1 September 2008 is only eligible for a grant or loan for fees or a grant for living costs in respect of the further course for the number of years equal to (A+R+1)−Y−Z.

(15) In any case where the number of academic years for which a grant or loan for fees or a grant for living costs is available in accordance with this regulation is less than the number of academic years that make up the period ordinarily required for the completion of the present course, the academic years in which the student is eligible for a grant or loan for fees or a grant for living costs are the latest years of the present course.

(16) In this regulation —

(a)A is the number of academic years from 31 August 2006 that make up the period ordinarily required for the completion of the present course or, in the case of a transferring student, the previous course;

(b)D is the greater of 3 and a number of academic years that make up the ordinary duration of the course;

(c)OD is the number of academic years that make up the period ordinarily required for the completion of the present course;

(d)PC is the number of years of attendance by the eligible student on a previous course; and

(e)X is 1 where the ordinary duration of the preliminary course was less than three years and 2 where the ordinary duration of the preliminary course was three years;

(f)R is the number of repeated academic years on the present course starting on or after 1 September 2006 that are repeats of preceding academic years that the eligible student was unable to complete successfully because of compelling personal reasons;

(g)PrC is the number of academic years that the student spent on the preliminary course excluding any years of repeat study for compelling personal reasons;

(h)Y is the number of years of the present course, or the previous course in the case of a transferring student, in respect of which it has been determined before 1 September 2006 under regulations made under section 22 of the Act that support was not available;

(i)Z is the number of academic years spent on a previous course beginning on or after 1 September 2006;

(j)“continuing student” (“myfyriwr syn parhau”) is an old system eligible student who started the present course before 1 September 2006;

(k)“teacher training student” (“myfyriwr ar gwrs hyfforddi athrawon”) means a student attending a course for the initial training of teachers where the duration of the course does not exceed 2 years (the duration of a part-time course being expressed as its full-time equivalent) and the student is not a qualified teacher.

(l)“transferring student” (“myfyriwr sy'n trosglwyddo”) means an eligible student who starts the present course on or after 1 September 2008 having had his or her status as an eligible student transferred to that course as a result of one or more transfers of that status pursuant to regulations made under section 22 of the Act from a designated course which he or she began before 1 September 2007.

(17) In calculating the number of years for the purpose of this regulation, attendance for part of an academic year is treated as a whole academic year.

(18) The Welsh Ministers may, at any time, renew or extend the period of eligibility for such further period as they determine.

(19) The Welsh Ministers may confer eligibility to grants and loans for fees and grants for living costs otherwise than in accordance with paragraphs (8) to (16).

(20) For the purposes of this regulation and subject to the exceptions in paragraphs (22), (23) and (24) a “previous course” is any full-time higher education course or any part-time course for the initial training of teachers which the student began to attend or, in the case of a compressed degree course or a designated distance learning course, undertake before the present course and which meets one or both of the conditions in paragraph (21).

(21) The conditions are—

(a)the course is provided by an institution in the United Kingdom which was publicly funded for some or all of the academic years during which the student took the course; or

(b)any scholarship, exhibition, bursary, grant, allowance or award of any description which was paid in respect of the student’s attending or, in the case of a compressed degree course or a designated distance learning course, undertaking the course to defray fees was from public funds or funds attributable to public funds.

(22) A course which would otherwise be a previous course will not be treated as such if —

(a)the present course is a course for the initial training of teachers;

(b)the duration of the present course does not exceed two years ( the duration of a part-time course being expressed as its full-time equivalent); and

(c)the student is not a qualified teacher.

(23) A course for the Certificate in Education which would otherwise be a previous course will not be treated as such if —

(a)the present course is a course for the degree (including an honours degree) of Bachelor of Education;

(b)the student transferred to the present course from the course for the Certificate in Education before the completion of that course or began the present course on completion of the course for the Certificate in Education.

(24) A course for the degree (other than an honours degree) of Bachelor of Education will not be treated as a previous course if —

(a)the present course is a course for the honours degree of Bachelor of Education;

(b)the student transferred to the present course from the course for the degree (other than an honours degree) of Bachelor of Education before the completion of that course or began the present course on completion of the course for the degree (other than an honours degree) of Bachelor of Education.