Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Accepted
Unregulated use of agents and incentives in student recruitment risks mis-selling and inadequate oversight.
Conclusion
Some providers use agents or offer financial incentives to recruit students, practices that are not regulated.20 DfE told us it is planning to look at the use of agents, focusing particularly on whether there is any mis-selling of courses from agents to individuals, such as promising individuals guarantees on to courses.21 It said it has started a rapid investigation into the use of agents, both domestically and internationally, to protect students’ interests and, more recently, has entered into a partnership with National Trading Standards, which is able to enforce consumer law.22 We also heard that Universities UK is reviewing the Agent Quality Framework (AQF) and making recommendations to identify and address bad practice, including a commitment to ensuring that all its members sign up to that framework.23 DfE told us weaknesses in lead providers’ controls can suggest an insufficient grip over the recruitment activity of their franchised providers, including where agents are used.24 Transparency over franchise arrangements
Government Response Summary
The government will ask the Office for Students (OfS) to consider requiring providers to publish details on the proportion of tuition fees they retain and for what purposes when the OfS next makes changes to ongoing conditions of registration, and highlights the publication of a governance framework by UUK.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
1.2 The government agrees that greater transparency from lead providers on their franchised arrangements would help to provide greater assurance to government over the use of public money and would make more information available to students to support informed decision making. 1.3 The Department for Education (the department) has been clear that it is also expecting a sector-led response. On 24 July 2024, Universities UK (UUK) published governance framework for lead providers to support senior leaders in universities to spot and manage risk in franchised partnerships. The framework aims to support universities to improve governance of franchised provision, identify and reduce risk from the start to the end of a franchised partnership, and deliver value for money by being able to identify risk to public funds through stronger oversight. 1.4 The government agrees that there is a strong case for greater transparency over franchising arrangements. The government will ask the Office for Students (OfS) to consider requiring providers to publish details on the proportion of tuition fees they retain and for what purposes when the OfS next makes changes to ongoing conditions of registration.