The Education (Student Support) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

CHAPTER 5 INTERPRETATION OF PART 4

Previous course

32.—(1) Subject to the exceptions in paragraphs (3), (4) and (5), a “previous course” is any full-time higher education course or any part-time course for the initial training of teachers which the student began to attend before the current course and which meets any of the conditions in paragraph (2).

(2) The conditions are—

(a) the course was provided by an institution in the United Kingdom which was publicly funded for some or all of the academic years during which the student took the course;

(b) the course was provided by an institution in the Republic of Ireland and the student was funded under previous regulations for some or all of the academic years during which he took the course; or

(c) any scholarship, exhibition, bursary, grant, allowance or award of any description which was paid in respect of the student’s attendance on the course to defray fees was from public funds or funds attributable to public funds.

(3) A course which would otherwise be a previous course will not be treated as such if—

(a) the current course is a course for the initial training of teachers;

(b) the duration of the current course does not exceed two years (the duration of a part-time course being expressed as its full-time equivalent); and

(c) the student is not a qualified teacher.

(4) A course for the Certificate in Education which would otherwise be a previous course will not be treated as such if—

(a) the current course is a course for the degree of Bachelor of Education;

(b) the student transferred to the current course from the course for the Certificate in Education before the completion of that course or began the current course on completion of the course for the Certificate in Education.

(5) A course for the degree (other than an honours degree) of Bachelor of Education will not be treated as a previous course if—

(a) the current course is a course for the honours degree of Bachelor of Education;

(b) the student transferred to the current course from the course for the degree (other than an honours degree) of Bachelor of Education before the completion of that course or began the current course on completion of the course for the degree (other than an honours degree) of Bachelor of Education.

(6) Subject to paragraphs (7), (8) and (9), for the purpose of determining PC in the formulae in regulations 18 and 25—

(a) each academic year that the student completed on a previous course is counted; and

(b) an academic year of a previous course that the student began or ceased to attend part of the way through the year is counted as one academic year on a previous course.

(7) For the purpose of determining PC in the formulae in regulations 18 and 25, an academic year of a previous course is not to be counted as a year spent on a previous course if—

(a) the student did not qualify for fee support for that year other than because the academic year was a bursary year or an Erasmus year; and

(b) the student qualified for fee support for some but not all of the academic years of that previous course.

(8) For the purpose of determining PC in the formulae in regulations 18 and 25, an academic year of a previous course is not to be counted as a year spent on a previous course if it was a year of repeat study that the student was taking for compelling personal reasons or a year in relation to which the student qualified for fee support because he had failed to complete a previous course for compelling personal reasons.

(9) For the purpose of determining PC in the formulae in regulations 18 and 25, where a student transfers from an academic year of one designated course to an academic year of another designated course before the Department considers that he has completed the year from which he is transferring, the time spent by the student during the academic year in which the transfer takes place on the course from which he is transferring is not counted as a year spent on a previous course.

(10) A student who undertook a previous course but was not in attendance because he was unable to attend for a reason which related to his disability is only treated as if he were in attendance on the previous course in respect of periods of study beginning on or after 1st September 2006.

Bursary year, ordinary duration, preliminary course, qualifying year of study and standard academic year

33.—(1) A “bursary year” is an academic year of a course—

(a) in relation to which the student is eligible to receive any bursary or award of similar description under Article 44 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972(1) or section 63 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968(2) the amount of which is calculated by reference to his income; or

(b) in relation to which the student is eligible to receive a Scottish healthcare allowance the amount of which is calculated by reference to his income.

(2) The “ordinary duration” of a designated course is the number of academic years that a standard student would take to complete the course excluding any academic years of the designated course that are bursary years or Erasmus years.

(3) A “standard student” is a student who is to be taken—

(a) to have begun the designated course on the same date as the eligible student in question;

(b) not to be excused any part of the course;

(c) not to repeat any part of the course; and

(d) not to be absent from the course other than during vacations.

(4) A “preliminary course” is a course mentioned in paragraph 2 or 3 of Schedule 2 that is taken before a full-time degree course (other than a first degree course for the initial training of teachers) or a foundation degree course that is taken before a full-time honours degree course, as the case may be.

(5) A “qualifying year of study” is an academic year of a course—

(a) in respect of which the student qualified for fee support (even if the amount was nil);

(b) that was a bursary year; or

(c) in respect of which the student would have qualified for fee support (even if the amount would have been nil) if he had been an eligible student or the current course had been designated at the beginning of that year.

(6) A “standard academic year” is an academic year of a designated course (other than an academic year that is a bursary year or an Erasmus year) that would be taken (in whole or in part) by a person who does not repeat any part of the course as from 1st September 2006 and who enters the course at the same point as the eligible student.

Miscellaneous

34.—(1) An eligible student is not prevented from qualifying for fee support under this Part by virtue of having an honours degree from an institution in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland for which he received financial support under previous regulations if—

(a) the current course is a course for the initial training of teachers;

(b) the duration of the current course does not exceed two years (the duration of a part-time course being expressed as its full-time equivalent); and

(c) the student is not a qualified teacher.

(2) Where the current course is considered to be a single course because of regulation 5(5) and (6) and it leads to an honours degree from an institution in the United Kingdom or relevant institution of higher education in the Republic of Ireland being conferred on the eligible student before the final degree or equivalent qualification, the eligible student is not prevented from qualifying for fee support under this Part in respect of any part of the single course by virtue of having that honours degree.

(3) For the purposes of calculating the amount of fee support, an institution that provides courses designated by regulation 4 of the Education (Student Support) (Dance and Drama) Regulations 1999(3) is not to be regarded as publicly funded 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(4).

(4) Where an institution allows an eligible student to study the content of one standard academic year of the designated course over two or more academic years, for the purpose of determining whether the student qualifies for fee support for those years, the last of such years of study is to be treated as a standard academic year and the preceding years of that kind are to be treated as years of repeat study other than for compelling personal reasons.

(1)

S.I. 1972/1265 (N.I. 14)

(2)

1968 c. 46; section 63 was amended by the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1972 (c. 58), Schedule 7, the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 (c. 32), Schedules 4 and 5, the National Health Service Act 1977 (c. 49), Schedules 15 and 16, the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (c. 29), Schedules 16 and 17, the Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51), Schedule 17, the Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c. 49), section 20, section 25(2) and Schedule 3, the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39), Schedule 13, the Health Authorities Act 1995 (c. 17), Schedule 1, the Local Government Reorganisation (Wales) (Consequential Amendments No. 2) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/1008), the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997 (c. 46), Schedule 2, the Health Act 1999 (c. 8), Schedule 4, the Health and Social Care Act 2001 (c. 15), Schedule 5, the National Health Service Reform and Social Care Professions Act 2002 (c. 17), Schedules 2, 5 and 9, the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 (Supplementary, Consequential etc Provisions) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2469), Schedule 1, the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 (c. 43), Schedules 4, 11 and 14, the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 Commencement (No. 2) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/288), article 7, the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 (Commencement No. 1) (Wales) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/480), article 6 and the Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2004 (Consequential Modifications) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/957), the Schedule

(3)

S.I. 1999/2263, amended by S.I. 2001/2893.

(4)

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