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1. Introduction

Providers funded by the Department for Education are required to submit data returns about higher education students through the Individualised Learning Record (ILR). This guidance details how to request learning aims, through the learning aim reference service (LARS), that are recognised by the Office for Students (OfS) for regulatory purposes (including aims which are recognised for OfS funding).

This guidance will be relevant to learning providers, management information managers, software suppliers, and/or your relevant personnel responsible for making:

• applications for new learning aims on the LARS (within an apprenticeship standard or freestanding)
• amendments to existing learning aims
• data returns through the individualised learner record (ILR)

2. Understanding our terminology

The terms ‘we’, ‘our’, ‘us’ and ‘DfE’ refer to the Department for Education.

We use the terms ‘you’ or ‘your’ to refer to providers delivering higher education provision or other training providers.

Find a learning aim (FALA) is the search engine used for data held on LARS.

LARS refers to the database holding all data relating to qualifications (including HE provision), apprenticeships, units, T Levels and learning aim class codes.

3. Changes to this document

• Removal of reference to Learn Direct Classification System (LDCS) codes
• Introduction of Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) codes
• Removal of Sector Subject Area annex
• Removal of requirement for validation letter from April 2025

4. Request for new learning aim(s) on LARS

You must make requests for new higher education learning aims using the higher education learning aim request form.

Submit your completed request forms through the . We will contact you if we need any changes or additional information is required. Please ensure you have submitted the most up to date version of the form. Once accepted and processed, you will receive an 8-digit learning aim reference number.

Learning aims are published on LARS in line with the data collections maintenance schedule.

5. Completion of the higher education learning aim request form

This section explains how to complete the higher education learning aim request form. We will return any incomplete forms.

5.1 Delivery Provider details

You must include the following provider details, as these are required for audit purposes.

• Provider name – The name of your organisation
• Provider number – Your UK Provider Reference Number (UKPRN) from the UK Register of Learning Providers (UKRLP)
• Contact name – The name of the person who will be the main contact regarding this learning aim request
• Contact title – The job title of the main contact
• Telephone number – The telephone number of the main contact
• Email address – The email address of the main contact

5.2 Learning aim details

Please ensure there is no existing learning aim on LARS with the same title, awarding body, learning aim type, level, credit value and subject codes.

Learning aim title

This can be a maximum of 250 characters. From the information you supply, titles on LARS are formatted as follows:

Learning aim type / Subject / Learning provider / Apprenticeship Standard (if required)

For example:

BSc (Hons) in Project Management – University of XXXXXX – Project Manager Degree Apprenticeship.

The delivery provider name in the title reflects who is delivering the provision, not the awarding organisation.

Awarding body/institution

This is the name of the awarding body.

Learning aim type description

For example:

• Postgraduate Certificate in Education
• Professional Graduate Certificate in Education
• Postgraduate Diploma in Education

A list of the learning aim type descriptions can be found in annex A.

Learning aim type description code

For example:

• Post Graduate Certificate in Education is code 9103
• Professional Graduate Certificate in Education is code 9115
• Postgraduate Diploma in Education is code 6004

A list of the learning aim type description codes can be found in annex A.

Level

Please use the to identify the appropriate level of study.

Recognised higher education for OfS funding purposes — Y/N

If the learning aim is recognised for OfS funding, please confirm. See Annex B of the .

Credit value

If known, please complete. For lifelong learning entitlement, this will be a mandatory requirement.

Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) code(s)

All higher education learning aims require a . They are essential for understanding subjects of study, which is key to a wide range of regulatory uses of the data, including for informing student choice and for determining OfS funding. There can be up to 5 HECoS codes assigned, however, more than 3 would generally be considered as exceptional.

Academic year

This should be the first academic year that the learning aim is available from. For example, academic year 2025 to 2026 would include starts between 1 August 2025 and 31 July 2026.

