Commitment to the
funding of higher and
further education for
Service leavers
In 2008 the government announced a
package of support to Armed Forces
personnel, their families and veterans. One of
the strands of the Service Personnel
Command Paper commits to providing
Service leavers with access to a first full level 3
qualification (two GCE A-levels or vocational
equivalent), or a first higher education
qualification (a foundation degree,
undergraduate degree or national equivalent)
free from tuition fees.However some points
concerning eligibility need to be understood.
For example, the support only applies to
Service leavers who left the Armed Forces, or
entered their resettlement phase, on or after
17th July 2008 (the day of the announcement).
The support will not be applied
retrospectively and people who left the Forces
prior to this date will not be eligible.
Since the announcement the MoD has
consulted with the Department of Business,
Innovation & Skills (BIS), the Learning and
Skills Council (LSC), the devolved
administrations in Scotland and Wales, the
Enhanced Learning Credits Administration
Service (ELCAS), the three Service
Directorates of Education, Defence
Resettlement staffs and other key players to
implement this commitment and devise an
application process similar to the ELC claims
process to enable eligible Service leavers to
apply for qualifications starting in the academic
year 2009/2010. The challenge has been to find
a model which will work within the three
separate education systems of England,
Scotland and Wales.
The process is now in place and ELCAS
started to accept applications from eligible
Service leavers from 6th April 2009 in time for
courses starting in the new academic year;
August 2009 onwards for further education
(FE) and September 2009 onwards for higher
education (HE) qualifications.
The support is aimed at people who will
benefit the most and the application system is
really no different from the current ELC rules
other than the state (MoD and the relevant
national education authority in England,
Scotland or Wales) paying tuition fees in full
rather than the individual making a
contribution towards the cost. The full policy
can be found in Joint Service Publication (JSP)
898, Part 4, Chapter 3. The ELCAS and single
Service learning forces websites will be
updated with new information as the scheme
beds in and the MoD monitors take up and
evaluates how well it is working including
addressing any issues which may arise.
Background
This opens the gateway to further education
for people who may have joined the Armed
Forces with few or no qualifications and gone
on to achieve a level 2 qualification (GCSE or
equivalent) in the Service but progressed no
further. The MoD has already committed to
the target for all Service people to achieve
level 2 within eight years of service or on
promotion to Sergeant (or equivalent),
whichever is the earlier.
Similarly, Service leavers who may have
joined at level 2 and took the opportunity to
gain a qualification such as an advanced
apprenticeship or other accredited learning
at level 3 (or equivalent), may now be able to
access their first higher level qualification.
Whilst the commitment provides subsidy
for tuition fees individuals may have to
contribute to the non-tuition related costs of
learning which may depend on whether the
learning is full-time or part-time, and the
level of household income. Some applicants
may be able to access means-tested support,
as may other students.
Before making an application Service
leavers are advised to check the national
position on existing support with the
relevant national education authority (BIS or
LSC in England). There may already be
existing free provision by another route: for
example people aged 25 years or under are
already entitled to a first level 3 in England;
there is free entitlement for all who fulfil the
residency requirements on degree/HND
level courses in Scotland; and Welsh residents
also attract some support for FE and HE
provision. It makes sense for Service leavers
to explore alternative routes before
considering support and access through the
ELC top-up scheme, and there are safety
measures in place to prevent double funding.
Eligibility rules
In order to take advantage of this support Service leavers must:
Have completed six years full-time
service
Have previously joined the Enhanced
Learning Credit (ELC) scheme and
completed at least four yearsf qualifying
scheme membership
Only apply for a first eligible FE/HE
qualification at the level for which they
are academically qualified to enter
learning on leaving the Service
Have left the Service or entered their qualifying resettlement phase on or after 17 July 2008
Meet UK residency requirements to qualify for full state subsidy.
Qualification level
This commitment will provide access, free from tuition fees, for either:
A first level 3 or national equivalent. This
refers to a first full level; for example the
achievement of two GCE A levels (A2)
(passes at grades A to E) or vocational
equivalent as defined by the National
Qualifications Framework (NQF) or the
Qualifications and Credit Framework
(QCF) (England and Wales); or in
Scotland a level 6 qualification (SVQ level
3) on the Scottish Credit and
Qualifications Framework (SCQF)
A first foundation degree or first full
undergraduate degree or national
equivalent. Typically to be eligible for this
support, the HE qualifications would be
at levels 4 to 6 on the Framework for
Higher Education and Qualifications in
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
(FHEQ); for example a first
undergraduate degree (including
foundation degree) or higher national
certificate (HNC) or diploma (HND) for
which the entry qualification is lower
than a degree and which normally takes
place at a publicly funded institution. In
Scotland the equivalent qualification is an
HNC, HND or a first undergraduate
degree, undertaken at an FE or HE
institution.
