Letter from Baroness Warwick, Chief Executive,
Universities UK
Universities UK wrote to Liam Byrne in July
2007 to express concern about the decision to approve the Accreditation
Service for International Colleges (ASIC) as one of the accreditation
bodies within the new immigration system. ASIC did not exist in
terms of a web presence until its approval as an accreditation
body was announced in July 2007 and despite repeated requests
by Universities UK officers to civil servants there is a lack
of information and transparency about its management, governance
and financial structures. Its website provides no inspection reports
for its accredited colleges or a list of its inspectors. Several
of the colleges that it accredits have been associated with inappropriate
activities. Universities UK did not receive a reply from the Minister.
Universities UK has continued to raise concerns
in meetings with Home Office officials but no action appears to
have been taken. Recent events in North West England have demonstrated
that the accreditation arrangements require further improvement
to try to ensure that only reputable education institutions offering
quality education are able to bring international students to
the UK.
May 2009
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