Written evidence submitted by The British
Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education
(BAC) (SV40)
THE BRITISH
ACCREDITATION COUNCIL
FOR INDEPENDENT
FURTHER AND
HIGHER EDUCATION
(BAC)
BAC has for over 25 years been the principal accreditor
of the independent further and higher education sectors beyond
the English language schools. During this period (as an entirely
voluntary accreditor until 2007 and thereafter in performing our
quasi-regulatory duties under UKBA's approval mechanisms), we
have developed considerable expertise regarding the independent
education sector. We were an early member of UKBA's Joint Education
Taskforce and were closely involved in the consultations around
the design and implementation of Tier 4 of the Points Based System
(PBS). Throughout our history, we have supported the wish to introduce
greater regulation into the independent further and higher education
sectors, as partly set out within the Guidance for Tier 4 Sponsors.[60]
Although on occasion our advice has not been accepted by UKBA,
we consider that the PBS has, and will continue to have, a positive
impact on the sector overall. It is in this spirit that our submission
to the Home Affairs Select Committee is made regarding the proposed
restrictions to Tier 4.
We would be happy to give oral evidence to the Committee
if invited to do so.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
OF KEY
POINTS
- The Government's aim appears to be two-fold:
to make changes to the Tier 4 route in order to eliminate abuse,
and to reduce significantly the number of international students
coming to the UK as a means of reducing net migration.
- BAC supports all efforts to minimise abuse of
Tier 4 by any individuals who are not genuine or serious students,
but does not support cuts to the number of international students
and considers it inappropriate to equate them with permanent,
economic migrants.
- UKBA's research and analysis of data so far appears
to be incomplete, inaccurate and misleading, raising the concern
that proposals for changes to the current system are misinformed
and hence will be both ineffective and damaging.
- BAC urges a renewed focus on educational quality
and for this to be reflected within the Tier 4 rules.
- This quality can be found in further education
below degree level as easily as in higher education and the intrinsic
value of FE must be recognised.
- UK further education, particularly in the private
sector, offers essential pathways to higher education, widening
access to UK and international students.
- BAC strongly supports an in-depth review of approved
Accreditation Bodies in order to improve the consistency and transparency
of the system, helping better to safeguard educational quality.
IMMIGRATION AND
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
1. In her statements to Parliament and
in the foreword to UKBA's December 2010 document The Student
Immigration System: A Consultation[61]
the Home Secretary has articulated the Government's intention
to introduce new and more effective controls in pursuit of its
overarching aim of reducing immigration. International students
have been included in the Government's strategy of reduction partly
because of their large number relative to other immigration categories
and partly because a "net migrant" is defined as being
any individual still in the country after 12 months. It may be
argued that genuine students should not be considered immigrants
for the purpose of these reductions, as their objective is education
not settlement and the Government's own figures show that the
overwhelming majority depart the UK after the completion of their
studies. Given the 12-month measure's limited usefulness as an
indicator of long-term trends, the public interest might better
be served by a focus on controlling the right to settle in the
UK and taking effective action against those who overstay their
leave, alongside minimising abuse in the existing system.
2. While it would be regrettable if genuine
international students were to fall victim to any political impetus
to be tough on immigration, some abuse of the student immigration
system persists, and BAC strongly supports the efforts of Government
and the education sector to minimise this abuse. BAC considers
that the quality of the education provided to international students
is of paramount importance, that the highest-quality institutions
attract the most genuine students, and that these institutions
with the support of UKBA are best placed to exclude any individuals
whose main motivation for entering the UK is not educational.
The key to giving only high-quality institutions the responsibility
of sponsoring international students is a robust system of institutional
accreditation and licensing. With this in place, there would be
a far less pressing need to impose quantitative measures on educational
institutions striving to be fully compliant, as is the case under
the current system of Highly Trusted Sponsors. This implies a
more rigorous approach to accreditation, based on common and consistent
standards, than is sometimes achieved under the current arrangements
for Tier 4.
