University fined for franchised course monitoring

A university has been fined £115,000 by the higher education regulator for failing to effectively address risks associated with its franchised courses.

The Office for Students (OfS) identified "serious failures" in the arrangements Leeds Trinity University (LTU) had in place to oversee its sub-contractual partnerships.

The inquiry found an "overarching risk" that LTU was unable to "properly ensure quality" with the arrangements or respond to concerns when raised.

The university's vice-chancellor said "rapid growth in our partnerships created pressures that our systems and oversight processes were not fully equipped to manage at the time".

External organisations can operate in partnership with ed universities to deliver courses on their behalf.

However, the watchdog previously warned it would intervene when the use of franchised providers placed the interests of students or taxpayers "at risk".

The OfS investigation looked at franchised provision at LTU between 2022 and 2024.

It found LTU's oversight arrangements were "not adequate" to ensure risks at partners relating to issions practices and academic misconduct were identified.

The watchdog's investigation concluded that LTU "did not properly consider" the impact of a decision it took to pilot lowering English language requirements for students who applied to study at its franchised partners between 2023 and 2024.

"It did not ensure arrangements were in place to enable these students to succeed," the report said.

The OfS said LTU accepted it breached the watchdog's regulatory requirements relating to management and governance, and had agreed to pay the monetary penalty of £115,000.

The regulator reduced the penalty by 30% in recognition that LTU's ''co-operation with our investigation has been positive and constructive'', and it also reflected early settlement, and that the university proactively undertook its own inquiries into the concerns raised and took steps to address them.

Philippa Pickford, director of regulation at the OfS, said: "The rapid expansion of courses delivered through sub-contractual partnerships further increased risks for students and taxpayers."

The university said it "fully accepted" the investigation's conclusions.

Prof Charles Egbu, LTU vice-chancellor, said: "We are unwavering in our long-held commitment to widening participation and increasing access to higher education.

"We welcome the OfS's acknowledgment of the proactive steps we have taken and the significant progress that Leeds Trinity has made to strengthen the oversight of our sub-contractual arrangements."

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