20. After regulation 119 (Payment of grants for fees), insert—
119A.—(1) The Department must pay the distance learning fee loan for which an eligible distance learning student qualifies to an institution to which the student is liable to make payment.
(2) The Department may pay the distance learning fee loan in instalments.
(3) The Department must not pay the distance learning fee loan or first instalment of the distance learning fee loan before the Department has received from the academic authority—
(a)a request for payment; and
(b)confirmation (in such form and at such times as may be required by the Department) of the student’s undertaking the designated distance learning course for the period to which the instalment relates.
(4) The academic authority must inform the Department when a student ceases to undertake the designated distance learning course during the academic year.
(5) No payment of distance learning fee loan or instalment of distance learning fee loan can be made in respect of a designated distance learning course once the academic authority has informed the Department that the student has ceased to undertake the course during the academic year.
(6) In this regulation, “confirmation of the student’s undertaking” means confirmation from the academic authority that the student—
(a)has enrolled for the academic year and has begun to undertake the course for that academic year, where the confirmation relates to payment of the distance learning fee loan or the first instalment of the distance learning fee loan for the academic year; or
(b)remains enrolled and continues to undertake the course, where the confirmation relates to payment of an instalment of the distance learning fee loan other than the first instalment.”.