Leeds Trinity University fined 115000 over inadequate oversight of franchised courses

Leeds Trinity University has been fined more than £100,000 by England’s higher education regulator for failing to effectively address risks associated with its franchised courses.

An investigation by the Office for Students (OfS) identified “serious failures” in the arrangements the university had in place to oversee its subcontractual partnerships – more commonly known as franchised providers.

The penalty of £115,000 comes after the watchdog previously warned that it would intervene when the use of franchised providers – external organisations that operate in partnership with registered universities to deliver courses on their behalf – placed the interests of students or taxpayers “at risk”.

The investigation – into the franchised provision at Leeds Trinity University (LTU) between October 2022 and February 2024 – found the university’s oversight arrangements were “not adequate” to ensure risks at partners relating to admissions practices and academic misconduct were identified.

There was an “overarching risk” that LTU was unable to “properly ensure quality” at its franchised partnerships, or respond to concerns when they were raised with the university, the regulator concluded.

There had been rapid growth in the number of students taught through these partnerships – from 3,600 students in 2020/21 to 9,400 students in 2022/23.

The OfS said LTC has accepted it breached the watchdog’s regulatory requirements relating to management and governance, and it has agreed to pay the monetary penalty of £115,000.

As part of the settlement, LTU will be subject to additional regulatory requirements – including restrictions on recruitment to its franchised courses

The watchdog’s investigation concluded that LTC “did not properly consider” the impact of a decision it took to pilot lowering English language requirements for students who applied to study at its franchised partners between September 2023 and May 2024.

“It did not ensure arrangements were in place to enable these students to succeed,” the report said.

The OfS said the resources the university had in place to monitor academic assessment of students at its franchised providers were “insufficient”.

It added: “This meant that key risks, including an increased risk of student academic misconduct, were not appropriately escalated to the university’s governing body.”

Philippa Pickford, director of regulation at the OfS, said: “As we have repeatedly set out, subcontractual arrangements need to be carefully managed to ensure students receive a high quality education and can finish their studies with a credible qualification.

“In this case, inadequate oversight of Leeds Trinity University’s partnership arrangements increased the likelihood that the university would not be able to effectively manage any risks relating to quality, academic misconduct and student support.

“LTU’s oversight arrangements were not adequate to ensure that potential risks at partners relating to admissions practices, academic assessments, and academic misconduct were identified.

“The rapid expansion of courses delivered through subcontractual partnerships further increased risks for students and taxpayers.”

She added: “All universities offering courses through delivery partners should look carefully at our actions in this case.

“Universities retain responsibility for the quality of students’ education and the credibility of their qualifications under these arrangements.

“They must be certain that they are monitoring these courses effectively, and that their oversight of delivery partners ensures students receive the support they need to succeed in their studies and receive a qualification which will benefit them in the future.”

Professor Charles Egbu, vice-chancellor of Leeds Trinity University, said: “Improving student outcomes remains at the heart of Leeds Trinity University’s mission, and we are unwavering in our long-held commitment to widening participation and increasing access to higher education.

“We fully accept the conclusions of this investigation, and we recognise that the rapid growth in our subcontractual partnerships created pressures that our systems and oversight processes were not fully equipped to manage at the time.

“We welcome the OfS’s acknowledgment of the proactive steps we have taken and the significant progress that Leeds Trinity has made to strengthen the oversight of our subcontractual arrangements.

“This was a key factor in their decision to lower the financial penalty, and the improvements we have made should give partners and students confidence about the high quality of our courses.”

In January, the Government announced that providers delivering franchised higher education courses in England faced tighter controls in a bid to crack down on “rogue operators who misuse public money”.

Franchised providers with at least 300 students will be required to register with the OfS to access student loan funding under the plans.

The intervention came after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) warned last year that a lack of Government oversight of franchised higher education providers had left the student loan system open to fraud.

Published: 23/05/2025 by Radio NewsHub