You can access the Learning Centre Portal through an internet browser. The portal supports Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Safari and Chrome. It does not support Opera.

To go to the portal, go to http://www.learningcentre.uk.com or select the Sign into the Learning Centre Portal button at the top of this page.

1. Go to http://www.learningcentre.uk.com or select the Sign into the Learning Centre Portal button at the top of this page. This will open the portal sign in page.
   
   
2. Enter your username and password and select Sign in. This will take you to the portal Home page.

Signing in for the first time

When you register as a Learning Centre Portal user, we’ll give you a username and a system generated password. When you first sign into the portal, you’ll need to change this password.

Creating a new password that only you know helps to keep your account safe.

Your password must be at least 10 characters long. It needs to contain:

• at least one number
• a mixture of upper and lower case letters
• a special character

If you’ve forgotten your password, you can reset it yourself as long as you know your username.

1. Go to http://www.learningcentre.uk.com or select the Sign into the Learning Centre Portal button at the top of this page.
   
   
2. On the Learning Centre Portal sign-in page, select Forgot your password?
   
   
   
   
3. Enter your username and select Reset my password. You will then get an email telling you how to reset your password.
   
   

The portal Home page is the first page you’ll see after signing in.

On the left side of the page is a menu bar. Select Home from the menu bar to view the following Home page headings:

• messages
• downloads
• reports
• contacts and links

Select each heading to expand it.

There is more detailed information about the Home page elements in the following chapters of this user guide.

At the top of the Home page, you’ll find the New Approved Applications indicator. This lets you quickly find any WGLG FE Learning Agreements that need signing.

If you see a number next to the indicator, select the number. This will take you to a list of students who need to sign their WGLG FE Learning Agreements.

Select the Messages tab on the portal Home page to expand the message area. The messages shown here contain important information for all Learning Centres.

When we post a new message that needs your attention, a 'new' icon will appear next to it.

To read a message, select its title and the message will show in the description area.

Once you’ve read the message, you can archive it so it does not come up every time you sign into the portal. To do this, select the Archive checkbox and then select Save.

If you want to read it again later, select Archived messages.

You can download some WGLG FE related documents from the Learning Centre Portal. These include WGLG FE Learning Agreement forms.

1. Go to the portal Home page and select Downloads.
   
   
2. Open the Select a category dropdown and choose the category of the document you’re looking for.
   
   
3. Open the Select a title dropdown and choose the document you need. A hyperlink to the document will appear under the dropdowns.
   
   
4. Select the document hyperlink to download it.

In this section of the Learning Centre Portal, you can run reports for your Learning Centre.

1. Go to the portal Home page and select Reports.
   
   
2. Open the Category dropdown and choose the report category.
   
   
3. Open the Title dropdown and choose the report you need. A hyperlink to the report will appear under the dropdowns.
   
   
4. Select the hyperlink to download the report.

Service standard reports

You can use service standard reports to see how your Learning Centre is performing during the year.

You can also track your performance over the last few years and check how you’re doing compared to the national average.

1. Go to the portal Home page and select Reports.
   
   
2. Open the Category dropdown and choose Service Standard Reports.
   
   
3. Open the Title dropdown and choose the report you need. A hyperlink to the report will appear under the dropdowns.
   
   
4. Select the hyperlink to download the report.

This area of the Learning Centre Portal Home page shows useful information and links.

For example, you can view:

• the contact information of our Partners Support Desk
  
  
• the contact information of your WGLG FE Account Manager
  
  
• the postal address to send WGLG FE application forms

The menu bar is on the left side of the Learning Centre Portal window. The links here will take you to all the areas of the portal:

• Home takes you to the portal Home page
  
  
• Customer Search lets you search for individual students
  
  
• Worklists lets you search for all your students and show an overview of outstanding administration actions for them
  
  
• Maintenance lets you update groups, holidays, users or profiles
  
  
• User Profile lets you see your user profile, including your username, access roles, Learning Centre name and much more
  
  
• Settings lets you change how you view the Learning Centre Portal
  
  
• Logout signs you out of the portal

There is more detailed information about these menu bar options in the following chapters of this guide.

