A. Preamble

1. This document summarises the University’s Apprenticeship Admissions Policy. It is intended to provide an accessible summary for employers, applicants and their advisors. Where more detailed information is publicly available, this is highlighted below.

2. Admissions procedures take account of sector best practice including the precepts of the Office for Students’ Conditions of Registration, Part B: Assuring and Enhancing Academic Quality, Chapter B2: -Recruitment, Selection and Admission to Higher Education and Chapter B10: - Managing Higher Education Provision with Others; The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education – Apprenticeship Standards; and the Department for Education - Apprenticeship funding Rules.

Admission to the University is governed by University Regulation 6.

B. Statement

1. The University aims to admit students of the highest calibre, who have the academic potential and motivation to succeed on its challenging courses.

2. The University will provide accurate information and advice to prospective students concerning its opportunities for Apprenticeships.

3. The University welcomes applications from all candidates with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background. The University is committed to equality of opportunity, as stated in our Equal Opportunities Policy. The University aims to eliminate discrimination on the grounds of gender, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, political beliefs, religious beliefs or practices, disability, marital status, family circumstances, sexual orientation, spent criminal convictions, age or any other inappropriate ground.

4. The University complies with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 (the UK’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)). The University will share information about the progression of an application with an applicant’s intended employer as an Apprentice, and with the relevant funding agencies. The University will not disclose to any other third party any details regarding an individual’s application without the applicant’s permission to do so. This policy of non-disclosure will include family members of the applicant.

C. Admissions Criteria and Selection

1. Absolute minimum entry requirements are developed by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (working with trailblazer employer groups at subject level) published at the Instutitue for Apprenticeships and Technical Education as “standards”.

2. The University and the Employers it delivers Apprenticeships with may also set additional entry requirement thresholds. These criteria must be approved by the University Student Recruitment Steering Group and Course Proposal Scrutiny Panel, and will be published on our Study webpages.

3. Apprenticeship Eligibility Requirements

The UK Government’s Department for Education sets legal requirements for qualification as an apprentice. These include that an apprentice must:

a) Be employed as defined by HMRC;
b) Start their apprenticeship after the last Friday in June of the academic year in which they have their 16th birthday;
c) Be in a position to complete the apprenticeship within the time they have available and have an employment contract that covers the duration of the apprenticeship including their End Point Assessment;
d) Not be enrolled on any other apprenticeship or other Department for Education funded Further or Higher Education programme at the same time they start the apprenticeship;
e) Not use a student loan to pay for the apprenticeship; where an individual transfers to an apprenticeship from a full-time further education or higher education course and that course has been funded by a student loan, that loan must be terminated;
f) Spend at least 50% of their working hours in England over the duration of the apprenticeship; these hours must be regular, planned and known at the start of the apprenticeship
g) Have the right to work in England and have an eligible residency status as defined in Annex A of the prevailing Apprenticeship Funding Rules.

Other exemptions may apply for nationals from certain countries and overseas territories, full eligibility requirements are published in the Department for Education’s Funding Rules which are updated frequently.

Currently, for reasons of apprentice safety, the University does not normally allow applicants to enrol who are under the age of 18 on 1 September during the year that the apprenticeship starts.

4. Vocational Requirements

Individual employers may have specific requirements to take up employment with them as an apprentice. These may be different or in addition to those published in the apprenticeship standards or the entry requirements set by the University. For example, an employer may require an apprentice to have worked for the company for a minimum amount of time, or to have previous experience in a specific role. Any requirements such as this will be communicated to applicants through the employers’ materials advertising apprenticeship opportunities, such as the advertised job description or person specification.

5. Academic Requirements and Admissions Process (or Assessment and Selection)

a) Applicants should provide evidence of attainment of the academic criteria outlined in the relevant published standard, or on the University’s relevant Study pages where this is higher, before employment and enrolment commence. Applicants must meet the minimum entry requirements for their chosen Apprenticeship as set out in the relevant apprenticeship standard or the University’s entry requirements, whichever is the highest. Applicants who don’t meet these criteria may need to undertake further assessment; such applicants will be admitted only if the assessment demonstrates that they have sufficient skills necessary to successfully engage with and complete the course.
b) Academic assessment is undertaken by course selectors (Admissions Tutors) who are normally academics in departments and by professionals in the Admissions Service, to ensure that decisions are made fairly.

c) It is a requirement for all apprentices to gain approved Level 2 qualifications in English and Mathematics prior to undertaking their End Point Assessment. The University will normally require that these Level 2 qualifications are achieved and evidenced prior to enrolling with the University on the Apprenticeship programme. Where this is the case, evidence of achievement will be required as a condition of admission to the University. Applicants who have achieved relevant Level 2 qualifications, but are unable to evidence this, may be permitted to provisionally enrol on the Apprenticeship programme for a maximum period of 5 weeks. By the end of the 5 weeks, applicants must provide acceptable evidence of achievement in the form of original or replacement evidence from the Awarding Body. If the required evidence is not provided, then their provisional enrolment will expire and they will not be permitted to continue the Apprenticeship programme. In some circumstances, applicants who have not achieved a relevant Level 2 qualification in English and/or maths may still be permitted to enrol on the apprenticeship programme, but will be required to undertake and achieve the relevant qualification(s) prior to completing the Practical Period of their Apprenticeship.

6. Applicants are considered by Employers first. Applicants who are successful in the Employers’ selection processes will be recommended to the University who will then verify the application and any supporting materials, and will notify the applicant of its formal decision. This formal decision will be communicated to the applicant by the employer and the University Admissions Service.

