Planning a Change to Your Provision? Four MFHEA Checks for Malta Education Providers
Delivery mode, additional languages, structure and who leads: what MFHEA's recent communications say to check before you apply.
In short: MFHEA's recent communications put approval before action. Before you change a programme's delivery mode, add a language of instruction or alter your institution's structure, check four things. What kind of change is it? Does the timing allow it? Who will lead it? Is your evidence ready?
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." - -Benjamin Franklin, 1735
Based on MFHEA publications up to 6 October 2026. This article summarises what the documents say. It cannot be taken as a prediction of how MFHEA will decide any case.
How MFHEA's separate communications fit together:
a four-step sequence.
1. What kind of change is it?
Some changes need more than a notification.
Delivery mode (MFHEA/07/2025, 31 October 2025): Moving a full qualification between physical, blended and fully online delivery is automatically subject to reaccreditation. You must already be authorised for the new mode, or first request a licence update. Online and blended programmes are also evaluated by a digital evaluator, and programme accreditation fees apply.
Other programme changes: Changes that deviate from the approved final course description must be notified to MFHEA and implemented only once approved.
Additional language (MFHEA/05/2026, 25 June 2026): For accredited homegrown programmes, MFHEA assesses each request case by case. In Higher Education this is a separate comparability-based accreditation, with fees for each added language. In Further Education the fee is €250 per language. Advertising, marketing, enrolling or delivering in an additional language before approval is not allowed. These policies supersede Circular 10/2025, which we covered in our December 2025 update entitled: A New Regulatory Wave: What MFHEA’s Latest Updates Mean for Malta-Licensed Education Providers.
2. Does the timing allow it?
Some requests pause while you are being accredited. MFHEA/02/2026 (12 January 2026) suspends, with immediate effect, requests to change an institution's name, licence category or registered company, or to transfer or sell the licence, during institutional accreditation and reaccreditation. Changes of Head of Institution, Legal Representative or teaching premises are considered only for exceptional, duly justified reasons. Programme submissions are not affected.
3. Who will lead it?
Your own people! MFHEA/01/2026 (14 January 2026) requires official communication to go directly to a member of the institution's staff. For accreditation and reaccreditation, it expects an Institutional Facilitator who understands the institution's governance, academic provision, regulatory obligations and quality assurance systems.
4. Is your evidence ready?
The documents ask for specific evidence:
Delivery mode: MFHEA must be given access to the digital platform and lectures for its checks.
Additional language: a certified translator's signed declaration; teaching staff at CEFR level C1 or equivalent and students at B2; and website information also available in that language.
What This Means for Providers
Work out whether your planned change triggers reaccreditation or a separate approval
Check it against your accreditation calendar
Name your Institutional Facilitator
Assemble your evidence before you apply
How The Training Consultants Can Help!
Not sure where to start? - Many providers aren't.
If you're unsure which change applies to you, what order to take things in, or what the MFHEA documents require, a conversation with one of our consultants can map it out. That can be a single ad hoc meeting or ongoing support.
Already prepared something?
If you have a draft application, programme document or plan, our Independent Reviews & Second Opinions give it an external read against the MFHEA documents above and our extensive direct experience in the sector. We flag where your plan and your evidence don't line up. Your team keeps the work and the decisions, and leads communication with MFHEA.
Need to talk it through, or ready for a second pair of eyes?
FAQs
Does changing a programme's delivery mode need reaccreditation?
Yes. Under MFHEA/07/2025, a change in the mode of delivery for a full qualification is automatically subject to reaccreditation.
Can I advertise an additional-language version before MFHEA approves it?
No. The 2026 policies bar advertising, marketing, enrolment and delivery before approval.
Can I transfer or sell my licence during accreditation?
MFHEA/02/2026 suspends such requests during institutional accreditation and reaccreditation.
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