Main features
The provision will take effect from
academic year 2009/2010; for eligible
qualifications starting in
August/September 2009 onwards
The commitment is for nationally
recognised UK based qualifications only.
To qualify eligible Service leavers must
have been resident in the UK for at least
three years prior to the start of the
course and they must continue to remain
in the UK until they complete the
qualification (overseas service whilst
employed in the Armed Forces counts
towards UK residency)
Because it is aligned to the ELC scheme
support can be accessed by eligible
Service leavers for up to ten years after
they leave the Armed Forces
Service leavers should apply though the
ELC scheme using up any of their
remaining annual ELC credits in each
financial year over the length of the
qualification but incurring no direct cost
to themselves in paying towards the
tuition fees
By providing a full state subsidy to pay for
tuition fees only, the MoD will continue
to pay its contribution towards course
fees under the ELC scheme (up to a
maximum of 1,000 or 2,000 per
financial year) and BIS/LSC or the
devolved administration equivalents in
Wales and Scotland (where not already
provided through existing national
support ) will buy out the minimum 20%
personal contribution which would have
been paid by the individual using their
ELC
If ELC have been exhausted in-Service,
Service leavers will still be eligible to
apply for support at the next higher level
qualification on leaving but only where
this meets the eligibility criteria. For
example, those who may have achieved a
level 3 (or equivalent) but hold no higher
level qualification may apply for support
to undertake their first foundation
degree. Similarly, those who hold a
foundation degree (or equivalent) but
who leave with no higher level
qualification could apply to top up to a
full undergraduate degree
If ELC have already been exhausted in-
Service the commitment to fund the
tuition fees in full transfers to BIS/LSC or
the devolved administration. In these
circumstances to help reduce the level of
bureaucracy, speed up the process and
until other arrangements can be put in
place, the MoD will continue to pay the
course fee in full but reclaim it back from
the relevant national education
authorities
Once ELC run out after leaving, the
commitment for any continued funding
to complete the first FE or HE
qualification will transfer to BIS/LSC or
the devolved administration
Provision must be delivered through
publicly-funded FE and HE institutions
some of which may already be listed as
existing approved ELC providers.
Providers delivering non-publicly funded
FE/HE qualifications are not eligible to be
considered for this scheme
The provision is only available for
nationally recognised qualifications only;
those accredited by nationally recognised
awarding bodies and delivered through
FE or HE institutions. This means some
qualifications currently supported
through ELC such as pilots licences, some
sports qualifications and what are known
as vendor/industry standard qualifications
will not attract the state top up and will
be ineligible for this support
The provision will not be retrospectively
applied to anyone who left the Services
prior to 17th July 2008
This fully state subsidised support may be
transferred to the spouse or civil partner
in the case of death in service or medical
discharge where an individualfs medical
condition is so severe that it will prevent
them from taking advantage of the
educational support. In such
circumstances the scheme eligibility rules
must be met in all other respects. The
spouse or partner must also be in a
position to benefit from the support by
undertaking their first full level 3 (or
equivalent) or first higher education
qualification.
Making an application
Firstly read Joint Service Publication (JSP)
898, Part 4, Chapter 3
Find and talk to an education/learning
and resettlement adviser
Download the application from the ELC
website; only this version can be used
and any other replicated form will be
rejected
Check the ELCAS database of approved
providers . publicly-funded providers for
the purpose of this support will be
highlighted.
If wishing to use a new provider ensure
they will be eligible to participate in this
scheme (they must deliver publiclyfunded
FE/HE) and ask them to apply for
scheme membership using the
information on the ELC website
As with the current ELC scheme . do
not leave everything to the last minute.
Allow time for any new providers to be
accepted onto the scheme. Once
accepted applications may be submitted. Allow at least six weeks to go through
this process . more if possible. Leaving it
late may result in the application not
being processed in time for the start of
the course
For the purposes of this scheme, where
the state pays the tuition fees in full,
providers will be expected to waive any
initial registration fee to help reduce the
level of bureaucracy. Applicants should
not pay any of their own money towards
the cost of their tuition fees. If they do it
will not be refunded.
Help and advice
For general enquiries about the scheme,
eligibility and the qualifications, seek advice
from single Service education and
resettlement staff, not ELCAS. The ELCAS
role is to administer applications, not provide
advice and guidance on eligibility or
education/learning or resettlement needs.
Policy helplines are:
RN . FLEET-FOST-TE EL3R RESET SO3C
Tel Mil: 93832 5954 Civ: 020392 625954
Army . LF-DETS(A)-ETS2 Tel Mil: 94344
8729 Civ: 01980 618729
RAF . 22 Training Group . Learning
Forces Tel Mil: 95221 5957 Civ: 01494
495957.
