“Beginning to Bite” – Government reforms to tackle sham colleges meet mixed reviews, by Shara Pledger
Late October saw the release of figures showing a significant drop in the number of Tier 4 (education) sponsors. This trend has been heralded by the Government as proof that tough new measures introduced to weed out sham colleges are “beginning to bite”, but within the education sector the news was met less enthusiastically.
Earlier this year the coalition Government announced a new regime of regulation and inspection of Tier 4 sponsors. Highly Trusted Sponsor Status, once a sign of excellence held by few, will now have to be attained by all sponsors by April 2012. The additional requirement for ‘educational oversight’ means that all sponsors will also have to undergo a Government improved inspection in order to offer places to overseas students. The theory behind the scheme is that those colleges currently abusing the system, and admitting migrants without offering proper study or regulation, will simply not be able to meet the new requirements and will have to close.
The new regime has certainly contributed significantly to the recent drop in Tier 4 sponsor numbers. Roughly 400 colleges, more than 20% of the sector, have lost their licences in the last few weeks because they failed to apply for educational oversight in time. This trend has been presented as evidence that disreputable colleges are running scared, but it appears no data has been published to properly account for such widespread inaction. It may be that sham colleges are being forced out of the market, and the benefits of that are obvious, but evidence suggests that legitimate colleges are also being squeezed. Extremely high fees are charged for the now mandatory inspections and many small colleges, already struggling to bring in revenue due to the cap on student numbers, may have found this difficult to afford.
Will it matter that a fifth of Tier 4 sponsors fall by the wayside if the benefit of the new scheme is less abuse of the sponsorship system? The education sector is in agreement that sponsorship abuse should stop, and that much of the responsibility for maintaining a fair system rests with the sponsors themselves. However, the higher education action group Universities UK warns that the measures taken to improve the UK’s system must be carefully considered if we are to avoid damage to our international reputation for competitiveness, quality and availability. The role of small colleges in the UK is vital to both students and universities. Pre-degree courses are taken by approximately 40% of international students and many of these individuals then go on to study at a UK university. The revenue stream generated by international students in the UK is in the region of £5bn per year and its importance to higher education providers should not be underestimated. If smaller sponsors are forced out of the market unnecessarily, and the availability of feeder courses falls, the risk of new regulation is that it destroys the very system it sought to protect.