If you want to minimise the menu bar, select the tree logo in its top left corner. To expand the menu bar, select the tree logo again.

The Customer Search area of the portal lets you find individual students and administer their accounts.

You can use it to view one student’s details at a time, rather than run a bulk search for all students. If you run a bulk search in another area of the portal, you can also open the Customer Search screen if you select a student’s surname in the bulk search results.

The Customer Search area has 4 tabs:

• view application details
• maintain course details
• course and application history
• maintain attendance

Searching for a student here will not only retrieve their application information but populate all these tabs.

The View Application Details tab lets you find students who have submitted a WGLG FE application.

1. To find a student, first select the relevant year from the Academic Year dropdown.
   
   
2. Next, enter the student’s customer reference number or their first and last name and date of birth.
   
   
3. Select Search and the system will bring up the relevant student’s record.

This tab will show you the student’s application status, including if they are an auto rollover student. The Auto rollover indicator is active when an eligible student has been automatically rolled over into the new academic year. Typically, this will apply to second or third year students.

If you need to, you can add notes to a student’s account on this tab. You can also remove an individual student here. However, you should only remove students who have not yet signed their WGLG FE Learning Agreement.

The Maintain Course Details tab is where you update the student’s WGLG FE Learning Agreement for the new academic year.

You must enter information about the course the student is on. The details must include:

• course start date
• course end date
• course duration
• year of study
• subject
• qualification
• study profile
• contact hours
• if the student is progressing
• if the course is designated
• if the student is receiving a training allowance
• extenuating circumstances
• consent to share 

Once you’ve filled in all this information, we can review the student’s application.

You can also use the Maintain Course Details tab to reassess, suspend, reactivate and withdraw WGLG FE Learning Agreements. There is more information about each of these options in the following chapters of this guide.

Extenuating circumstances 

Students can highlight that they are experiencing extenuating circumstances on their WGLG FE Learning Agreement.

You can select the Extenuating circumstances radio button to record this on the Maintain Course Details tab. 

Recording the student’s preferred language

All students can choose English or Welsh as their preferred language on the application form. The WGLG FE Learning Agreement Form will also ask the same question.

When the student confirms their language preference, you will need to record this on the Maintain Course Details tab, along with the other information in their WGLG FE Learning Agreement.

Learning Centres are responsible for approving or rejecting WGLG FE applications based on the level of the course the students are on.

You should reject any applications from students on courses at level 4 or above.

You should also reject any application that does not show progression from a previous year.  Students will not be eligible for WGLG FE if they’ve previously received WGLG FE support for attendance on a course at the same or higher level. 

To reject an application, go to the Maintain Course Details tab, find the Course Designated radio button and select No.

The list of qualifications on the Learning Centre Portal no longer includes 'other'. Instead, you must map your course programmes via the qualifications framework to enter the courses at the correct level.

We've also reduced the list of specified qualification options. This is to ensure that you can only choose levels that have funding attached.

You can find more information about how to map qualifications on the Welsh Government website.

Only further education courses are valid for WGLG FE support. Courses must lead to recognised qualifications up to and including National Qualifications level 3. Higher education courses at level 4 and above do not qualify.

Eligible course types

Entry level:

• preparation for level 1 qualifications
• Traineeship Engagement

Foundation level 1:

• BTEC level 1
• NVQ level 1
• Traineeship level 1
• City & Guilds level 1
• VRQ level 1

Intermediate level 2:

• BTEC level 2
• NVQ level 2
• GCSEs
• City & Guilds level 2
• VRQ level 2

Advanced level 3:

• A levels
• Access to Higher Education
• BTEC level 3
• NVQ level 3
• VRQ level 2

You can use the reassessment option to update a student’s record if they change their academic details. For example, this could be a change of course or contact hours.