THE NEED
FOR RESEARCH
AND EVIDENCE-BASED
POLICY
3. While BAC very much supports one of
the Tier 4 review's primary objectives of reducing abuse within
the system, we have some concerns with the consultation. For example,
the leading nature of certain questions posed within the consultation
document; the limited range of answers offered; the restricted
ability respondents have to challenge some apparently tenuous
assumptions within the document; and the limited detail accompanying
a number of the proposals, which can make a definitive answer
to the question difficult. In view of these concerns and of the
accelerated timetable which will be required to implement changes
by UKBA's intended deadline of April, we must question how effective
the consultation can be in informing policy decisions. These questions
are compounded by a close reading of the expository paragraphs
in the consultation document and its accompanying document Overseas
Students in the Immigration System: Types of Institutions and
Levels of Study,[62]
which present a number of assertions based on often incomplete
statistical research, both the accuracy and rigour of which BAC
has already challenged with UKBA.
4. An example which highlights the misleading
nature of the research is the "analysis of student compliance",
which uses two sample groups: universities with Highly Trusted
Sponsor status (ie the "best" of the public sector),
and privately funded FE/HE providers which have been investigated
by UKBA "because there are concerns over suspected abuse"
(ie the "worst" of the private sector). The document
itself states that "the analysis for the university sample
is not comparable with that of the non-university sample",
but yet goes on to draw such comparisons. UKBA represents this
and other similarly inconsistent analyses as evidence within the
main consultation document, seemingly allowing the misleading
conclusions to inform its policy proposals and consultation questions.
BAC suggests it may be prudent to request that UKBA or an independent
body carry out further in-depth and objective research in order
to provide a sound evidential base on which to make any changes
to the current international student visa system, a system which
has undergone a series of rapid changes, the last of which were
implemented only a few months ago.
FOCUSING ON
EDUCATIONAL QUALITY
5. In recent months the Government has
expressed its desire to restrict student visas to only the "brightest
and best" and its commitment to protecting the UK's "world-class
educational institutions". BAC welcomes the renewed focus
signified by these statements on the educational experience of
international students and would support a gradual reorienting
of immigration procedures to reflect more qualitative indicators
of educational excellence in addition to quantitative indicators
of immigration compliance. However, we must question whether the
term "brightest and best" is any more than a political
slogan, which excludes students with the potential to achieve
academically who have perhaps not had the opportunity to succeed
within an appropriately focused learning environment and who are
working their way up the ladder of educational success in the
more nurturing and supportive environment of British further and
higher education. We consider that some of the specific proposals
in UKBA's consultation document would have a deleterious effect
on both the UK's ability to attract these students and on the
viability of the institutions which offer them such opportunities,
if implemented in full. BAC's inspectors pay particular attention
to the nature, appropriateness and quality of the support (both
academic and pastoral) which colleges seeking accreditation give
to their students. Provision for the "brightest and best"
should not, in our view, simply remove the ladder for progression
from the many international students who benefit from this.
6. UKBA's consultation document makes extensive
mention of bestowing further benefits on Highly Trusted Sponsors
(HTS) and removing corresponding entitlements from standard, A-rated
sponsors (for example, allowing only sponsors with HTS to run
programmes at NQF/QCF levels 4 and 5). BAC would not support such
a move before a comprehensive review of the existing arrangements
for HTS has been completed, taking the views of UKBA's corporate
partners into account. While UKBA has previously assured stakeholders
that a holistic approach would be adopted in considering HTS applications,
BAC has evidence that so far this has not been the case, leading
to a number of high-quality independent institutions being refused
HTS status simply for marginally exceeding the specified 5% threshold
for reporting absentee students and other purely quantitative
measures. The review of HTS must consider whether existing criteria
are appropriate, how to ensure transparency and consistency in
UKBA's decisions to award HTS, and whether, in addition to criteria
focusing on immigration compliance, more academically focused
measures could usefully be incorporated.
