In January 2025, the Department of Education (DfE) opened a consultation to seek views on proposals to strengthen oversight of higher education that is delivered by a provider (‘the delivery partner’) on behalf of another provider (‘the lead provider’). For the purpose of the proposals, a ‘franchised student’ is defined as one who is registered with a higher education provider, but where more than 50% of their provision is taught by another provider under a sub-contractual arrangement.
DfE's proposals sought to strike a balance between protecting public money, ensuring quality of provision, and supporting the continuation of franchising models where they work best for learners and providers.
The consultation ran from 30 January 2025 to 4 April 2025.
Our response
IHE supports DfE’s aim to bring more providers within the regulatory reach of the Office for Students (OfS). We are also supportive of DfE taking steps to protect students and the reputation of the sector, through greater transparency and accountability. However, if undertaken in the wrong way and at the wrong time, this will limit opportunities for students and will act as a barrier to growth and innovation.
The proposals fail to adequately understand the disproportionate burden of regulation on smaller providers and the complexity of changing contractual arrangements with partners. In our response we set out the risks and the impact of increased regulatory costs.
Our response also makes clear that we do not support the proposed threshold of 300 students, or the use of a headcount. We argue that this will not be a suitable approach under the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), and that DfE risks undermining the confidence of franchised providers by failing to futureproof its policy proposals for flexible modes of study.
IHE recommends that DfE considers the role of awarding providers in managing the growth of the franchise partners that they hold agreements with. The current proposals do not address the problems being faced by the sector, with concerns around fraudulent activity and inadequate student support. It is not enough to merely emphasise the role of lead providers and their accountability - they should be given the tools to fulfil this role.
We therefore propose the introduction of an alternative method of registering providers, via a new category of registration. This should be built on a process which is rigorous and targeted on the elements of oversight most essential to protecting the student and public interest in partnership provision: due diligence, transparency, accountability, quality and standards, and flexibility. This will enable timely scrutiny where it is required most.
In our response, we also highlighted:
- That the proposed timeline for implementation is unrealistic - there is understandable concern from IHE members and other independent providers about the capacity of the OfS to manage the increased workload and support providers in preparing their applications.
- That the proposals do not take into account the wider context of changes proposed by OfS, nor allow for the extra time it will take for providers to familiarise themselves with any new initial conditions of registration and process for applying.
- That routes to appeal should remain, so that those who provide flexibility can do so for the right reasons without fear of redress, and the consequences should not be so severe as to risk institutional closure.
Read our full response using the download link below.