Changing academic details can have a serious effect on a student’s WGLG FE eligibility and entitlement. For instance, they may no longer be entitled to receive WGLG FE support.

You must only reassess a student if you are certain that the changes to their academic details are permanent. The changes must also be fully authorised by the relevant staff members at your school or college.

1. Sign into the Learning Centre Portal and select Customer Search.
   
   
2. Run a search to bring up the student’s record.
   
   
3. Open the Maintain Course Details tab.
   
   
4. Select Reassess. This opens a new window.
   
   
5. Enter a new set of course details for the student.
   
   
6. Once you’ve entered all the details, select Save.

You should suspend the WGLG FE Learning Agreement if the student is away from your Learning Centre for an extended period. 

If you know the absence is permanent, you must withdraw them. However, you should also use the suspend option when you’re not sure about the reasons or whether the absence is permanent.

1. Sign into the Learning Centre Portal and select Customer Search.
   
   
2. Run a search to bring up the student’s record.
   
   
3. Open the Maintain Course Details tab.
   
   
4. Select Suspend and enter the effective date.
   
   
5. Select Save. This opens a popup where you can confirm the change.

If a student returns to study after a period of absence and you're satisfied they’ve returned permanently, you can reactivate their WGLG FE Learning Agreement. This will allow them to receive WGLG FE again.

You can only reactivate agreements that are suspended.

1. Sign into the Learning Centre Portal and select Customer Search.
   
   
2. Run a search to bring up the student’s record.
   
   
3. Open the Maintain Course Details tab.
   
   
4. Select Reactivate and enter the effective date.
   
   
5. Select Save.

If a student decides to withdraw from your Learning Centre permanently, you must update the Learning Centre Portal to show this.

You should use the withdrawal option if the student transfers to another Learning Centre. In this case, the student must also contact Student Finance Wales to have the transfer processed for them. 

You should also use the withdrawal option it if a student dies. In this case, you should always contact our Partners Support Desk so we can stop any further correspondence to the student.

1. Run a search to find the student on the Learning Centre Portal. Open the Maintain Course Details tab.
   
   
2. Check if the student’s account is suspended. If not, select Suspend, then select Save.
   
   
3. Select Withdraw and enter the effective date. We will use this date to calculate the exact amount of WGLG FE support the student is entitled to.
   
   
4. Enter further information in the Notes field if you need to.
   
   
5. Select Save.

Once a student has been withdrawn, you can still view their details on the Learning Centre Portal if you need to.

This is where you can check the student’s course and application history.

Select the assessments listed under Course History to view more detailed information.

You can use the Maintain Attendance tab to confirm:

• the student’s attendance for each term
• if the student is progressing or not

Choose the relevant radio buttons, then select Save.

SLC confirmations

You may occasionally see SLC in the Confirmed by column of the Maintain Attendance tab. This means we’ve made the confirmation and you cannot override it on the portal.

If you need to change it, you’ll need to contact our Partners Support Desk who can do this for you.

If you have a student who is on a non-standard academic year, such as a January start course, you should follow this process.

1. The student applies and will receive their Provisional Award Letter.
2. You should confirm the course details on the Learning Centre Portal as normal and contact our Partners Support Desk.
3. The student will receive a Final Award Letter confirming their course details, Learning Centre and entitlement amount.
4. You should confirm the student’s attendance for term 1 and 2 in January and May.
5. You should then contact our Partners Support Desk to update the student’s attendance for term 3 in September.

This area of the portal lets you review and update all applications, WGLG FE Learning Agreement forms and attendances in one place. You can use 2 worklists to do this: 

• Application Worklist
• Attendance Worklist

There is more information about each of these in the next chapters of this guide.

To view all applications, go to Worklists, open the Application Worklist tab and select Search.

