Timetable
Amendments to access agreements for 2006-07
We will normally consider any material amendments to an approved agreement for 2006-07 (where bursaries are reduced, eligibility is narrowed or fees are increased) up until 30 November 2005. We have set this deadline as we wish to ensure that applicants, who may have applied to an institution based on the information in an approved agreement and who choose to apply elsewhere, have time to research an alternative course and submit a substitute application in time to be guaranteed equal consideration under the 15 January UCAS deadline. Submission of such amendments after this date might disadvantage applicants.
There is no timetable for non-material amendments, or amendments which are beneficial to students.
We would be happy to discuss suggested amendments with institutions before they submit if this would be helpful.
Amendments to agreements should be sent to accessagreements@offa.org.uk. We will assess amended versions on a rolling basis and will aim to issue decisions on amendments within three weeks of receipt.
Submission of access agreements/ amendments for 2007-08 onwards
Some institutions have chosen not to charge additional variable fees in 2006-07, but may consider submitting at a later date. We will deal with access agreements for 2007-08 onwards on a rolling basis. Access agreements commencing in 2007-08 onwards can normally be submitted up to the beginning of January in the year before they are due to take effect (e.g. January 2007 for an agreement commencing in 2008-09). However, in order to allow institutions to gauge the reaction of the market after the first intake under variable fees, we have agreed that, for agreements commencing in 2007-08, we will accept submissions from FECs and SCITTs by 31 May 2006.
We have set this timetable as we feel that access agreements should normally be approved in good time to allow institutions to include information about fee limits and bursaries in their prospectuses. We will only consider late submissions in exceptional circumstances. Institutions that are not able to comply with the timetable, or have a different recruitment cycle, should contact us as early as possible to discuss a suitable submission date.
We will normally consider any material amendments to agreements (where bursaries are reduced, eligibility is narrowed or fees are increased) by the end of August so that potential applicants have information on the fees charged and bursaries available at the start of the UCAS applications cycle.
There is no timetable for non material amendments, or amendments which are beneficial to students. We would be happy to discuss suggested amendments with institutions before they submit if this would be helpful.
Amendments to agreements should be sent to accessagreements@offa.org.uk. We will assess amended versions on a rolling basis and will aim to issue decisions on amendments within three weeks of receipt.
Last updated 15 November 2005