7. All eligible applicants will also be assessed through employer selection processes, any further assessment carried out by the University and University academic background checks to determine whether any exemptions must be applied. In line with Department for Education eligibility and funding criteria, where it is identified that a successful applicant already has prior learning which maps to the knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) of the apprenticeship, this will be noted and where necessary the content and cost of the course offered will be reduced to reflect this.

8. In the case of candidates being made an offer, this offer will include any conditions which need to be met in advance of the course starting and the start and expected end dates of the course. In order to take up an offer applicants must have a live job offer from their employer, and an employment contract long enough for the applicant to successfully complete their apprenticeship. The University’s offer is not a guarantee of funding and is subject to applicants’ employment. Applicants will be instructed of the procedure for accepting or declining such offers. Applicants accepting their offer will have the full offer Terms and Conditions brought to their notice in advance of being asked to make this decision.

9. Applicants who do not meet the conditions of their offer before the course (including employment, academic, contractual documentation completion and relevant Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies’ requirements) commences shall be considered, in the first instance, by the academic department to which they have applied, the Work-based and Professional Learning Team, and the Admissions Service, who may decide to either accept the applicant onto the course or escalate the decision. In the case of escalation, final decisions will be made by the Director of Admissions, or the Provost following joint consideration by the academic department; Head of Work-based and Professional Learning; Director of Admissions; and the Provost.

10. Admission decisions are regulated by the Provost, Chair of the Student Recruitment Steering Group. The second schedule of the Statutes of the University allows for the Vice-Chancellor, with the concurrence of the Senate, to refuse to admit any person to the University without assigning a reason.

11. Students with a disability, specific learning difference or developmental condition are encouraged to apply to the University and are considered on the same academic grounds as all other candidates. If accepted by the University, candidates declaring a disability may be contacted by the University’s Disability Services (Wellbeing and Student Support) to discuss their requirements prior to entry, in order to ensure that reasonable adjustments can be made. Where it is not considered reasonable to adjust the decision is referred to the Committee on the Admission of Students to Courses of Study (see C13 below). Applicants should also discuss reasonable adjustments with their employers. Apprentices are not eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowance; where financial support may be required they should discuss possible eligibility for additional ESFA funding with their University Apprenticeship Tutor.

12. The University welcomes applications from individuals who are returning to study and each applicant will be considered on their individual merits against the entrance criteria for the particular course.

13. Individual employers reserve the right to determine whether an applicant can be considered for deferred entry.

14. University regulation 6.3 (3) (b) provides for the consideration of information of a non‐academic nature that may affect an admissions decision. A Committee on the Admission of Students to Courses of Study may consider such information and advise the Vice‐Chancellor that the application be rejected or an existing offer rescinded. Relevant information may include the declaration of a criminal conviction, activities outside of the law, fraudulent information, misrepresentation, or failure to disclose relevant information.

In cases where information of a relevant non-academic nature concerning a candidate for admission to the University is such that the relevant course selector wishes to either reject an application or revoke an existing offer of admission on these grounds, or where the Director of Admissions believes such information should be further reviewed, the course selector(s) or Director of Admissions shall refer the application to the Committee on Admission of Students to Courses of Study for consideration. Such relevant information may include:

(i) activities outside of the law

(ii) anything done or said by the applicant which prima facie presents a clear and immediate danger of infraction of the law, such as violence or threat of violence to persons or serious damage of property

(iii) anything done or said by the applicant (in person or online) that could be considered a breach of our Principles, Dignity at Warwick Policy or Regulation 23 Student Discipline.

15. The University reserves the right to withdraw any offer made on the basis of an application containing fraudulent, incomplete or misleading information.

16. Applicants in receipt of an offer based on attainment in Level 3 qualifications may be made an alternative offer with reduced requirements if the University considers that there are contextual factors which should be taken into account, provided the standards are still met. Contextual factors may include attendance at a school with lower than average GCSE results, living in an area of low progression to higher education or having been in care.

D. Applicants Requiring a Visa

The University cannot sponsor any applicants requiring a visa for study. Candidates requiring student visa sponsorship are not eligible for Apprenticeships and those requiring Skilled Worker sponsorship must be sponsored by their employer. For the avoidance of doubt, those applicants whose visa will expire before the end of the apprenticeship, including the end-point assessment, will not be eligible for admission on to the Apprenticeship programme. For further details on eligibility requirements, please refer to the latest version of the Apprenticeship Funding Rules published by the DfE.

E. Requesting feedback on an unsuccessful application

1. Where applicants are successful in the Employer selection process but do not receive an offer from the University, the University will provide feedback to candidates and their (potential) Employer when this is requested by the candidate in writing either to the Admissions Service or to the relevant academic department.

2. The Admissions Service or academic department will respond to requests for feedback in a timely manner, although timescales may be longer at pressurised points in the admissions cycle.

3. Feedback will normally include generic information to help applicants understand the means by which applicants are selected for the course to which they have applied, but a certain amount of specific information on an individual’s application may be available on request.

4. Feedback will not be provided to any third party including, but not limited to, a parent, agent or other supporter. Feedback will be provided on request to potential employers (see B4 above).

5. The University will not provide feedback to applicants who are unsuccessful in the Employer Selection process.

F. Complaints

1. Complaints from applicants regarding the service they receive during the admissions process will be handled in accordance with the Admissions Service Complaints Procedure.

2. Applicants do not have the right to appeal against the academic judgement made on their application.

G. Monitoring

Under Ordinance 5.1 the Senate regulates the admission of persons to courses of study and the monitoring and reporting of admissions is via Senate committees, including the Academic Quality and Standards Committee (and its sub‐committees). An annual report is also presented to the Social Inclusion Committee, a joint committee of both the Council and the Senate. Detailed admissions information is published and publicly available in the University’s Academic Statistics.