THE IMPORTANCE
OF FURTHER
EDUCATION AND
VOCATIONAL TRAINING
7. A proper recognition of the objective
and value of education is central to evaluating the UKBA proposal
to remove or reduce access to sub-degree programmes. In our experience,
the transferable knowledge and skills learned on a course at NQF/QCF
3 or 4 can be just as essential to today's worker as the more
intellectually rigorous pursuit of a Bachelor's degree. Furthermore,
students in some countries may have no opportunity to study an
appropriate course at a lower level before completing their training
in the UK, particularly within vocational and highly specialised
fields and even more so in countries such as Japan with no equivalent
to the UK's Year 13. There are a variety of fields and subjects
in which the UK is a world leader and which can be difficult to
access elsewhere, such as health and safety, engineering, specialised
diving training, aviation, etc.; thus, restricting educational
visas to only degree-level courses and above would effectively
bar students from large parts of the world from either taking
their first steps into these fields or keeping their skills and
knowledge up to date. UK vocational training enjoys an excellent
international reputation which is founded upon sub-degree level
courses, and the viability of many providers of such courses would
be in question should the minimum level open to international
students be indiscriminately raised.
8. While there is considerable intrinsic
worth in much of the education being provided below degree level
in the UK, we must also recognise the interdependent nature of
the education sector, connecting further and higher education
at public and private providers. The private further education
sector in particular acts as an important "feeder" of
international students into the public higher education sector,
as explained in paragraph 10. Universities UK and the British
Council estimate that around 40% of international students at
UK universities were previously enrolled on a sub-degree level
programme in a non-university institution in the UK. Our own figures
suggest that at least 10% of all international students enrolled
on UK university degrees are taking these at BAC-accredited institutions.
9. If major cuts in the number of student visas
were to be achieved primarily by restricting access to sub-degree
level programmes, there would be a disproportionate and severely
negative impact on the private further education sector: at BAC-accredited
institutions, general visa students account for around 50% of
their enrolments. Public FE colleges would also be badly hit.
Much of the UK's most highly regarded specialised and vocational
training takes place within private providers, most of it at sub-degree
level, so cuts here would hurt the UK's growing reputation in
this area as well as damaging some very successful businesses.
As indicated above, the FE sector acts as a crucial pathway to
higher education (BAC-accredited institutions alone are estimated
to send 26,000 completing students on to an HE institution) and
any reduction in its ability to do so would have a direct, negative
impact on the intake of international students at UK universities.
A 100% reduction in the issuing of visas for sub-degree courses
could subsequently lead to a reduction of 40% of international
students enrolling in UK universities. Therefore, we would suggest
that the proposal to restrict study to degree level only should
not be pursued and it would be prudent for UKBA to consider fully
the implications of such a move, which would risk both the financial
viability of specialised providers of high quality further education
and the key pathways for international students into our universities,
to which they contribute both crucial revenue and invaluable cultural
enrichment.
HIGHER EDUCATION
PATHWAYS IN
THE PRIVATE
SECTOR
10. The private post-16 sector which BAC has
overseen since 1984 provides a variety of routes for international
students to access higher education in the UK. Independent sixth
form and tutorial colleges have for decades prepared domestic
and international students for university entrance, guiding them
successfully through GCSEs and A levels while also helping them
to improve their English language ability and adapt generally
to the requirements of education and life in the UK. More recently,
BAC has inspected and accredited a growing number of "embedded
colleges", operating from within university campuses. These
can improve access to UK higher education for international students
who benefit from a foundation year of mixed academic content,
English language and study skills in order to get the most out
of their degree courses. Because of their intensive study methods
and their specialist focus, these "embedded colleges"
have been seen by many universities as a more effective means
of providing foundation studies for their international students
than the alternative of supportive studies within the first year
of a degree programme. BAC accredits four large groups of colleges
embedded at over 30 different universities, including Sussex,
Leicester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Westminster.
11. Independent providers also now present new
opportunities to international students who wish to study for
UK university degrees at a smaller institution which can offer
time and cost-efficient modes of study in a supportive environment.
