A £5 million degree level short course trial hit a fifth of its student recruitment target, an interim evaluation has found, raising further questions about demand for the upcoming lifelong learning entitlement.
Between April 2024 and July 2025, enrolments on the Department for Education’s modular acceleration programme totalled 352 – about 80 per cent short of the 1,800 learners anticipated by colleges delivering the courses.
Students on the programme took individual modules of higher education courses in areas such as business, construction and digital skills that are “stackable” into a full level 4 or 5 higher technical qualification.
The concept of offering learners short, modular HE courses is central to the government’s “transformational” plans to reform the student loan system into the lifelong learning entitlement (LLE).
According to an interim evaluation, the programme was challenged by “low levels of understanding” from employers, getting interest from students was a “major challenge”, and providers found the rules on gaining approval for modules “burdensome and inflexible”.
However, learners were “very positive” about the being able to take short modules of HE courses, with most reporting that the content and delivery of the course was as expected.
The £5 million available in funding covered learners’ full tuition fees and grants of up to £20,000 per provider. However, the tuition fee cost per learner will be subtracted from their future LLE.
This week’s report, by government social researchers, is the second to show that trials of short HE level courses have struggled to recruit students.
An OfS-funded evaluation of a higher education short course trial that ran in 2022-23 found that just 125 students enrolled out of an expected 2,400.
It comes ahead of the launch of the LLE in September 2026, with courses starting in January 2027.
The report has also been released at a time of intense scrutiny of the student loans system, with the government facing calls to reduce interest rates and reform repayment terms.
Low awareness causes low enrolments
The LLE will be a single post-18 student finance system that will offer loans of up to £38,140, or the equivalent of four years of undergraduate tuition fees, for full level 4 to 6 courses such as degrees or technical qualifications, or modules of some HE qualifications.
First announced by the Conservatives in 2020, the new loan system is an attempt to shift England’s higher education system to a more flexible format that already exists in countries such as the United States.
The latest trial evaluation found that by July last year, around half of the 108 proposed modules had begun delivery, at 18 out of the 25 approved providers.
All but one, University College Birmingham, of the providers delivering courses were general FE colleges.
The highest enrolments were Herefordshire, Ludlow & North Shropshire College, Shrewsbury College and TEC Partnership, with 69, 49 and 43 students respectively.
About half of senior leaders shared “some dissatisfaction” with the number of learners achieved.
The report said: “While some felt they did the best they could with the funding available for demand raising, others said, on reflection, they would do more or approach recruitment differently in the future to generate more engagement in modules.”
Reasons for low enrolment were low awareness and engagement from employers, and learner apprehension.
Providers also reported frustration with adapting short courses due to the “rigidity” of higher technical qualification frameworks.
Higher technical qualifications are a government kitemark awarded to a set of 280 existing level 4 and 5 courses due to their quality and alignment with employer needs.
The report said: “Validation processes, especially when involving external universities, were often described as administratively burdensome and inflexible, making it difficult to adapt assessments or delivery methods.”
The Department for Education was approached for comment.
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