# The Education (Student Support for Postgraduate Provision) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, Regulation 12: Interpretation of Part 4

Extent: E+W

(1) In this Part—
“academic year” means the period of twelve months beginning with 1st September and ending with 31st August;
“appeal reference period” means the academic year beginning 24 months before the first day of the implementation year;
“OfS” means the Office for Students, as established by section 1(1) of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017;
“register” means the register established and maintained by the OfS under section 3 of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017;
(2) In this Part, in respect of transitional cases which fall under the Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Regulations, the following definitions apply—
“below-threshold franchised provider” has the meaning given in regulation 8B(12) of the Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Regulations (as inserted by regulation 6 of these Regulations);
“franchised provider” has the meaning given in regulation 8B(1) of the Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Regulations (as inserted by regulation 6 of these Regulations);
“implementation year” has the meaning given in regulation 8A of the Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Regulations (as inserted by regulation 6 of these Regulations);
“notice of status” means a notice issued by the Secretary of State under regulation 8E of the Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Regulations (as inserted by regulation 6 of these Regulations);
“qualifying franchised provider” has the meaning given in regulation 8B(14) of the Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Regulations (as inserted by regulation 6 of these Regulations);
“student population” has the meaning given in regulation 8B(5) of the Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Regulations (as inserted by regulation 6 of these Regulations).
(3) In this Part, in respect of transitional cases which fall under the Postgraduate Master’s Degree Regulations, the following definitions apply—
“below-threshold franchised provider” has the meaning given in regulation 8B(12) of the Postgraduate Master’s Degree Regulations (as inserted by regulation 11 of these Regulations);
“franchised provider” has the meaning given in regulation 8B(1) of the Postgraduate Master’s Degree Regulations (as inserted by regulation 11 of these Regulations);
“implementation year” has the meaning given in regulation 8A of the Postgraduate Master’s Degree Regulations (as inserted by regulation 11 of these Regulations);
“notice of status” means a notice issued by the Secretary of State under regulation 8E of the Postgraduate Master’s Degree Regulations (as inserted by regulation 11 of these Regulations);
“qualifying franchised provider” has the meaning given in regulation 8B(14) of the Postgraduate Master’s Degree Regulations (as inserted by regulation 11 of these Regulations);
“student population” has the meaning given in regulation 8B(5) of the Postgraduate Master’s Degree Regulations (as inserted by regulation 11 of these Regulations).

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/581/regulation/12 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/education-student-support-for-postgraduate-provision-amendment-regulations-2026/regulation-12
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.