Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) had ¡°far too many¡± franchise students?and is?dramatically cutting back on this type of provision despite it being worth more than ?20 million,?the new head of the institution has said.

Damien Page had been in post as vice-chancellor of the High Wycombe-based university for five weeks when?The?Sunday Times published its?investigation into potential student loan fraud connected to subcontracted courses, which education minister Bridget Phillipson said was ¡°one of the biggest financial scandals universities have faced¡±.

One of BNU¡¯s former partners,?Oxford Business College, has since had its access to student loan funding blocked by the government after ¡°falling well short¡± on student recruitment and attendance.

The now-terminated?subcontractual arrangement with the college was one of many such?deals that contributed to BNU becoming the?biggest franchise university partner?in the UK.?

ÌÇÐÄVlog

¡°The first day, it was clear we had to make a reduction,¡± Page told?ÌÇÐÄVlog. ¡°We had more franchise students than anyone else in the country ¨C twelve-odd-thousand ¨C which is just far too many, and the balance¡­just wasn¡¯t right.¡±

Page¡¯s predecessor, Nick Braisby, was one of the?leading voices defending franchise arrangements, which many argue support widening participation in higher education.

ÌÇÐÄVlog

But Page has taken a different approach since his appointment: ¡°It does reach students that traditional approaches for universities don¡¯t reach, but I also think as a sector we¡¯ve overblown that a bit,¡± he said.?

Terminating its contract with OBC and two other providers?¨C London School of Science and Technology and Regent College London ¨C means the university will now see its franchise provision fall by about 85 per cent.

¡°To be sure of complete quality, we only want to work with smaller partners,¡± Page said, adding that the university will now be subjecting both new and existing partners to ¡°far greater scrutiny¡±.

¡°Our council hadn¡¯t been as informed as they should have been and I think it¡¯s been quite eye-opening for them,¡± he said. ¡°We do far more attendance checks, far more in-person visits, and now our council have to approve all new partners, so they¡¯re given the full due diligence.¡±

For some institutions, franchise provision has become an important income stream in the face of rising costs and frozen tuition fees. At BNU, which reported a surplus of ?3.7 million last year, franchising has boosted the university¡¯s income by upwards of ?20 million.?

ÌÇÐÄVlog

¡°Our financial sustainability has been predicated upon franchise. Now for us, that¡¯s not independence,¡± Page said. ¡°We still want to do franchise but we don¡¯t want to have to be relying on it.¡±

Instead, the university has been focused on efficiencies, including putting a hotel currently under its ownership on the market.?

¡°We¡¯ve been forensic about finding savings, and we¡¯re still looking in decent shape financially,¡± Page said, adding that he wants to ¡°get away from the optimism bias in the sector¡±.

ÌÇÐÄVlog

The government looks set to continue cracking down on franchise provision, with the Office for Students (OfS) announcing this week plans to?make universities publish their income?from such arrangements.?

¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to see a blanket ban on franchise because there [are] some really good providers out there,¡± Page said. ¡°I think additional scrutiny is needed, both from the universities but perhaps from the OfS as well.¡±

He added that he would welcome ¡°a review of the behaviours of domestic agents¡± and that BNU is moving away from using them.?¡°Anything that maintains ethics at the heart of franchise we definitely support.¡±

Looking forward, Page is keen to draw a line under the events of recent months and turn over a new leaf for the university, focusing further on widening participation on campus and preparing students for the job market.?

ÌÇÐÄVlog

¡°We¡¯re not obsessed with growth,¡± he said of the future. ¡°We want to be sustainable; that¡¯s more important to us.¡±?

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com