In March 2026, the Department for Education (DfE) wrote to a number of universities to inform them that they had incorrectly classified weekend-only courses as in-person learning (also known as “in attendance” learning), rather than distance learning.
The correct classification of courses is important for determining student finance eligibility. While students on distance learning courses are eligible for tuition fee loans, they are not eligible for maintenance loans (which help towards living costs) and childcare grants. This is the case regardless of whether students are attending in person at the weekend.
The misclassification by universities meant that around 22,000 distance learners had incorrectly received up to £190 million in student finance payments in the current academic year. Initially, the DfE said the payments made to ineligible students would be considered as overpayments, and the Student Loans Company (SLC) was directed to seek their immediate recovery.
In April 2026, however, following a campaign by the National Union of Students (NUS) and concerns about the financial impact of immediate recovery on students, the government said those affected would instead have to repay the maintenance loans through the normal student finance system, while childcare grant repayments would be paused until “at least” September.
What counts as in-person learning?
A higher education course can either be studied full time or part time and “in attendance” (in-person) or by “distance learning”.
The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011, as well as guidance published for higher education providers by the SLC, make clear that a distance learning course is one where students are not required to attend in person. The regulations state that attending in person solely on weekends or vacations, occasionally during the week, or just for the purpose of exams does not satisfy the attendance requirement, and all such modes of study are considered distance learning. In other words, what matters is how the course works in practice. If students are only expected to attend a course on weekends, it counts as distance learning, no matter how the provider advertises the course or how many in-person classes take place.
In recent years, increased attention has been paid to “franchised higher education”, which is when a provider allows another organisation to deliver all or part of a higher education course on its behalf. This included an inquiry by the Public Accounts Committee in April 2024, which found that insufficient oversight of franchised providers had “left the student finance system open to exploitation from systemic and organised fraud and abuse”. As part of its inquiry, the Public Accounts Committee said the DfE needed to clarify what student attendance and meaningful course engagement looked like in practice, because while the SLC used measures of attendance to award student finance, different understandings existed across the sector.
As a result of the inquiry, new guidance on attendance was published by the SLC in July 2025. In December of that year, the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, sent a letter to higher education providers about ensuring franchise arrangements delivered for students and taxpayers (PDF) and referenced the new guidance. In this letter, the Education Secretary also highlighted the fact that while in-person attendance was a requirement to receive maintenance loans, students attending on weekend-only courses were ineligible.
Weekend-only courses ineligible for student finance
Maintenance loans are intended to support students undertaking in-person higher education, on the assumption that regular physical attendance limits earning capacity and creates additional living costs. By contrast, students on distance learning courses are generally not eligible for maintenance loans or other financial support, such as childcare grants. The exception to this is distance learning students who are disabled. Such students can apply for a maintenance loan if they cannot attend their course in person because of their disability.
In March 2026, PoliticsHome obtained a letter from the DfE that revealed a number of mostly franchised higher education providers had incorrectly classified weekend-only courses as in-attendance courses. As a result, the letter said the SLC would cease student finance payments to affected students and recover any incorrect payments that had been made to ineligible students. Providers were also expected to reclassify students as undertaking distance-learning courses. The Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said:
This is not students’ fault. Too many organisations have let their students down, through either incompetence or abuse of the system. Many of these organisations lack the necessary governance and oversight to properly implement clear guidance.
Others have used this loophole as another opportunity to abuse public money. Either way, this is not the standard I expect from our world-class university sector.
The Education Secretary also called for higher education providers to support students facing financial hardship as a result of the withdrawal of support that had been paid incorrectly.
University and student response to plans for immediate recovery
In response, nine universities, including Bath Spa, Southampton Solent, and London Metropolitan, began legal action against the government’s decision, saying they had acted in good faith and that classifying in-person weekend teaching as distance learning “defies common sense”.
The National Union of Students also launched a petition for the affected students to continue to receive maintenance loans and childcare grants. The NUS president, Amira Campbell, said:
Students take on a massive debt to invest in their futures. They trust the government, the Student Loans Company and their universities to handle everything correctly: now that trust has been broken, mistakes have been made, and once again students are made to face the brunt of it.
These are working class students, many of whom are parents, who are using their weekends to gain a degree and invest in their futures. They should not be facing a funding cliff edge because of a mistake or being mis-sold their course. The Department of Education and Student Finance England could be plunging 22,000 students, and their families, into poverty.
There were reports in the media about how the requirement to make immediate repayment was affecting students, as well as the steps some universities were taking to add weekday teaching to courses or transfer students to similar courses that would be eligible for student finance.
Students no longer required to return overpayments immediately
On 20 April 2026, the Education Minister, Josh MacAlister, told the House of Commons during Education Questions that due to concerns about the students affected, overpayments of incorrectly awarded maintenance loans and grants would no longer be collected immediately. He said:
I will share that we are concerned about students affected by providers’ misclassification of weekend courses. As Ministers, we have asked the Student Loans Company to collect any overpayments through normal student finance repayments and pause recoveries of overpaid grants until at least September while we consider the next steps.
Under the student finance system, borrowers only make repayments when they earn above the relevant annual salary threshold. Plan 5 borrowers, who started their courses from August 2023, will repay 9% of their earnings above the current threshold of £25,000.
The SLC has said it would be contacting students “to explain what this means for them and what the next steps are, including their eligibility and entitlement, as well as confirming the repayment process”. It has also published an FAQ article for higher education providers on its website. This confirmed that students will incur no additional interest on their overall loan liability because of an overpayment, and overpayments will not affect their credit score.