Education (Student Support) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Designated courses

5.—(1) A course shall be designated for the purposes of Article 3(1) of the Order and regulation 4(1) if it is –

(a) mentioned in Schedule 2;

(b) a full-time course, sandwich course, or part-time course for the initial training of teachers;

(c) of at least one academic year’s duration; and

(d) wholly provided by an educational institution or institutions in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland which are maintained or assisted by recurrent grants out of public funds or provided by such an institution or institutions in conjunction with an institution or institutions outside the United Kingdom.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations a sandwich course is a course other than a course for the initial training of teachers referred to in paragraph 4 of Schedule 2, 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 18 weeks in each year; and for the purposes 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.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2) where periods of full-time study and work experience alternate within any week of the course the days of full-time study shall be aggregated with any weeks of full-time study in determining the number of weeks of full-time study in each year.

(4) For the purposes of these Regulations “periods of work experience” means –

(a) periods of industrial, professional or commercial experience associated with full-time study at an institution but at a place outside the institution, and

(b) in the case of a course which includes the study of one or more modern languages for not less than one half of the time spent studying on the course and which includes periods of residence in a country whose language is a language of the course, such periods of residence during which the student is employed.

(5) For the purposes of these Regulations a course is provided by an institution if it provides the teaching and supervision which comprise the course, whether or not it has entered into an agreement with the student to provide the course.

(6) For the purposes of paragraph (1) a university and any constituent college or institution in the nature of a college of a university shall be regarded as maintained or assisted by recurrent grants out of public funds if either the university or the constituent college or institution is so maintained or assisted.

(7) For the purposes of paragraph (1) an institution shall not be regarded as maintained or assisted by recurrent grants out of public funds by reason only that it receives public funds from the governing body of a higher education institution in accordance with section 65(3A) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992(1).

(8) For the purposes of these Regulations a course the standard of which is not higher than a first degree course which leads to a qualification as a medical doctor, dentist, veterinary doctor, architect, landscape architect, landscape designer, landscape manager, town planner or town and country planner shall be considered to be a single course for a first degree or for an equivalent qualification notwithstanding that the course may lead to another degree or qualification being conferred before the degree or equivalent qualification, and notwithstanding that part of the course may be optional.

(9) For the purposes of Article 3 of the Order and regulation 4(1) the Department may designate courses of higher education which are not designated under paragraph (1).

(1)

1992 c. 13; section 65(3A) was inserted by section 27 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (c. 30)