Two-thirds of English institutions have fallen below the regulator¡¯s thresholds for undergraduate student outcomes in their franchise partnerships, analysis suggests.

that 77 per cent of franchised students continue their courses into a second year, compared?with 88 per cent of full-time first-degree students across the sector as a whole.

Three-quarters of these students completed their courses, compared?with 87 per cent sector-wide, and?only 57 per cent achieved good outcomes 15 months after graduating, which was well below the sector average of 71 per cent. The gaps are even greater for international students.

The OfS?has recently launched a crackdown on the weaker outcomes for students taught at courses subcontracted out to other providers after a sharp rise in recent years.

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It said it had?published data on student outcomes under these arrangements for individual partnerships for the first time to increase transparency.

ÌÇÐÄVlog analysed how often different providers fell below the OfS¡¯ numerical thresholds for regulating student outcomes ¨C defined as 80 per cent for continuation rates, 75 per cent for completion rates and 60 per cent for progression rates.

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Of the 64 providers with data for overall partnerships, 42 (66 per cent) fell below one of the thresholds at least once and 25 (39 per cent) did so more than once.

The largest number of these came at Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) which fell below the thresholds in 12 of its 23 partnerships with data ¨C including a progression rate of just 39 per cent in its partnership with Global Banking School Limited.

BNU said it had reduced subcontracted provision by 85 per cent since the appointment of its new vice-chancellor in February.

A spokesperson added:?¡°While BNU will continue to engage in select high-quality and transnational collaborations, our focus is firmly on growing core student numbers and developing smaller, ethical partnerships centred on delivering an exceptional student experience.¡±

BNU?was followed by the University of Suffolk, which had nine partnerships that failed to meet the threshold,?and Leeds Trinity University and the University of Staffordshire, which both had eight.

A spokesperson for Suffolk said:?¡°We work closely with our partners to implement robust admissions criteria, monitor attendance, and review the quality of teaching to ensure that students receive the best possible learning experience and support. In addition, we are continuously strengthening our governance which is aimed at driving improvements.¡±

Leeds Trinity became the first university to be fined over its handling of franchised partnerships earlier this year, after the OfS criticised its oversight of the courses.?

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With two franchising agreements failing to meet OfS thresholds, the University of Warwick was the only Russell Group institution included.?A further 118 providers were excluded from the analysis, which looked only at full-time first-degree students for the years 2019-20 to 2022-23.

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Franchising is seen as a way of widening participation by extending provision into ¡°cold spots¡±, as well as being a way to generate extra income.

The OfS data showed that some partnerships resulted in particularly poor outcomes for students.

The continuation rate for St Mary¡¯s University, Twickenham¡¯s partnership with London College PT was just 10 per cent. And just 4 per cent of students at a course run by the University of Worcester and Worcester International College completed it.

Jean Arnold, deputy director of quality at the OfS, said the data shows that outcomes for partnership students are not always comparable?to those for students taught directly.

¡°While some partnerships operate positively, the OfS has consistently raised concerns about the increased risks associated with this type of provision,¡± she added.

¡°Where an institution decides to subcontract the delivery of some of its courses, it retains responsibility for student outcomes and the quality of the academic experience. Decisions to enter into partnership agreements should only be made where the lead provider is satisfied that teaching and support standards will be maintained.¡±

that a record 145,460 full-time undergraduate students were on subcontractual partnerships in 2023-24 ¨C 10 per cent of the sector. This was 13 per cent more than the year before and over double the number in 2020-21.

The continuation measure looks at students who began their courses in 2022-23, and the completion measure 2019-20 entrants. The progression metric looks at the outcomes of students who left in 2022-23.

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All universities mentioned were approached for comment.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com