Regulation 2 Interpretation

In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires–

• “the Act” means the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990;

• “borrower” means a person to whom a loan has been made;

• “eligible” means eligible for the purposes of section 1 of the Act read with regulation 3 and the Schedule to these Regulations;

• “full-time course” means a sandwich course or a course–

  1. (a)

     which persons undertaking it are normally required by the institution providing it to attend (whether at premises of the institution or elsewhere) for periods of at least 24 weeks in each academic year of the course; and

  2. (b)

     the nature of which is such that a person undertaking it would normally require to undertake periods of study, tuition or work experience which together amount in each academic year to an average of at least 21 hours a week as respects the periods of attendance mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) above for the year;

• “loan” means a loan towards a student’s maintenance out of money made available by the Secretary of State for that purpose pursuant to arrangements made by the Secretary of State by virtue of section 1 of the Act and includes the interest accrued on the loan and the amount of the loan from time to time outstanding;

• “loans administrator” means any person or body for the time being exercising functions in relation to loans under arrangements made with the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to the Act;

• “periods of work experience” means periods of industrial, professional or commercial experience associated with full-time study at an institution but at a place outside the institution;

• “refugee” means a person who is recognised by Her Majesty’s government as a refugee within the meaning of the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28th July 1951^f1 as extended by the Protocol thereto which entered into force on 4th October 1967^f2 or a person who enjoys asylum in the United Kingdom in pursuance of a decision of Her Majesty’s government though not so recognised, and any reference to the child of a refugee includes a reference to a person adopted in pursuance of adoption proceedings and a step-child; and

• “sandwich course” means a course consisting of alternate periods of full-time study in an institution and periods of work experience so organised that, taking the course as a whole, the student attends the periods of full-time study for an average of not less than 19 weeks in each year; and for the purpose of calculating his attendance the course shall be treated as beginning with the first period of full-time study and ending with the last such period.

For the purposes of these Regulations an academic year which begins in the month of July in any year shall be deemed to begin in the month of August immediately following that month.

In these Regulations any reference to a regulation is a reference to a regulation of these Regulations, and any reference in a regulation to a paragraph is a reference to a paragraph of that regulation.