Students who want to study a secondary qualification could still get funding for fees or living costs if they meet the ELQ exception rule. This depends on the course they intend to study.

We will use the subject category (HECoS code) of the course to determine which part-time courses are exempt from the ELQ rule.

If a course has multiple HECoS codes, all of these must be eligible according to the subject category list and the additional specified list of eligible subjects.

Full-time courses

According to the student support regulations, only courses in the below subject categories are eligible from AY 2019/20 as a full-time exception:

• graduate entry medicine and dentistry
• postgraduate pre-registration healthcare
• subjects allied to medicine
• initial teacher training
• architecture

Part-time courses

According to the student support regulations, only courses in the below subject categories under version 1.2 of the Common Aggregation Hierarchy (CAH) are eligible from AY 2019/20 as a part-time exception:

• Medicine and Dentistry (CAH01)
• Subjects allied to medicine (CAH02)
• Biological and Sport Science (CAH03)
• Psychology (CAH04)
• Veterinary Sciences (CAH05)
• Agriculture, food and related sciences (CAH06)
• Physical Sciences (CAH07)
• General and others in sciences (CAH08)
• Mathematical Sciences (CAH09)
• Engineering and Technology (CAH10)
• Computing (CAH11)
• Geography, Earth and Environmental Studies (CAH12)

From AY 2020/21, version 1.3 of the Common Aggregation Hierarchy (CAH) was implemented and the following rules apply in addition to the above:

• Medicine and Dentistry (CAH01)
• Subjects allied to medicine (CAH02)
• Biological and Sport Science (CAH03)
• Psychology (CAH04)
• Veterinary Sciences (CAH05)
• Agriculture, food and related sciences (CAH06)
• Physical Sciences (CAH07)
• Mathematical Sciences (CAH09)
• Engineering and Technology (CAH10)
• Computing (CAH11)
• Geography, Earth and Environmental Studies (CAH26)

Implementation of version 1.3 took place in November 2019 when it replaced version 1.2. This could mean that a course could be classified as CAH08 or CAH26 depending on when the student applied.

To qualify for allied health profession (AHP) disregard the course must fit the definition of 'subjects allied to medicine'. Any courses listed under the 'subjects allied to medicine' definition are considered for the previous study disregard introduced under the AY 2017/18 NHS changes. Any students who already hold an equivalent or higher qualification will not be entitled to further support.

According to the student support regulations, an AHP subject means:

• chiropody
• dental profession subjects
• dietetics
• dietetics and nutrition
• occupational therapy
• orthotics
• orthotics and prosthetics
• physiotherapy
• podiatry
• radiography
• radiotherapy
• speech and language therapy

Part-time courses

According to the student support regulations, courses in the below subject categories under version 1.2 of the Common Aggregation Hierarchy (CAH) are eligible from AY 2019/20 as a part-time exception:

• Subjects Allied to Medicine (CAH02)
• Biological and Sport Science (CAH03)
• Psychology (CAH04)
• Veterinary Sciences (CAH05)
• Agriculture, food and related sciences (CAH06)
• Physical Sciences (CAH07)
• Mathematical Sciences (CAH09)
• Engineering and Technology (CAH10)
• Computing (CAH11)

Welsh language courses which relate to the history, grammar and use of Welsh and have the HECoS codes 100333, 101163 and 100335 also apply. Eligible HECoS codes in addition to the subject categories above are:

• Applied Environmental Sciences – 101078
• Biogeography – 101352
• Childhood Studies – 100456
• Climate Change – 101070
• Cultural Studies – 101233
• Environmental Geography – 100408
• Environmental Sciences – 100381
• Ergonomics – 100052
• Gender Studies – 100621
• Geographical Information Systems – 100369
• Geomorphology – 101064
• Glaciology and Cryospheric Systems – 101394
• Hair and Make-up – 100706
• Hair Services – 101374
• Heritage Management – 100807
• History – 100302
• Hydrology – 101079
• Mapping Science – 101058
• Maritime Geography – 101065
• Philosophy – 100337
• Physical Geography – 100410
• Pollution Control – 101072
• Psychology – 100497
• Quaternary Studies – 101091
• Radiology – 100131
• Remote Sensing – 101056
• Soil Science – 101067
• Water Resource Management – 100986

From AY 2020/21, version 1.3 of the Common Aggregation Hierarchy (CAH) was implemented. In addition to the above, the following HECoS codes which have moved to CAH26 (Geography, Earth and Environmental Studies) remain eligible:

• Applied Geology (101104)
• Atmosphere-ocean Interactions (101351)
• Climate Science (100379)
• Earth Sciences (100394)
• Engineering Geology (101106)
• Environmental Geoscience (100380)
• Exploration Geology (101093)
• Exploration Geophysics (101084)
• Geochemistry (101083)
• Geological Hazards (101082)
• Geological Oceanography (101086)
• Geology (100395)
• Geophysics (100396)
• Hydrogeology (101089)
• Hydrography (101073)
• Marine Sciences (100418)
• Meteorology (100382)
• Ocean Sciences (100421)
• Palaeontology (100398)
• Petroleum Geology (101105)
• Volcanology (101081)
• Materials Science (100225)
• Archaeological Sciences (100384)
• Crime Scene Investigation (101222)
• Forensic Archaeology (101219)
• Forensic Biology (100386)
• Forensic Science (100388)

The following 3 HECoS codes will continue to be ineligible despite their move to CAH07 in version 1.3 of CAH:

• Applied Science (100392)
• General Science (100390)
• Natural Sciences (100391)