You can also use the following search criteria to narrow down the results:

• customer reference number
• first and last name
• date of birth
• groups
• application status
• days since approval

Select a student’s surname to go to their record where you can:

• update their WGLG FE Learning Agreement
• withdraw, suspend or reassess the student
• confirm the student’s attendance

You can also remove multiple students straight from the Application Worklist. To do this, select the Remove checkbox for the relevant students, then select Save.

Application Worklist Export

An export function is also available from the application worklist screen. This means you can export the application worklist to your own local systems.

You must always use this export in line with the Data Sharing Agreement held between the Student Loans Company and learning centres. Each party agrees with the other that it will comply, when applicable, with the obligations of a controller under the provisions of the UK GDPR. They agree that they will only process personal data as is necessary to perform its obligations under the agreement in line with data protection laws.

This means that you can only hold personal data for as long as you need to use it for its stated purpose. You must delete the data from the new application worklist as soon as you have processed the applications as necessary.

Days since approval

You can use the Days since approval option to work out when the period of 10 working days to sign a WGLG FE Learning Agreement will begin.

Students have 10 working days to sign their agreement. We begin counting this from the day their application is approved or the WGLG FE academic year starts, whichever is later. We'll tell you the start date of the WGLG FE academic year, usually in August, before the academic year begins. We’ve also added the Days since approval option to the portal to help you meet the 10 day service standard.

The number of days in the search results is also a hyperlink. Selecting this will take you straight to the student’s WGLG FE Learning Agreement.

Auto Rollover

The Auto Rollover indicator shows when an eligible returning student has been automatically rolled over into the new academic year.

We will automatically roll over any eligible returning students, but you can remove and restore applications as needed.

You can use the Application Worklist tab of the Learning Centre Portal to:

• remove students who are no longer at your Learning Centre
• restore students who have returned

Removing students

1. Open the Application Worklist tab and run a search to bring up the students you want to remove.
   
   
2. In the search results, select the Remove checkbox for any students you need to remove. This will activate the Remove button.
   
   
   
   
3. Select the Remove button. This will open a popup asking you to confirm the removals.
   
   
   
   
4. Select Confirm to remove the selected students or Cancel to return to the previous view.

Once you’ve removed a student, you will not need to confirm their WGLG FE Learning Agreement or attendance.

You should not remove students who have had an active WGLG FE Learning Agreement.

If a student has applied for WGLG FE but never attended their course, you can remove them from the Learning Centre Portal. You should always keep your application worklist up to date.

Restoring students

1. Open the Application Worklist tab.
   
   
2. Open the Application Status dropdown and select Removed.
   
   
3. Select Search to view a list of removed applications.
   
   
4. Select the relevant student’s surname in the search results to open their application details.
   
   
5. Select Restore and the system will put the student back onto your usual list of applications.

For example, you can use this option if a student originally decided to leave your Learning Centre to look for employment but then decided to return.

Once you’ve restored the student’s application, you can continue to confirm their WGLG FE Learning Agreement and attendance as needed.

If you try to leave this screen without saving your work first, the system will show you a warning message.

You can use the Attendance Worklist to confirm student attendances and to update any unconfirmed attendances.

You can also use this worklist to see full attendance and progression confirmation history for your students. This will give you a better overview of when they can expect to be paid.

You must provide student attendance and progression details at the start of each term. This will tell us whether they’re eligible to receive WGLG FE payments. When you confirm a student’s attendance, this will release a payment into their account.

Students can highlight that they’re experiencing extenuating circumstances on their WGLG FE Learning Agreement. You can select the Extenuating Circumstances radio button on the Maintain Course Details tab to record this when you enter their agreement details on the Learning Centre Portal. This will remind you to consider the student’s situation when you mark attendance.

• term
• attendance status
• progression status

Confirming attendance

To confirm attendance, select the In Attendance or Not In Attendance radio button for each student on your list, then select Save.

