§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the criteria are relating to private sector colleges of higher education(a) for Government support for fees charged to individual students and (b) for acceptance of the institution for support from a funding council. [171608]
§ Alan JohnsonIf their course has been 'specifically designated' for student support by my Department, eligible students on courses of higher education at private institutions can apply for support for fees, loans for maintenance and, where appropriate, disabled students' allowance. Generally, the fee rate for a specifically designated course at a private institution will be lower than the publicly funded rate and is not subject to means test. For 2004/05, the fee rate is £1,075.
To be designated for support, a course must be:
at least Certificate of Higher Education level and less than postgraduate level;validated by a recognised UK degree awarding body; andof atlest one academic year in durationInstitutions funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) are able to franchise courses to private sector colleges, which would receive indirect funding. To be directly funded by HEFCE, a private sector college would need to be designated for funding by the Secretary of State under section 129 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The Secretary of State, in reaching a decision on designation, will seek advice from HEFCE. In addition to considering what is affordable to fund, the criteria which the Council use in forming their advice can be found in HEFCE publication 01/05, "Transfers Between the Further and Higher Education Sectors", which I have placed in the House of Commons Library.