After much lobbying from Skill, the Open University and others, welcome news at last from HEFCE, as they have confirmed students in receipt of DSA will be exempt from the ELQ policy.
ELQ and students receiving Disabled Students Allowance
At its meeting on 24 January, the HEFCE Board considered whether
students in receipt of Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) should be
exempted from the equivalent or lower qualification (ELQ) policy. The
Board asked the executive to review the recommendation and gave the
chief executive the authority to make a final decision. Following this
review and after further discussion with the HE sector, HEFCE has
decided to exempt students in receipt of DSA from the ELQ policy. This
exemption will be in addition to the other proposals for implementing
the ELQ policy set out in HEFCE 2007/27
www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2007/07_27/
Disabled students are currently under-represented in higher education.
This exemption should reduce the extent to which the ELQ policy provides
a barrier to their participation. It will also help secure a
publicly-funded route for students who develop a disability following
their first qualification, and who may therefore need to retrain for a
new career.
Further details regarding the treatment of students in data returns to
HEFCE will be provided in March 2008, as part of its guidance clarifying
the fundability status of ELQ students. Queries about this exemption,
and about other elements of the ELQ policy, can be sent to
[log in to unmask]
More information about funding equivalent or lower qualification (ELQ)
is at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/funding/elq/
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