Education (Student Support) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999

Transfers of eligibility

7.—(1) An eligible student may request that the Department transfer his eligibility in any case where—

(a)on the recommendation of the academic authority for the institution he is attending an eligible student starts to attend another course at the institution;

(b)with the written consent of the academic authorities of both institutions concerned, given on educational grounds, an eligible student attending a course at one institution starts to attend a course at another institution;

(c)after commencing a course for the Certificate in Education, an eligible student is, on or before the completion of that course, admitted to a course for the degree of Bachelor of Education;

(d)after commencing a course for the degree (other than an honours degree) of Bachelor of Education an eligible student is, on or before the completion of that course, admitted to a course for the honours degree of Bachelor of Education; or

(e)after commencing a course for a first degree (other than an honours degree) at any institution an eligible student is, before the completion of that course, admitted to a course for an honours degree in the same subject or subjects at the same institution.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (5) the Department, on being satisfied—

(a)that the eligible student concerned falls within one of the cases prescribed by paragraph (1); and

(b)that the second course mentioned in the case in question is a designated course,

shall transfer the eligible student’s eligibility, and thenceforth the eligible student shall for all purposes be an eligible student in connection with his attendance at the second course, whether or not he may have been eligible for support if he had applied therefor under regulation 6.

(3) The Department may, after consulting the academic authority concerned, refuse to transfer the eligibility under paragraph (2) of any student falling within a case prescribed by paragraph (1)(a) or (b) if it is satisfied that, when the student applied for support, he did not intend to complete the course to which his application related.

(4) For the purposes of the duty of the Department to transfer the eligibility of any student falling within a case prescribed by paragraph (1)(c) or (d) it shall be immaterial whether or not the two courses mentioned in the case in question are provided by the same institution.

(5) An eligible student’s eligibility for support may not be transferred after it was expired or been terminated under regulation 8.