One question raised about the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) concerns demand: how many adults want to study qualifications at Levels 4 and 5 rather than a full degree and, in particular, how many want to do so on a modular basis?
Scepticism about demand has received succour from the reported numbers of students on the short course pilots run by the Office for Students (OfS); only 33 are said to have drawn down module-based loans from the Student Loans Company (SLC) since they began in Autumn 2022.
However, to focus on these small numbers is to miss the point.
- First, gauging interest from students and employers in modular provision was only one objective of the pilot.
- Secondly, there is a wide range of evidence that adults want to pursue technical and vocational education at Levels 4 and 5, some of which relates directly to modular provision.
