In a recent piece, Neil Mosley posed a sobering question: Will the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) become an opportunity universities simply fail to pursue?

Neil is right to be skeptical. As we move into 2026, the conversation around LLE is often trapped in two extremes: high-level policy debate or deep-level anxiety about data compliance. But as the January 2027 "go-live" for modular funding approaches, a different kind of risk is emerging.

The biggest risk to LLE isn’t demand, credit transfer, or policy detail. It’s treating LLE as a central-systems problem instead of a delivery-model problem.

Most UK universities are built around highly governed central infrastructure, optimised for a specific, high-value product: the three-year, full-time degree, starting in September. The LLE asks these systems to do the opposite: support step-in, step-out learner journeys, manage 30-credit modules at scale, and handle non-linear funding profiles.

The natural institutional instinct is to wait. Wait for platforms to be "LLE-ready." Wait for consensus on integration. Wait for core infrastructure to catch up to policy. In the current timeline, waiting for the core risks missing the window entirely.

The Timeline Proves the Point

The government's own implementation schedule reveals the delivery challenge. The first Expression of Interest closed in late 2025, with participating providers notified privately ahead of 2026. The public directory of LLE-funded modules is expected to launch in September 2026 — just four months before the first funded learners can enrol.

This means institutions approved for LLE effectively have around 12 months to operationalise modular delivery. They cannot wait for enterprise-wide systems transformation. They need delivery mechanisms that can launch in 2026 and integrate back to core systems as the model proves itself.

The institutions that participated in the Modular Acceleration Programme (which concluded in late 2025) understood this intuitively. They treated modular provision as an operational challenge: testing delivery models, governance approaches, and learner support requirements, not as a systems integration project.

Delivery vs. Infrastructure

If you treat LLE as an infrastructure project, you face long lead times and significant internal friction before welcoming your first modular learner. If you treat it as a delivery-model problem, you start with the operational reality of the learner.

LLE learners, who are often working professionals, expect a frictionless experience. They care about the quality of the last mile: enrolling, accessing materials, getting started without friction. Not the complexity of the database behind it.

To bridge the gap Neil Mosley describes, institutions need ways to pilot LLE without forcing it through the front door of legacy systems.

Contained Experimentation

The institutions making progress aren't overhauling their entire enterprise architecture. They're adopting a strategy of contained experimentation:

• Operational containment: Launching LLE-ready modules in agile delivery environments that operate alongside, rather than inside, core systems.

• Speed to market: Prioritising January 2027 to capture early demand, integrating data back into main systems once the model is proven.

• Reversibility: Creating environments where faculties can test modular formats with minimal institutional risk and lower upfront costs.

From Strategy to Execution

Neil Mosley's warning is a call to action. The LLE represents a fundamental shift in how the UK funds and consumes education. But an opportunity without a viable delivery mechanism is just a document on a shelf.

The last mile of LLE is where the battle will be won. Not through having the most complex system, but through having the most flexible approach to delivery.

Several UK institutions are already testing modular delivery through government pilot programmes. We've compiled an overview of which universities are piloting ahead of January 2027, based on publicly documented activity.

Share this article: LinkedIn | Email