Regulation 3 Qualifying courseI1

England and Wales

(1)

A qualifying course, which is specified for the purposes of section 32(4) of the 2022 Act, is a course which—

(a)

satisfies both of the conditions in paragraph (2), and

(b)

does not fall within either of the exceptions in paragraph (3).

(2)

The conditions are—

Condition 1
1. (1)
  The course is—
  1. (a)
    
    a course of initial teacher training,
  2. (b)
    
    a course for the further training of teachers or youth and community workers,
  3. (c)
    
    a first degree course,
  4. (d)
    
    a course for the Diploma of Higher Education,
  5. (e)
    
    F1a course for the Higher National Diploma or Higher National Certificate of the Business and Technician Education Council, or the Diploma in Management Studies,
  6. (f)
    
    a course for the Certificate in Education,
  7. (g)
    
    a course in preparation for a professional examination at higher level, or
  8. (h)
    
    a course providing education at a higher level (whether or not in preparation for an examination).
2. (2)
  
  For the purposes of paragraph (1)(g) of this condition a professional examination is at higher level if its standard is higher than the standard of examinations at advanced level for the General Certificate of Education or the examination for the National Certificate or the National Diploma of the Business & Technician Education Council.
3. (3)
  
  For the purposes of paragraph (1)(h) of this condition a course is to be regarded as providing education at a higher level if its standard is higher than the standard of courses providing education in preparation for any of the examinations mentioned in paragraph (2) of this condition.
Condition 2

The course is designated by regulations made under section 22 of the 1998 Act^f1.

(3)

The exceptions are—

Exception 1

The course is a part-time course.
Exception 2

The course is provided on behalf of a registered provider by a person who is not—
1. (a)
  
  a registered provider,
2. (b)
  
  included in the register established and maintained by the Office for Students under section 3 of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017^f2, or
3. (c)
  
  maintained or assisted by recurrent grants provided by the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research^f3.

(4)

A person is not regarded as being maintained or assisted by recurrent grants for the purposes of Exception 2 in paragraph (3) by reason only that the person receives such funds as a collaborating body.

(5)

In this regulation—

“collaborating body” (“corff sy’n cydlafurio”) has the meaning given by section 88(3), 89(4), 97(3), 104(2) or 105(4) of the 2022 Act, as the case may be;
“registered provider” (“darparwr cofrestredig”) means a provider which is registered in the register established and maintained by the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research under section 25 of the 2022 Act.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: Words in reg. 3(2) substituted (31.3.2026) by The Higher Education (Qualifying Courses and Qualifying Persons) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/90), regs. 1(2), 2

Commencement

I1: Reg. 3 in force at 1.4.2026, see reg. 1(2)

Footnotes

f1: 1998 c. 30. Section 22 was amended by the Learning and Skills Act 2000 (c. 21), section 146(2) and Schedule 11; the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (c. 1), paragraph 236 of Schedule 6; the Finance Act 2003 (c. 14), section 147(3); the Higher Education Act 2004 (c. 8), sections 42(1) and 43 and Schedule 7; the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (c. 22), section 257(2); the Education Act 2011 (c. 21), section 76(1) and (2)(a); S.I. 2013/1881, paragraph 6 of Schedule 1; and the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (c. 29), section 88.
f2: 2017 c. 29.
f3: The Commission for Tertiary Education and Research was established by section 1 of the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022.