Forty-one.
It has to be said the number of students taking out a short course loan during the first year of the Higher Education Short Course trial fell significantly short of government and regulatory expectations.
More than 2,000 students were initially projected to engage with 100 short, module length courses offered by 22 providers during the 2022-23 academic year – with support for course development provided (to the tune of £2m) by the Office for Students.
A part of the rationale for the trial was to examine how easily universities and colleges could convert existing modules into stand-alone courses, but it was also anticipated that the trial could tell us more about the applicant and student experience. The low participation means that data on these latter issues is subject to major statistical caveats – being so uncertain about so much does suggest that the trial may not have worked as planned.
