Regulation 4 Meaning of “higher education course”, “module”, “credits” and related provisionI1

This regulation defines “higher education course” (in accordance with section 28(1) of the 1998 Act), prescribes the meaning of “module” in relation to a higher education course (in accordance with section 28A(2ZA) of the 1998 Act), defines “credits”, and makes related provision for the purposes of these Regulations.

A “higher education course” is a course which is of a level higher than an Access to Higher Education Diploma, where an Access to Higher Education Diploma is a qualification that is specifically designed to prepare persons for study at university.

A “module” is the smallest unit of learning within a higher education course that has an associated assessment (which may include examinations, essays, projects and other methods of evaluation).

Where a course designated by or under these Regulations was, immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations, designated under the Further Education Loans Regulations 2012, that course is to be treated as coming within the meaning of “higher education course” for the purposes of these Regulations.

“Credits” means units used to signify the total amount of learning time that a student would ordinarily be expected to spend in order to complete a particular course or part of it.

Each attached credit denotes 10 notional learning hours.