The University of Bedfordshire is the first institution to be given the green light to resume international student recruitment following a six-week freeze as part of the UK’s Home Office investigation into suspected exam and visa fraud at a number of universities and private colleges.
The university, along with the University of West London, had its quota of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) letters enabling it to sponsor Tier 4 students reduced to zero on 24 June pending an audit by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).
“I was always confident that our procedures for monitoring international students were robust”
“I was always confident that our procedures for monitoring international students were robust, and I’m pleased that UKVI’s thorough and detailed audit has confirmed this,” Bill Rammell, the University’s Vice Chancellor, commented.
“We take our immigration compliance responsibilities extremely seriously,” he continued. “We cooperated with UKVI throughout the audit and I’m delighted that, following this decision, we can now resume issuing CAS letters to new international students.
“I’m looking forward to welcoming more international students to our diverse and vibrant learning community.”
He confirmed that international students currently enrolled at the university have not been affected by the “short pause” in CAS issuances.
Audits are ongoing and UKVI has yet to announce whether the University of West London’s ability to recruit international students will be reinstated.
Glyndwr University, which was stripped of its Highly Trusted Sponsor status in June, confirmed that it has supplied evidence to UKVI after obtaining an extension, but declined to comment further.
The University of Bedfordshire’s local MP Gavin Shuker told The PIE News that the news will be “widely welcomed’.
“I always have had faith in the robust processes in place at the University of Bedfordshire and now it seems the Home Office have been assured of this too,” he said. “I’ve always believed that it was inappropriate for the University of Bedfordshire’s case to be suspended from recruiting, so I hope government will learn the lessons of this incident.”
This week Julian Huppert, MP for Cambridgeshire, condemned the Home Office’s handling of the investigation saying it was “absolutely wrong to name and shame” institutions without evidence of foul play and it that is “not willing to act quickly to correct its error”.