A final message to Service leavers
This additional support will go a long way
in helping Service leavers achieve their
first full level 3 (or national equivalent) or
first HE qualification. This will help pave
the way for return to civilian life or
provide assistance at a later stage for
those who have left to achieve a useful
nationally recognised qualification
As competition becomes fiercer in a time
of economic downturn, having skills and
qualifications in addition to a wealth of
experience gained in the Armed Forces
may edge when seeking employment
All the tuition fees are free, so the cost
to the individual is time and effort.
Optimising available funding for Service leavers
The MoD has revised the use of learning
credits with the individual resettlement
training costs grant to fund the same learning
activity providing the proposed learning met
fully the criteria of the learning credits
schemes. IRTC is provision for a specific
short-term training purpose with an
immediate resettlement end; whilst learning
credits are primarily aimed at longer term
education to benefit the individuals personal
development and therefore also the Service.
Removing the policy that has previously
prohibited the use of IRTC in concert with
learning credits provides better targeted
public funding where the learning leads to the
same outcome: which is, for ELC, a nationally
recognised qualification at level 3 or above
on the national qualifications framework. This
supports the national skills pool by increasing
the take-up of qualifications at level 3 and
above. IRTC with SLC can be used for
smaller scale learning activities in accordance
with the SLC scheme criteria.
There are no new forms to complete; the
process for submitting an IRTC claim or a
claim for learning credits remains exactly the
same but both claims can be submitted under
the current resettlement or learning credits
scheme rules to pay for the same eligible
learning activity. Eligible is the key word here
as the learning activity (a recognised
qualification or other permissible use) must
meet fully the eligibility rules laid
Higher-level qualifications
Understanding what qualification is eligible
for ELC funding can be a challenge. It seems
simple enough to state that the qualification
must be listed at level 3 or above on the
national qualification framework (NQF)
(England and Wales) or at the equivalent
(level 6 or above) on the Scottish credit and
qualifications framework (SCQF). And for
the vast majority of higher level qualifications
these frameworks are the authoritative
reference lists. But there are many other
qualifications available which seem to be
tried and tested, worthwhile and valued by
employers.
First of all it is important to understand
the difference between academic and
vocational qualifications. At level 3 and
above on the NQF (level 6 on the SQF)
these fall into well recognised categories
such as A-levels, certificates in higher
education, diplomas, foundation degrees,
higher national diplomas, graduate
certificates/diplomas, bachelors degrees,
masters, postgraduate certificates and
diplomas and doctorates.
Vocational qualifications include a range
of certificates and diplomas at NVQ levels 3
to 5 with vocational diplomas at the highest
level. Both academic and vocational higher
level qualifications now equate to generic
levels in the NQF structure.
Other qualifications
There are many other qualifications, and the
MoD and the Enhanced Learning Credit
Administration Service (ELCAS) go to great
lengths to quality assure providers wishing
to apply for Approved Learning Provider
status. By keeping the numbers within a
manageable ceiling they can ensure there are
sufficient resources to carry out rigorous
evaluation and inspections, compare and
benchmark provider service delivery,
support and course costs, and, equally
importantly, ensure that those higher level
qualifications offered are eligible for ELC
funding.
However it can still be difficult to decide
whether a course which does not appear on
the NQF (which can be for a number of
reasons) is eligible for ELC support. There
are many industry standard or vendor
certificates and qualifications on the market;
the majority linked to vocational skills and
highly valued by employers. Unfortunately,
there are many worthless ones around too,
which may not be valued and recognised by
an employer; or may not enhance skills to
benefit career and promotion prospects in
the Service or to help find employment on
leaving them.
To provide some recognition and
support for worthwhile qualifications and to
eliminate the rogue ones, the MoD and
ELCAS liaise with approved providers;
awarding, regulatory, and governing bodies;
and sector skills councils across the major
skills sectors. The object is to bring some
sense and understanding to these other
qualifications and determine, where
appropriate, higher level equivalence.
Equivalence of the training leading to
award of a private pilots licence has been
agreed at level 3 with the Civil Aviation
Authority. The e-Skills sector skills council
has been involved in pulling together a
matrix of eligible higher level vendor IT
qualifications and similar work has taken lace
with Summit Skills on building services
engineering. Agreements have also been reached with the Health and Safety
Executive, PADI and BSAC to approve the
instructor level diving courses which can be
supported through the ELC scheme.
This work will continue, in the drive to
provide clear guidance and advice. But not
all organisations are quick to respond and
some may not know the answers. It can take
time to agree which vocational courses
equate to a higher level academic equivalent
in terms of rigour, commitment and learning.
