The 7 EFTS lifetime limit
The lifetime limit and eligibility
Students generally have a lifetime limit of 7 EFTS entitlement to a Student Loan.
The EFTS count includes all courses starting on or after 1 January 2010 that a student accessed any part of a Student Loan for.
Some students are entitled to more than 7 EFTS. This is when the student has:
- nearly completed 7 EFTS
- already completed 7 EFTS (in specific situations detailed below)
Nearly completed 7 EFTS of study
A student who has used less than 7 EFTS can get another Student Loan, even if their next course or paper will take them over the 7 EFTS limit.
For example, they have studied 6.5 EFTS and have enrolled for another course which is 1 EFTS. They can get a Student Loan for the extra 1 EFTS.
Already completed 7 EFTS of study
A student who has completed 7 EFTS of study, or more if their previous study took them over the 7 EFTS limit, can get extra EFTS in the following situations.
Situations when students can access additional EFTS as they have already completed 7 EFTS of study | How many extra EFTS they can get? |
Completing a postgraduate qualification (i.e. they are finishing off the qualification they started but did not finish before they reached their 7 EFTS limit) Note a student cannot access this extension by transferring credits or points gained before they reached their 7 EFTS limit to a different qualification they intend to complete after they reached their 7 EFTS limit. | Students can get up to an extra 1 EFTS. If a student has already used the extra 1 EFTS for completing an undergraduate qualification from 2016-2018, they can't also get the extra 1 EFTS for completing a postgraduate qualification. |
Studying one of these long undergraduate qualifications:
From 2019, studying the following postgraduate qualification:
| 2019 onwards From 2019, students can get up to an extra 3 EFTS (including if they start study in late 2018). The EFTS will be reduced by the number of extra EFTS they've already used for either:
2016 - 2018 From 2016 - 2018 graduate-entry students could get up to an extra 1 EFTS (including if they started study in late 2015). If a student has already used the extra 1 EFTS for completing a postgraduate qualification, they can't also get the extra 1 EFTS for studying a long undergraduate qualification. |
Doctoral study | Students can get up to an extra 3 EFTS. The EFTS will be reduced by the number of extra EFTS they've already used for either:
|
Limits to accessing extra EFTS
Students can only get up to a maximum of 10 EFTS (plus any previous study that took them over the 7 EFTS limit).
A student can only access each of the additional entitlements (above) once.
Withdrawal from study - EFTS that are not counted
When a student formally withdraws from a course or paper, and the education provider has given a full fee refund (less any withdrawal fee charged), the EFTS aren't counted.
If no fees were charged (eg fees-free study), the EFTS aren't counted as long as the education provider:
- confirms a student has formally withdrawn from the course and
- advises a new EFTS value that confirms the student did not do the course or paper
Partial fee refunds for study in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
When a student receives a partial fee refund for study in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the EFTS value for the course or papers covered by the partial fee refund is not counted.
EFTS calculation
The EFTS calculation for the lifetime limit is different to the EFTS calculation for the performance requirement.