In Attendance means that the student has met your Learning Centre’s attendance criteria. This includes any authorised absences. Selecting this option will release a WGLG FE payment into the student’s account. Students are entitled to WGLG while they are in learning which can include full time study, study leave and blended learning.

Not in Attendance means that the student has not met the attendance criteria set by your Learning Centre. If you select this option, no WGLG FE payment will be released into the student’s account.

Confirming progression

To confirm progression, select the Progressing or Not Progressing radio button for each student on your list, then select Save.

Progressing means that the student is progressing on their course.

Not Progressing means that the student has not progressed for this term, as their course is at the same or a lower level as they previously studied.

Reviewing attendances in bulk

A new export function is now available from the Attendance Worklist screen. This means that you can export the Attendance Worklist to your own local systems.

Please note this export should always be used in accordance with the Data Sharing Agreement held between the Student Loans Company and Learning Centres.  Each Party undertakes to the other that it shall comply, when applicable, with the obligations of a Controller under the provisions of the UK GDPR and undertakes that it will only process Personal Data as is necessary to perform its obligations under the Agreement in accordance with Data Protection Laws. 

This means that you can only hold personal data for as long as you need for it to be used for its stated purpose, and the data from the new attendance worklist should be deleted as soon as the attendance confirmations have been processed.

You can use the Maintenance area of the Learning Centre Portal to view and update information about your Learning Centre's:

• users
• profiles
• groups

There is more information about each of these in the following chapters of this guide.

You can use the Users tab in the Maintenance area of the portal to:

• create new user accounts
• view existing user accounts
• expire old user accounts

How to create a new user account

1. Go to the Maintenance area of the Learning Centre Portal and open the Users tab.
   
   
2. Select Create new. 
   
   
3. Enter the new user’s details: First name, Surname, Email and Telephone number.
   
   
4. Select the appropriate checkbox to allocate a user access role. This is usually Administrator.
   
   
5. Select Continue. This will open a confirmation screen where you can review the details.
   
   
6. If all the details are correct, select Submit to finish creating the user.

The system will then email the new user their username and a temporary password. The user will appear on the list of users at your Learning Centre.

You can also choose to copy the new user’s details to the Profiles tab. This will add the new user to our mailing list so they can start receiving emails from your WGLG FE Account Manager.

How to expire an old user account

You should expire any old accounts as soon as the user no longer needs access to the portal.

1. Go to the Maintenance area of the Learning Centre Portal and open the Users tab.
   
   
2. Find the account you need to expire and select Edit.
   
   
3. Select Expire account.

Your Learning Centre should have at least 2 users listed on the Profiles tab. These should be your main users of the Learning Centre Portal.

If you need to, you can add more users. To do this, select Additional Contact and Add Contact.

If you need to check or change an existing user’s details, select Edit.

Please make sure the profiles here are up to date with the correct contact information. Only users who have their contact details on this tab will receive our emails about the WGLG FE scheme.

You can also update the address and telephone number of your Learning Centre on this tab. It is important that you keep these up to date so we can deliver printed materials to you, such as application packs and pre-launch materials.

You can use the Groups tab to create, amend or delete groups. Setting up groups can be useful if your Learning Centre has more than one campus, for example.

You’ll need WGLG FE Administrator access to use this tab.

To create a new group, enter a group name and description, then select Add. Once you’ve set up a group, you can assign students to it.

If you have any groups that are no longer in use, you can archive them. To do this, select the checkbox in the Archive column, then select Save.

If you want to delete a group altogether, select the checkbox in the Delete column, then select Save.

The User profile section of the Learning Centre Portal shows your user details. These include:

• your username
• the scheme you administer
• your surname
• your forenames
• your system access role

You can use the Settings section of the Learning Centre Portal to change the colour of the following portal areas:

• header
• accordions
• menu
• menu background

You can also choose whether to display an image in the menu background, minimise the menu bar and change the font size.

There is also a button to restore default settings.