Supplementary written evidence submitted
by the Association of Colleges (SV16a)
The Association of Colleges' members, publicly funded
Further Education Colleges[6]
and Sixth Form Colleges, are accredited, through inspection and
regulation by Ofsted's inspection system. We strongly believe
that the robust, independent and rigorous internationally recognisable
standards set by Ofsted guarantee that the sector consists of
genuine Colleges that take their immigration responsibilities
seriously whilst offering quality programmes to domestic and international
students.
The current system of accreditation in the private
sector appears to be of varying quality. Indeed, there are cases
of private colleges failing one accreditation scheme only to be
accepted by another which suggests worrying inconsistency in the
system. AoC shares the Home Office's conclusion that this is an
issue that needs to be addressed; the current situation appears
to permit poor practice which harms genuine providers' competitive
position, allows for possible immigration abuse and has an adverse
effect on many international students' experience which in turn
damages the UK's reputation.
There are currently four main accreditation bodies
within the private college and private language school sectors;
ABLS, ASIC, BAC and Accreditation UK (British Council and English
UK). Without further study and evidence, it is difficult for AoC
to confidently comment on the quality of these schemes, but there
is a need to rationalise accreditation in the private sector by
creating one system.
To help ensure that the quality of provision and
performance is consistent across the entire spectrum of UK Education
providers we argue that any accreditation scheme must meet the
same high standards set by Ofsted and be administrated by an independent
accreditation body. Therefore providers offering education and
training to overseas students studying in the UK should either
be carried out by Ofsted, which would ensure a consistent approach
across the sector or by an independent accreditation body. In
addition, the accreditation body should not also be deemed an
"membership" body and be reliant on an on going subscription
fee. Some existing accreditation organisations not only charge
for the inspection service, but also require those inspected to
pay an annual subscription based on student numbers. This type
of arrangement could possibly lead to a conflict of interest.
We believe that this approach to tightening up of
accreditation in the private sector would greatly assist in protecting
genuine providers, reducing immigration abuse and most importantly,
help ensure the quality of international students' experience
during their studies in the UK.
February 2011
6 As defined by the 1992 Further and Higher Education
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