Case report
Irshad Trust
When you sign up for a course, you expect clear, honest information about what you’re getting. That’s your right under consumer law. This case shows what can go wrong when that doesn’t happen, and how the OfS and Trading Standards stepped in to protect students’ interests.
What happened and why it matters
Irshad Trust, also known as The Islamic College, used to have its degrees validated by Middlesex University. That partnership ended in January 2024, which meant that new students would no longer receive Middlesex University degrees. But the college’s website and UCAS listings still mentioned Middlesex University as its validator for courses, and it advertised “BA-equivalent” and “MA-equivalent” courses as if they were official degrees. They also suggested that students could get student loans from the Student Loans Company, which was not the case. On top of that, the student terms and conditions were hard to find, and the refund policy was vague and included clauses that could be unfair.
These issues risked misleading students and breaking consumer protection laws. So, in June 2025, the OfS referred the findings to National Trading Standards. After reviewing the situation, National Trading Standards agreed that some of the college’s terms could create an unfair imbalance between students and the college and may breach consumer protection law.
As a result, Irshad Trust worked with National Trading Standards to fix the problems identified. They removed misleading references, clarified course descriptions, took down UCAS listings, made policies easier to find, and updated the refund policy to better comply with legal standards.
What to watch out for
- Validation: check if your course is validated by an OfS-registered university or college. You can check whether a university can award its own degrees on the OfS’s Register. If it doesn’t have the power to do this, it must be validated by someone who can and they must tell you who that is.
- Terminology: be cautious of phrases like “BA-equivalent” or “MA-equivalent” – they don’t mean you’re getting an official degree.
- Funding claims: confirm whether you’re eligible for student loans through official sources. If in doubt, you can check this with the Student Finance England.
- Refund policy: you should read all of your terms and conditions, including your university or college's refunds policy carefully to make sure it’s clear and fair before you sign up. You should be given a copy of your terms and conditions before you accept an offer of study.
- Transparency: if something feels unclear or misleading, ask questions and don’t hesitate to raise concerns.
If you’re worried about any of these issues, speak to your university or college first. If that doesn’t resolve things, you can make a formal complaint to them. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint, you can contact the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, the body that considers individual complaints from students. You can also let us know via our notifications process, as we monitor universities and colleges to ensure they meet our regulatory requirements.
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