Ministers plan to use the coming Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) to support English students to take flexible degree modules, but only in areas that have been identified as serving the country’s skills needs.

Releasing further details of its plans for the implementation of the previously delayed LLE, which will replace the current student finance system, a policy document says learners can use some of their £38,140 entitlement to take either full level 6 degree programmes or individual modules from those courses.

But these should be in subjects that “address priority skills needs and align with the government’s industrial strategy”. Examples given include computing, engineering, physics, nursing, economics and health and social care.

Universities have previously pushed for the LLE – which is intended to foster more flexible study options – to be used to “let people study what they want”.

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In a further change, providers wanting to deliver modular provision will need a gold or silver score in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) to access a faster approval process. 

In a letter to providers outlining the plans, Jacqui Smith, minister for skills, says the LLE will allow institutions “to work in collaboration with employers and local government to develop more flexible models of provision that are aligned with labour market needs”.

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To be eligible for funding, modules must be part of an existing designated full course with the “parent course” delivered by the provider. Modules cannot be delivered through franchise arrangements and must be worth at least 30 credits.

In the , the Department for Education says: “We want new modular provision to be high quality and support wider progression to full qualifications”.

Smith writes that providers will be eligible for “a quick and unbureaucratic approval process” if they have a gold or silver TEF rating and have no Ofsted rating or an Ofsted rating of outstanding or good. This would not include one of the country’s main lifelong learning providers, Birkbeck, University of London, which only has a bronze rating.

The government said it would take “a carefully phased approach to modular provision” from 2027 to prioritise quality and “the protection of public money”. 

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In a further change, the cost of accelerated degrees – which usually take two years instead of three – will no longer have a different overall fee limit. Currently learners pay up to £11,100 a year but only for two years, meaning their degrees could end up more expensive. 

Students participating in courses that require face-to-face attendance will also be able to apply for maintenance loans to support their living costs, with the amount for which they are eligible dependent on the type and duration of study. 

“We want the introduction of the LLE to be a catalyst for change,” Smith writes.

“Our vision is that higher education institutions work in collaboration...to deliver a much more joined-up offer for both young people and adults who want to progress into higher education, benefit from it and progress through it throughout their working lives.”

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However, concerns remain about demand for the LLE, with previous short-course trials suggesting there is limited interest from students, particularly mature learners who might be put off by having to take out a loan. 

Smith says the scheme needs to be part of a “long-term transformational change”. 

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“The policy principles we are setting out today are for the first year of the new system – we are deliberately taking a phased approach and will look to expand the reach of the LLE over time,” she writes. 

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com