The higher education sector's management of franchise partnerships and fraud mitigation has drawn significant attention and scrutiny. The goal of this consultation is therefore to safeguard public funds by enhancing oversight of higher education franchising.
The Department for Education proposes that franchised delivery partners with 300 or more students must be registered with the Office for Students to designate courses for student finance from the Student Loans Company - they estimate that this would affect around 30 franchise providers. The proposal includes details of exemptions, plans for a transition period, and the consequences for exceeding the student threshold without OfS registration. The consultation proposals aim to find a balance between protecting public money, ensuring quality, and supporting franchising models that benefit learners and providers. You can find full details of the consultation here.
For this consultation response GuildHE collaborated with London Higher and ran a joint roundtable for our members to inform our feedback.