Considering the operational context of a partnership
Domestic law and regulation
9Providers working in partnerships should be aware of the different legal and regulatory regimes that may be relevant when designing and operating internal processes to address students’ concerns. Legal considerations will include for example equality legislation and consumer law as well as legislation specifically relating to education. Regulatory requirements on one or more providers working in a partnership arrangement may be imposed by bodies in England and Wales such as:
- The Office for Students (OfS). The OfS is the regulator for higher education in England. The OfS places conditions of registration on the providers that are on its Register.
- The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) is the public body operating between the Welsh Government and higher education providers in Wales. HEFCW provide funding for higher education teaching, research and innovation, and supports Welsh Government priorities for higher education. From April 2024 the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research (CTER) is replacing HEFCW and will be responsible for the strategy, funding and oversight of the tertiary sector. HEFCW will be dissolved.
- The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual). Ofqual regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. Ofqual establishes and maintains a register of regulated qualifications and a framework that includes initial and ongoing conditions of recognition that regulated Awarding Organisations (AO) must comply with. As such, Ofqual regulates those AOs that award regulated Higher Education qualifications.
- Qualifications Wales is the independent regulator of non-degree qualifications in Wales.
- The Department for Education (DfE) is the ministerial department responsible for children’s services and education, including early years, schools, higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills in England.
- Some Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs) have a direct role in regulating and accrediting courses leading to a qualification in a regulated profession. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes some helpful information about PSRBs and their roles. Examples of PSRBs include the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Health and Care Professions Council, and the Architects Registration Board.
10The regulatory requirements imposed by these or other bodies may apply to all of the provider’s activities, or only to some parts. Sometimes the regulatory bodies may specify that a provider may not delegate responsibility for particular tasks or roles, for example quality assurance.
11Many of our members are regulated by OfS or HEFCW/CTER, but our membership also includes providers in England and Wales not regulated by OfS or HEFCW/CTER. Those providers can refer to the requirements set by regulators if they wish but they are not mandatory for non-regulated providers.
12The OIA is not a regulator but we are part of the wider regulatory landscape. In the event of a conflict between a regulatory requirement and our guidance, providers should act in a way which enables them to meet their regulatory obligations. We welcome dialogue with any party that has any concerns that a conflict may exist.
13Membership of our Scheme is a statutory and regulatory obligation for many providers. Other providers can apply to join our Scheme on a voluntary basis. We expect all members of our Scheme to comply with our Rules and to apply the principles and guidance set out in our Good Practice Framework, including when working with partners that are not members. Members of our Scheme must not remove students’ access to independent review by delegating responsibility for complaints, appeals and other internal processes to a non-member partner.
14Some students may be able to raise their concerns with other organisations such as those listed above (paragraph 9), the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), or another alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body. Those students may still retain their right to complain to the OIA even if they have chosen to use another route to raise their concerns. If a student’s complaint has been considered by another body and the student then brings the same complaint to us, we would decide whether we can review it, taking into account the relevant procedures, the fact that the student had a choice of where to take their complaint, and that the student had already complained to another external body.
International law and regulation
15There are many different models of overseas higher education delivery. Some provision is delivered entirely by an English or Welsh provider operating in an overseas location without a partner provider. Under these arrangements the English or Welsh provider should normally carry out its procedures locally to address student complaints, appeals and other internal processes. Students may also be directed to local sources of support. The English or Welsh provider has the same responsibilities for these students’ complaints, appeals and other matters as for those of their students undertaking study in England or Wales. If it is a member of our Scheme, the English or Welsh provider should issue a Completion of Procedures Letter when its processes are at an end.
16Often the overseas provision will be delivered in partnership with one or more transnational partners. The guidance set out below (paragraphs 41-57) is relevant to these kinds of international partnerships. It is important to set out clearly to students and prospective students what the role of each partner in complaints, appeals and other internal processes is. Providers should ensure that marketing and other materials for students are clear and accurate. If a provider’s information leads a student to reasonably believe that there is no difference between the processes that apply to a student in England or Wales and those that apply to a student in an overseas location, this will set up an expectation that the student may bring a complaint to us. If the English or Welsh provider is a member of our Scheme and it deals with any stages of a complaint, academic appeal or other internal process then it is likely that students will have the right to bring a complaint to us.
17Providers will also need to take account of wider legal requirements and different cultural contexts when working internationally to design and operate appropriate procedures. This may include consideration of issues such as the evidential requirements and the language(s) that can be used in complaints-handling procedures. Other countries may have their own quality assurance and/or student complaints-handling arrangements. Providers in England and Wales working in partnerships in other countries should work with their overseas partners to establish how those requirements fit with domestic requirements.
18If regulations in the overseas country or state require that students have access to an external regulator or ombuds organisation in that country or state, then it is a matter for the providers to determine how those arrangements would fit with the students’ right to bring a complaint to us about matters that are the responsibility of the provider in England or Wales.
19The existence of a route to complain to an external regulator or ombuds organisation in another country or state will not usually remove the student’s right to use our Scheme. We will normally expect the provider in England or Wales that is the member of our Scheme to issue a Completion of Procedures Letter at the end of its internal procedures. If the student brings a complaint to us, we will decide whether we can review it under the Rules of our Scheme. We will consider any actions that have been taken to resolve the complaint under another regulatory or alternative dispute resolution process in making our decision.