Protection of enrolled learners

Protection of Enrolled Learners (PEL) aims to safeguard a learner’s academic journey. It refers to arrangements made for specific programmes to ensure that a learner can complete the programme that they have begun if their programme is no longer offered by their provider for any reason.

A programme in which a learner has enrolled may no longer be offered if a provider stops trading or a provider is unable to continue to offer the programme. A provider may not be able to continue to offer a programme if, for example, the provider does not have appropriately qualified staff, or appropriate physical resources such as equipment, to provide the programme. 

New statutory arrangements for the protection of enrolled learners were implemented on 1st September 2024.  

Up to 1st September 2024 statutory PEL arrangements applied to further and higher education and training providers of programmes leading to QQI awards. These programmes were of three months duration or longer and for which fees were paid. The new statutory arrangements in place from 1st September 2024 apply to a wider group of providers and programmes; they include providers of English language programmes that are authorised to use the TrustEd Ireland mark.

Providers with existing statutory PEL arrangements in place on 1 September 2024 may continue with these arrangements until 1 September 2027. All such providers must have transitioned to the new PEL arrangements by 1 September 2027.

For further details on the new statutory learner protection arrangements, please refer to the following documents:

Providers with existing statutory PEL arrangements in place on 1st September 2024

Further and higher education and training providers with programmes leading to QQI awards and with existing statutory PEL arrangements in place on 1st September 2024 may continue with these arrangements until 1st September 2027. All such providers must have transitioned to the new learner protection arrangements by 1st September 2027.

For further and higher education and training providers protection of enrolled learner arrangements are put in place for programmes leading to QQI awards which have a duration of three months or more and for which fees are paid.

Up until 1st September 2024 the following two types of arrangements were possible:

Academic bonding

Academic bonding allows a learner to complete their programme with another provider. This requires a provider to have an agreement with at least two other providers with a similar programme. These other providers agree to allow a learner in the first provider to finish their programme at their campus.

Financial bonding

If an academic bonding arrangement is not possible, a financial bonding arrangement could be established to give the learner a full or partial refund of fees paid. The refund amount is dependent on the unused portion of the fees paid at the date that the programme ceases to be offered.

Providers with have either academic bonding or financial bonding arrangements in place until 1st September 2027 are required to publish details of these arrangements on their website, stating clearly if these involve academic bonding or financial bonding.

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