The ELC scheme is largely meant to be
about personnel pursuing higher level
learning delivering benefits to both the
learner and the Armed Forces. But it also
allows level 3-plus learning to be pursued
during resettlement or for up to 10 years
after leaving the Services. The majority of
this learning is likely to be vocational
(learning new skills or enhancing existing
ones) with the qualification benefiting the
learner and a future employer and,
nationally, adding to the UKs skills base.
The major difficulty claimants and
countersigning education/learning staff have
is determining whether a vocational course
leading to qualification should be supported
through the ELC scheme. For the vast
majority of qualification courses the rule is
clear: the qualification must appear on the
NQF or national equivalent. However, if an
industry standard qualification has been
assessed as being at NQF level 3 or higher,
and accepted by a reputable awarding or
regulatory body, this information will appear
on the ELCAS website, linked where
possible to external advice and guidance.
These instances are likely to be rare but,
when they arise, it is the responsibility of
learning providers and individual claimants
to prove that a qualification is at level 3 or
above.
Improving ELC scheme administration
ELCAS, MoD and the Service scheme
administrators continue to review,
streamline and improve the claims
procedure. But the scheme operates within
strict guidelines. Funding must be
accountable, with robust and fully auditable
systems in place to track how ELC are used
to pursue higher level qualifications.
Inevitably learning providers may have to
tweak their course registration process,
invoicing procedures and learning support
to comply with the particular requirements
of the ELC scheme taking into account the
particular circumstances of Service life.
Claimants can also help things run
smoothly. ELCAS continues to deal with a
high proportion of claims that are queried
or rejected. Almost 20% of all claims
received do not comply with the correct
claims authorisation procedures, and this
figure is even higher for those received by
education staff.
Some of the main reasons for rejection
include applicants enrolling on a course
and sometimes paying a fee without first
obtaining the necessary claims authorisation
note (CAN) from ELCAS. Other learners
fail to allow sufficient time between
submitting a claim and starting a course.
This process takes at least five weeks; it can
take ELCAS up to 15 working days to
generate a CAN. Any claim submitted
within 15 working days of the start of the
course will be automatically rejected by
ELCAS as there is insufficient time to
process it. This problem is exacerbated by
submission of a second or third ELC claim
which is automatically rejected because the
course evaluation form for the previous
claim was not completed.
Learners should plan ahead, research
and discuss their learning with their line
manager and Service education or learning
adviser. This equally applies to qualifying ex-
Service people using their ELC; some of
whom, again, leave their claim submission
until the last minute. The 15-day margin is in
place for good reasons. If people do not
plan sufficiently ahead they can be
significantly out of pocket as retrospective
claims are not allowed under any
circumstances.
Another frequent reason for claim
rejection is that the course does not meet
the necessary minimum criteria (level 3 or
above on the NQF) or even that the
learning provider is not on the ELCAS
approved list. Failure to follow the correct
procedure for signing, authorising and dating
the claim form, the claim not being received
in the qualifying financial year, applicants
with less than four years service and
therefore not eligible to claim an ELC, and
incorrect financial data such as the learners
contribution being less than 20% or the
MoDs contribution calculated as exceeding
the 1,000 or 2,000 limit are other
reasons for rejection.
Do not assume that all courses offered
by an approved provider are automatically
admissible under the ELC scheme. This is a
common misconception as one provider
may supply many courses, but only those at
NQF level 3 or above (and equivalent) may
be undertaken for ELC purposes.
Other reasons claims being queried
include: incomplete or illegible forms (25%
of all rejected/queried claims), applicants
not registered on the ELCAS system, or
more than one active claim being processed
for an individual in the financial year. All this
has a knock-on effect and the process for
dealing with claims is delayed while ELCAS
staff follow-up queries. Those that are
rejected and returned add to the burden on
education and learning staff, as valid but
incorrect applications have to be
reprocessed and this is not helped by
personnel moving and sometimes being
difficult to trace.
Learners should:
Learners should:
Plan ahead and get it right first time
Not buck the system or pay up front
Be diligent in completing claim forms.
Post-course evaluation
Another important area that continues to
be neglected is post-course evaluation. To
date, less than a third of applicants are
completing and returning their evaluation
forms. Again, this leads to further chasing,
with ELCAS staff issuing reminders and
education/learning staff taking further time
to trace individuals to pass them on. After
people are chased, the response rate
improves to about 50%, but nothing less
than 100% completion rate is good enough.
Evaluation is extremely important.
Learner feedback is an essential element of
the quality assurance process and provides
the evidence to help the MoD tackle
poorly performing learning providers and,
where necessary, suspend or withdraw
their approved status. It is also a
requirement for the individual to retain a
copy of the evaluation in their personal
development record. If they do not and
cannot provide evidence of course
completion, future ELC claims will be
denied.
It is in learners interests to take the
time to complete the ELC post course
evaluation form.
It is in learners' interests to take the time to complete the ELC post-course evaluation form.
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