Writing and submitting
Writing
The publication ‘Producing Access Agreements: OFFA guidance to institutions’ (OFFA 2004/01) sets out our requirements for access agreements for HEIs and FECs, but the detail is designed to be helpful rather than prescriptive.
‘Producing Access Agreements: OFFA guidance to School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITTs) providers’ (OFFA 2005/02) is also available on this website.
New access agreements for 2008-09
Some institutions have chosen not to charge additional variable fees in 2007-08, but may consider submitting at a later date. We will process access agreements commencing in 2008-09 on a rolling basis within the following timetable:
Access agreements commencing in 2008-09 can be submitted up until 16 November 2007.
This gives us time to process the agreement, including any clarification with the institution, and issue a decision, in time for the institution to ensure that potential applicants have clear information on the fees charged and the bursaries available for the early part of the UCAS applications cycle.
This process will be reviewed for 2009-10.
Late submissions
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.
Submitting
Access agreements should be produced as Word documents. There are no templates or prescribed formats, but institutions must submit the document below.
Access agreement financial return
Forms should be returned via e-mail along with the access agreement to accessagreements@offa.org.uk