The government is radically transforming the student finance system to give students access to four years of tuition funding (ยฃ37,000 in todayโs tuition fees) to use on both full and part-time study, and new modules of courses. This means that from the start of the academic year 2025/2026, people across the country are set to get flexible student finance to train, retrain and upskill throughout their lives.
The government says the lifelong loan entitlement (LLE) eligible to those aged 18 up to 60 will make courses more flexible. โThe Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) will empower more people to study in a way that works for them, opening up opportunities for those that might have never considered higher education,โ said a statement from 10 Downing Street. The new system is set out to help people balance training or studies alongside other commitments such as childcare and financial commitments.
Complete overhaul of student finance
From modules and degrees right through to Higher Technical Qualifications, the loan can be used for a variety of courses. Likened to a flexi-travel card, the government says it โallows people to jump on and off their learningโ unlike having a ticket with a single destination. It also gives students the option to track their studies. Much like a bank account, students will be able see how much funding they have left in a personal account, and access information about the courses and modules they can spend it on.
Maintenance loans will be available for more technical and part-time courses
To help students afford living costs, maintenance loans will also be available for students studying more technical and part-time courses (this will only be available for in-person courses). The government says this will โopen up new study and training opportunities for people from all backgrounds.โ
Those who have previously studied will also be able to access the new system, based on student loans theyโve already taken out. And under the LLE, returning students will be granted the opportunity to study at an equivalent or lower level than they previously studied โ something that the current system does not permit.
โLifelong learning is critical to career progressionโ
Commenting on the new system, the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: โI know first-hand the benefits of lifelong learning, having retrained and upskilled numerous times in my journey from apprentice to Education Secretary.
โLifelong learning is critical to career progression, helping to fill skills gaps and boost the economy, which is why this overhaul to our student finance system is so important.
โThe Lifelong Loan Entitlement will give people flexibility to study, train and upskill throughout their working life, in recognition that careers arenโt linear. In doing so, it will facilitate a complete culture shift in the way further and higher education is viewed and who it is available to.โ
Alex Proudfoot, Independent Higher Educationโs CEO said: โWe welcome confirmation of the Lifelong Loan Entitlement, a policy which should herald a new era of innovation, flexibility and diversity in the choices available to students at all ages and stages of their lives.
โThe proposals for 2025 finally introduce parity in the funding system between our high quality degree offer and hands-on technical qualifications.
โIndustries across the UK are crying out for new recruits with cutting-edge skills, and they canโt always wait for degrees to catch up. Independent providers specialise in more flexible approaches to connecting students of all ages with the knowledge and skills they need to get ahead in their career.
โThis innovation has always come naturally to these education pioneers, but they have been waiting a long time for funding policy to catch up. Now it has.โ
Final thought
While colleges and universities across the country welcome the Lifelong Loan Entitlement as a means to revolutionise social mobility and plug skills gaps, some groups are concerned about how the system will work for distance learners. In the academic year 2020-2021 alone, The Open University taught 47% of the UK’s part-time undergraduates.
Prof Tim Blackman, vice-chancellor of the Open University, said the absence of maintenance loans for remote learners was a “major inequity” in measures.
“We know at the OU that maintenance loans make a difference to whether a student is able to study, and currently, we are seeing many of our students abandon their study because they need to prioritise working more hours or paying other bills,” he said.
“These are the very people who often stand to benefit most from higher education because they have faced disadvantages earlier in life, or want to move into more highly-skilled jobs, including in our public services.”