Almost 200 BAC-accredited institutions teach full UK university
degree programmes, while many more offer programmes which can
be "topped up" by students progressing to the second
or third year of a degree programme at the awarding university
itself. This can be an especially attractive option to those who
may initially struggle to meet the full fees charged to international
students by UK universities or who may need additional assistance
in adjusting to the UK education system from staff experienced
in this transition. The route of a gradual progression towards
a degree is to many students an attractive, more accessible and
less intimidating alternative to enrolling directly on a Bachelor's
degree programme, and many universities have now developed agreements
with awarding bodies and chartered institutes to facilitate this.
One example is Oxford Brookes University, which recognises the
passing of professional exams from the Association of Chartered
Certified Accountants as contributing towards its BSc in Applied
Accounting. Another is the University of Northampton, which allows
the topping up of a professional postgraduate diploma from the
Chartered Institute of Marketing to its own MA in Marketing. Private
and public sector colleges alike have substantial experience of
progressing students from their HND programmes to a linked university
degree via a top-up year. Such progression pathways proliferate
especially in the private colleges accredited by BAC and would
be under particular threat from enforced reductions to the number
of visas issued, as international students typically need to apply
for a new visa from UKBA after the completion of each stage. UKBA's
current proposals may threaten such staged education.
POST-STUDY
WORK AND
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
12. Within its review of the student immigration
system, UKBA has indicated that it might decide to close or severely
restrict the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) route which allows students
of certain higher level courses to stay and work in the UK for
two years after they graduate. PSW is a clear benefit to choosing
the UK as a higher education destination, attractive to many international
students and an innovation successful enough to have been imitated
by competitor countries including Canada. For this reason, PSW
increases the UK's popularity to international students and would
be expected to drive up the number of student visa applications.
Rather than closing PSW entirely, there could be an argument for
PSW becoming more discriminating in its eligibility criteria so
that it becomes a route to employment for only the most valuable
workers, e.g. graduates of higher level degrees or professional
members of certain chartered institutes. Another option would
be to reduce the period of leave granted under PSW from two years
to one year. However the Government decides to act on PSW, it
is vitally important that fair transitional arrangements are put
in place so that the benefit is not seen to be snatched away from
current students on PSW-eligible courses, a move which would inevitably
engender significant bad feeling amongst those who have invested
their future in the UK.
13. An increasingly globalised market in education
sees the UK competing against other English-speaking countries,
and in particular the USA, Canada and Australia. The flow of students
between different countries brings with it recognised benefits
to cultural exchange, international relations and the economy
of host nations. The ability of the UK to attract these international
students depends largely on three factors: the opportunity for
students to improve their English proficiency both through study
and through daily interaction with native speakers; the reputation
of UK education as being of high quality; and the perceived or
actual barriers to being accepted for study in the UK. Any policy
which aims to reduce the number of student visas issued will have
an impact on this last factor. The effect of any specific new
restrictions moreover will combine with the cumulative psychological
impact on potential students of frequent rule changes, continuous
tightening of eligibility criteria and negative public statements,
perhaps giving the impression that, as far as education is concerned,
the UK is "closed for business".
THE ROLE
OF APPROVED
ACCREDITATION BODIES
14. The perceived high quality of British further
and higher education could be significantly strengthened by UKBA
taking forward the proposal within the current review to focus
on the quality of the work of the accreditation bodies to ensure
consistently high standards within all private sector providers,
which was highlighted by the Committee's Eleventh Report of Session
2008-09[63].
Whilst BAC is confident in the rigour and transparency of its
own operations, we can see much to be gained from a detailed review
of all the approved accreditation bodies and the premises on which
approval was awarded. We find it difficult to support the current
situation in which colleges which are refused accreditation by
BAC (or which have their accreditation withdrawn following our
due process) can almost immediately be accredited by another body
and thereby regain their Tier 4 sponsor licence. We have long
pressed for greater clarity in the division of responsibility
between UKBA and the accreditation bodies, for more consistency
in the standards applied by the different accreditation bodies,
and for closer engagement of the Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills in this licensing system for private education. UKBA
needs to be confident that accredited private providers are not
only trusted sponsors of migrants but also high-quality educators
of young people and adults alike. To be so, it must have confidence
in the accreditation bodies that inspect and accredit these providers.
January 2011
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