WEEKEND READING: Why including only a ‘handful’ of  Level 7 modules from the LLE is a huge, missed opportunity

This blog was kindly authored by Dr Michelle Morgan, Dean of Students, University of East London.

So, the Lifelong Learning Entitlement will come into effect in September 2026.

It will replace:

• higher education student finance loans; and
• Advanced Learner Loans for Levels 4, 5 and 6 qualifications.

From September 2026, learners will be able to apply for LLE funding for courses and modules starting from January 2027 onwards. The Government argues that the LLE will allow people to develop new skills and gain new qualifications at a time that is right for them. This will help drive sustained economic growth, break down barriers to opportunity, broaden access to high-quality, flexible education and training and support greater learner mobility between institutions.

However, yet again, the sector’s postgraduate taught provision has largely been ignored. Originally, no Level 7 courses were included. The latest iteration does now include certain Level 7 courses, specifically PGCE teaching qualifications, undergraduate degrees with an integrated Master’s (e.g. LLM, MEng, MPharm) and specific postgraduate healthcare courses.

By failing to include a significant proportion of the sector’s postgraduate taught provision from the LLE, the ambitions the Government has of creating a skilled workforce will not be as great as it could be. It will be a huge missed opportunity for business and industry (especially for small and medium business) as well as a missed opportunity for higher education to super proof the UK-domiciled postgraduate taught provision. This is why.

The first problem: declining PGT participation of UK-domiciled students

Over the past 10 years, the higher education sector has increasingly relied on international Master’s students, primarily to maintain financial viability in the face of frozen domestic tuition fees and reduced government funding.

Of all the postgraduate taught qualifications offered, EU and Non-EU enrolments are nearly all for Master’s qualifications. In 2024/25, Master’s qualifications accounted for 88% of new EU entrants and 97% of Non-EU, with nearly all studying full-time. However, for UK-domiciled students, Master’s qualifications only constituted around 56% of all postgraduate taught enrolments (see Figure 1). This has been the pattern of postgraduate taught participation for UK domicile students for many years.  Additionally, the HESA data shows that just 60% of UK-domiciled students were undertaking full-time study.

Since 2021/22, UK-domiciled Master’s enrolments have continued to decline (apart from 2024/25 when there was a slight increase: see Table 1). This pattern mirrors that which occurred leading up to 2010/11 and until 2016, when the £10,000 Postgraduate Loan was introduced to re-energise the UK-domiciled market. The aim of the loan was to cover both fees and some maintenance.

The challenges post introduction of the postgraduate loan

As soon as the PG Loan was introduced, you could hear an audible sigh of relief across the sector – there was an attitude of ‘that will solve the problem so let’s just focus on growing the Master’s market’.

However, immediately there were problems.

• As soon as the Postgraduate Loan was introduced, most universities immediately raised their fees to around £9-10K, meaning the loan could only cover the fees and not maintenance. 

• The Postgraduate Loan also differs between UK countries. In England, the loan does not cover stand-alone postgraduate certificates and diplomas, unlike in Scotland (iIf they were included, then the LLE as it stands would not be quite as restricting in enabling participation). In England, under the current funding regime, a student has  to register for a Master’s in order to obtain the Postgraduate Loan, leading to some then choosing to  withdraw after they have achieved the PG Certificate or Diploma they only need.

• The sector did not consider the demands of business and industry, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) regarding other PGT qualifications.

As the 11 University Postgraduate Experience Project (one of 20 projects funded as part of the HEFCE Phase 1 Postgraduate Support Scheme 2013-15 to identify ways to re-energise the UK-domiciled market) found many SMEs did not need Master’s Graduates. Most useful to them was for higher education to provide short courses and modules that provided their staff with advanced skills in key areas such as business and IT, as well as emerging ones such as Generative AI.

The Department for Business and Trade’s report on Business population estimates for the UK and regions in 2024 highlights that there were 5.6 million UK businesses in 2024, of which 5.5 million were SMEs, accounting for 99.8% of all businesses. By ignoring the needs of business and industry, we are losing an opportunity to engage with a critical market.

Where is the postgraduate taught demand?

If an individual needs a Master’s to show that they meet specific industry standards, quality benchmarks, and competency requirements (professional accreditation), this will not stop them from doing a Master’s, even if they have to do it part-time (quite common for UK domiciled students). The current LLE approach may see an increase in integrated undergraduate degrees being undertaken, but this is not where there is demand for UK-domiciled students.

When we start to look at the other 44% of non-Master’s enrolments for UK-domiciled entrants, a very clear pattern emerges. PGCE courses have experienced a notable decline in the past 5 years, hence the logic now of including these courses in the LLE.  However, for other Postgraduate and PG Institutional Credit courses, the dominant mode of study for both qualifications is part-time (see Table 2). When you look at the permanent address of the UK-domiciled student by each year, it is England which does not cover these postgraduate courses (see figures in italics).

The financial demand on UK-domiciled students (especially English) is impacting on postgraduate taught study

When the PG Loan was introduced in 2016, only one cohort had graduated under the £9k a year fee regime introduced in 2012. Now we have 13 cohorts. There has been a decline across all age groups, as Table 3 shows, but the most notable is across UK-domiciled 21-24 year old participants. Therefore, it is  not a surprise that the largest group investing in postgraduate taught study are those with the smallest amount of undergraduate debt (older students). This is only going to get worse.

We need a rethink

The LLE in its current form will not super-proof the pipeline for longevity of postgraduate taught study, nor provide the advanced skills that are meaningful and needed for the individual, society and business and industry. It will not enable our most debt-ridden students to engage in postgraduate level study and it will continue to reinforce a divide between students from advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds.

A Times and Sunday Times article showed how parental financial support differs by student groups and universities. The universities where parents pay the most – up to £30,000 – are mainly Russell Groups. And recently, the National Union of Students published a report showing that 86% of parents support their child financially at university .

When you explore postgraduate taught participation by ethnicity, the UKCGE Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Postgraduate Study 2022/23 report highlighted that 69% are white. How will the factors highlighted above enable widening participation at the postgraduate level, which delivers advanced skills, competencies and knowledge?

Nor can we assume that the SMEs will have the financial resources to pay for other postgraduate courses due to the facing severe financial pressure they face – primarily driven by record-high tax burdens, increased labour costs (National Insurance), and high utility bills. 

So, we need to start thinking now about the long-term implications of student debt, and social and economic needs so we can develop policy, strategy and practice.

To do this though, the sector needs to start thinking about how we can reimagine and do things differently. This includes offering postgraduate certified modules and short courses. Government needs to listen to key stakeholders, the requirements of business and industry and review the current student loan system. Universities must proactively work together and not against one another to drive change.