Start date

This is the earliest date learners can start on this learning aim. This is not necessarily the beginning of the academic year. We are unable to process requests for learning aims starting in a previous academic year after the published cut-off dates. Please see the ‘Higher education learning aim request due date’ section on the Learning aim reference service (LARS) guidance page.

6. Completing the amendments section of the higher education learning aim request form

It is important to update LARS with any changes to learning aims. Please use the ‘amendment to learning aims details’ section instead of the ‘new learning aims details’ section.

You must supply the learning aim reference and title to identify the aim you wish to amend.

When closing an existing learning aim, please include:

• ‘last date for new starts’ – the last date a learner can enrol on the course (allowing existing learners to continue)
• ‘end date’ – no learner can continue or gain certification beyond this date

Both dates are checked during the validation process of ILR submissions. This ensures availability for new starts and that the learning aim is still valid at the planned end date. We will leave the ‘last date for new starts’ and ‘end date’ blank, unless these dates are supplied. For providers and learners, it is beneficial to keep us informed of these dates.

7. How to use Find a Learning Aim to search for your learning aims

LARS offers a web-based search facility called (FaLA). It allows users to search by commonly used fields for learning aims, qualifications, units, apprenticeship standards and their associated validity and funding details.

There are several ways a search can be performed. The main screen allows a search by entering the learning aim reference or title of your learning aim.

To search by awarding body, leave the search box on the main screen blank and click the ‘search’ button. A list of filters will then be displayed. You can then select your chosen awarding body from the ‘Awarding body’ filter. The results are displayed in learning aim reference order.

Using these filters will also enable you to search by level

8. Annex A: Learning aim type descriptions and codes

Typical higher education qualifications	Level	Code
PhD and MPhil	8	1411
Masters’ degrees (e.g. MA, MSt, March, ProfMasters, M Hort)	7	2001
Masters’ of Science (MSc)	7	9101
Masters’ of Business Administration (MBA)	7	9109
Master of Research (MRes)	7	1464
Master of Music (e.g. MMus Performance Degree)	7	0393
Masters’ degree in Education (MEd)	7	1410
Enhanced First Degree or Integrated masters’ degrees (e.g. MEng, MChem, MPhys, MPharm,)	7	6003
Pre-registration First Degree Leading to Practise with GMC, GDC or RCVS (e.g. MB ChB, MB BS, BM BSc; BDS; BVSc, BVMS)	7	9013
Master of Laws (LLM)	7	9114
Postgraduate diplomas	7	0125
Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)	7	9103
Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE)	7	6004
Postgraduate certificates	7	0065
Bachelor of Arts (BA)	6	9000
Bachelor of Science (BSc)	6	9002
Bachelor of Engineering (BEng)	6	9107
Bachelor of Education (BEd)	6	1409
Bachelors of Performing Arts, Bachelor of Philosophy	6	6002
Bachelor of Laws (LLB)	6	1407
First Degree	6	E007
Bachelor of Music Performance Degree (BMus Performance)	6	0394
Bachelors’ Degree (Not BA, BSc, BEng, BEd)	6	6002
Ordinary (Non-honours) First Degree	6	9009
Professional Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)	6	9115
Graduate diplomas, Graduate certificates	6	0071
Diploma in Education and Training (120 Credits)	5	1458
Diploma in Education and Training (45 Credits)	5	1459
Foundation degrees (e.g. FdA, FdSc)	5	9110
Foundation Degree Bridging Course	5	6001
Diplomas of Higher Education (DipHE)	5	9112
Professional Diploma	4 / 5 / 6	0111
Certificate in Education	5	1465
Higher National Diplomas (HND)	5	0032
Certificate of Education (CertEd)	4	9111
Higher National Certificates (HNC)	4	0031
Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE), Higher Certificate, Professional Certificate	4	0084
Certificate in Education and Training (36 Credits)	4	1457
University Certificate	4	9001
CPD and Micro-credentials	4 - 8	9116
Modules	4 - 8	9117
Diploma	4 - 8	0006
Certificate	4 - 8	0016
Award	4 - 8	1452
Other	4 - 8	4342