UK exam standards regulator Ofqual has concluded an investigation into 13 awarding organisations offering exams to Tier 4 students in England and found that two-thirds of those assessed were delivering sub-standard qualifications. Two exam bodies will no longer be recognised by Ofqual.
“It is unacceptable that students are coming to the UK on the promise of a quality qualification, and not getting what they are paying for”
The regulator has published a notice of intention to withdraw recognition from the Accrediting & Assessment Bureau for Post-Secondary Schools Limited (AABPS), and already stopped recognising the London Centre of Marketing (LCM) as an official awarding body. This is the most severe regulatory action Ofqual can take against an awarding organisation.
Other exam bodies have agreed an undertaking to complete certain actions, including Association of Business Executives (ABE) and Institute of Commercial Management (ICM).
The review looked at 13 organisations offering qualifications to Tier 4 and domestic students following fraud allegations and complaints about the quality and validity of certain qualifications. A team visited each organisation to talk to senior staff after conducting an initial survey. It also compared policy to practice happening on the ground.
Ofqual identified several factors as likely to contribute to the falling standards, which included “a possible compromise of standards to gain commercial advantage” and “insufficient expertise” among other reasons.
Jane Farleigh, Director of Regulatory Operations, was keen to point out that the review did not implicate foreign students. “The review is not about the legality of students’ entry in the UK,” she said. “Our role is to make sure that the awarding organisations offering qualifications used in this sector are meeting the standards we require of them.”
She urged concerned foreign students taking AABPS or LMS qualifications to speak with their school, adding “We have asked schools and colleges to be ready to give advice and guidance to them on their options.”
Speaking with The PIE News, Daniel Stevens, NUS International Students’ Officer, said that “It is unacceptable that students are paying thousands of pounds on the promise of a quality student experience and a quality qualification, and not getting what they are paying for.”
Inspections revealed evidence that students had achieved the AABPS Level 7 Diploma in Management in less than six months, while a course at this level would typically last between six and 12 months.
However, Rufus Ogundijo, an AABPS director, told The PIE News that they would fight the decision in the High Court.
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), which reviews education organisations rather than assessment bodies, has published reviews of six colleges that run courses accredited by AABPS and LCM, of which two failed their assessment.
A QAA spokesperson told The PIE News that the agency will take Ofqual’s review into account when inspecting colleges accredited by a further eight awarding organisations that the regulator has said need to improve.
“The Ofqual review underlines the need for early legislation by the UK government on these matters”
Stevens noted: “The private sector offers no rights for these students to challenge the quality of their course and seek help and support when they are failed by their provider. This is a failure by the whole sector that should have acted on this sooner.”
Professor Roger King, Higher Education Commission member and Inquiry co-chair, added, “The recent Inquiry Report on Regulation emphasises the need for more effective and better focused regulation of the higher education sector in this country.”
He said that tighter regulation and a compulsory protection insurance scheme would provide reassurance for international students and their sponsors.
