The Education (Postgraduate Master’s Degree Loans) Regulations 2016

Interpretation

2.—(1) For the purposes of Part 1—

“the 1998 Act” means the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998;

“academic authority” means, in relation to an institution, the governing body or other body having the functions of a governing body and includes a person acting with the authority of that body;

“academic year” means the period of twelve months beginning on 1st January, 1st April, 1st July or 1st September of the calendar year in which the academic year of the course in question begins according to whether that academic year begins on or after 1st January and before 1st April, on or after 1st April and before 1st July, on or after 1st July and before 1st August or on or after 1st August and on or before 31st December, respectively;

“authority-funded” means—

(a)

in relation to educational institutions in England, maintained or assisted by recurrent grants from the Higher Education Funding Council for England;

(b)

in relation to educational institutions in Wales, maintained or assisted by recurrent grants from the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales;

(c)

in relation to educational institutions in Scotland, maintained or assisted by recurrent grants from the Scottish Funding Council; and

(d)

in relation to educational institutions in Northern Ireland, maintained or assisted by recurrent grants from the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland or the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland;

“course” means a taught programme of study, a programme of research, or a combination of both, and which may include one or more periods of work experience, and which leads, on successful completion, to the award of a postgraduate master’s degree;

“designated course” means a course designated under regulation 4 or by the Secretary of State under regulation 4(6);

“Directive 2004/38” means Directive 2004/38 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29th April 2004(1) on the rights of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely in the territory of the Member States;

“distance learning course” means a course on which a student undertaking the course is not required to be in attendance by the institution providing the course, where “required to be in attendance” is not satisfied by a requirement imposed by the institution to attend any institution—

(a)

for the purposes of registration or enrolment or any examination;

(b)

on a weekend or during any vacation; or

(c)

on an occasional basis during the week;

“electronic signature” is so much of anything in electronic form as—

(a)

is incorporated into or otherwise logically associated with any electronic communication or electronic data; and

(b)

purports to be so incorporated or associated for the purpose of being used in establishing the authenticity of the communication or data, the integrity of the communication or data, or both;

“eligible prisoner” means a prisoner—

(a)

who begins a designated course on or after 1st August 2017;

(b)

who is serving a sentence of imprisonment in the United Kingdom;

(c)

has been authorised by the prison Governor or Director or other appropriate authority to study the designated course; and

(d)

whose earliest release date is within 4 years of the first day of the first academic year of the designated course.

“eligible student” has the meaning given in regulation 3;

“equivalent or higher qualification” means a qualification determined in accordance with paragraph (2) to be an equivalent or higher qualification;

“EU national” means a national of a Member State of the EU;

“fees” has the meaning given in section 41(1) of the Higher Education Act 2004(2);

“full-time equivalent” means a full-time course leading to a postgraduate master’s degree in the same subject as the part-time course in question;

“healthcare bursary” means a bursary or award of similar description under section 63 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968(3) or Article 44 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972(4);

“information” includes documents;

“Islands” means the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;

“period of eligibility” has the meaning given in regulation 5 in relation to an eligible student;

“periods of work experience” means—

(a)

periods of industrial, professional or commercial experience associated with the designated course at an institution, but at a place outside that institution;

(b)

periods during which a student is employed and residing in a country whose language is one that the student is studying for that student’s designated course (provided that the period of residence in that country is a requirement of that student’s course and the study of one or more modern languages accounts for not less than one half of the total time spent studying on the course);

“person granted humanitarian protection” means a person—

(a)

who, on the grounds of humanitarian protection, has been granted leave to remain under the immigration rules as defined in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971(5);

(b)

whose leave to remain is extant, or in respect of whose leave to remain an appeal is pending (within section 104 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002(6); and

(c)

who has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the period since the person was granted such leave to remain;

“postgraduate master’s degree loan” means the total outstanding principal, interest, penalties and charges owed by a borrower to the Authority pursuant to these Regulations excluding any interest, penalties or charges payable under Chapter 3 or 4 of Part 2;

“prisoner” includes a person detained in a young offender institution;

“private institution” means an institution which is not publicly funded;

“public funds” means moneys provided by Parliament or by a government authority outside the United Kingdom;

“publicly funded”, unless otherwise indicated, means maintained or assisted by recurrent grants out of public funds and related expressions are to be interpreted accordingly;

“refugee” means a person who is recognised by Her Majesty’s government as a refugee within the meaning of the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28th July 1951(7) as extended by the Protocol thereto which entered into force on 4th October 1967(8);

“right of permanent residence” means a right arising under Directive 2004/38 to reside in the United Kingdom permanently without restriction;

“student loans legislation” means the student support regulations, the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990(9), the Education (Student Loans) (Northern Ireland) Order 1990(10), the Education (Scotland) Act 1980(11) and regulations made under those Acts or that Order, the Education (Student Support) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998(12) and regulations made under that Order or the 1998 Act and regulations made under that Act;

“student support regulations” means the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011(13);

“Turkish worker” means a Turkish national who—

(a)

is ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands; and

(b)

is, or has been, lawfully employed in the United Kingdom;

(2) The Secretary of State may determine that a qualification is an equivalent or higher qualification if—

(a) an eligible student holds a higher education qualification from any institution whether or not in the United Kingdom; and

(b) the qualification referred to in sub-paragraph (a) is a postgraduate master’s degree from an institution in the United Kingdom or is of an academic level which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, is equivalent to or higher than a qualification to which the designated course leads.

(1)

OJ L158, 30.4.2004, p77-123.

(2)

2004 c.8, to which there have been amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(3)

1968 c.46, as amended by 1973 (c.32), 1977 (c.49), 1978 (c.29), 1985 (c.51), 1988 (c.49), 1994 (c.39), 1995 (c.17), 1997 (c.46), 1999 (c.8), 2001 (c.15), 2002 (c.17), 2003 (c.43), 2004 (c.31), 2006 (c.43), S.I. 1996/1008, S.I. 2002/2202, S.I. 2002/2469, S.I. 2004/288, S.I. 2004/957, S.I.2006/1056 and S.I. 2007/961.

(4)

S.I. 1972/1265 (N.I. 14), to which there have been amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(5)

1971 c.77.

(6)

2001 c.41; section 104 was amended by the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004 (c.19), section 26 and Schedule 2 and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (c.13), section 9).

(7)

Cmnd. 9171.

(8)

Cmnd. 3906 (out of print).

(9)

1990 c.6; Repealed by the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (c.30), Schedule 4.

(10)

S.I. 1990/1506 (N.I. 11); amended by S.I. 1996/274 (N.I. 1), Article 43 and Schedule 5 Part II, S.I. 1996/1918 (N.I. 15), Article 3 and the Schedule and S.I. 1998/258 (N.I. 1), Articles 3 to 6 and revoked, with savings, by SR (NI) 1998 No 306.

(11)

1980 c44.

(12)

S.I. 1998/1760 (N.I. 14), to which there have been amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(13)

S.I. 2011/1986; amended by S.I. 2012/1653, S.I. 2013/235, S.I.2013/630, S.I.2013/1728, S.I.2013/3106, S.I.2014/1766, S.I.2014/2013, S.I. 2014/2765, S.I.2015/1951, S.I. 2016/27, S.I. 2016/584.