I am today announcing that I have taken action against Oxford Business College, a private provider of higher education courses franchised by five institutions registered with the Office for Students.
My Department became aware last year of credible concerns about the recruitment and attendance of students on courses offered by the college, for which students are eligible for student support. I therefore commissioned the Government Internal Audit Agency to investigate these concerns, and have now received and carefully considered its reports, which have been shared with the college and its partners for comment.
It is clear to me that the management of recruitment and attendance at the college has fallen well short of the standards I am entitled to expect; this is unfair on those students who have genuinely wished to study. In particular, the investigation has not been able to provide me with assurance that students’ prior attainment, including their competence in the English language, has been adequately assessed, or that their attendance on their courses has been adequately monitored. I am aware that a number of the college’s partners have already terminated their agreements with it or have imposed additional controls.
I have therefore informed the college that new students on its courses will not be eligible for student support with immediate effect. The college’s partners have all told me that they have initiated planning for student protection, in conjunction with the Office for Students, which will allow genuine students to transfer to new courses. I recognise that this will be challenging, and have, therefore, allowed the college’s partners until the end of the current academic year on 31 August to complete those transfers, during which time the students affected will be able to retain their maintenance and fee support, provided they remain engaged with their studies. If they transfer, they will be able to receive funding to complete their studies.
These decisions reflect my determination to stamp out any abuse of the student support system. I will not hesitate to do the same again if circumstances justify it.
Last month, the Government set out the further steps they are taking to address concerns about franchised provision. This included asking the Public Sector Fraud Authority to help co-ordinate the cross-Government response to address the serious allegations I referred to in my statement on 25 March.
The Government consultation on proposals to strengthen oversight of partnership delivery in higher education closed on 4 April. The responses to this consultation are being considered carefully to ensure that the Government response will be effective in preventing abuse of student support and poor quality in franchised provision. I will update parliament when the Government response is published.
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