The Office for Students (OfS) has published a case report explaining its regulatory decisions following an investigation into the quality of business and management courses provided by Buckinghamshire New University.
In May 2022, the OfS decided to open the investigation as a result of its general monitoring activity. An expert assessment team identified five areas of concern in relation to the university’s business and management courses between October 2022 and May 2023, which were set out in a quality assessment report published in January 2024.
Based on the evidence gathered by the assessment team, the OfS found that:
- The university had breached condition B2, which relates to student resources and support. At the time of the assessment, the team found that the learning resources provided on the virtual learning environment (VLE) were not consistently ensuring a high quality academic experience or supporting the success of all students.
- The university also missed opportunities to identify the academic support needs of students on its business and management courses. These missed opportunities included partial reporting of student attainment data that limited the provider’s opportunities to identify and develop its students’ academic support needs.
Throughout and since the assessment process, the OfS has worked closely with Buckinghamshire New University, which explained the significant changes it has made in relation to the concerns set out in the assessment report. The OfS has found that these changes are likely to effectively address the breach of condition B2 and has decided not to take any further regulatory action in relation to these issues at this time.
Jean Arnold, Deputy Director of Quality at the OfS, said:
‘Students should expect a high quality academic experience from their university or college, as well as the support and resources they need to succeed in higher education.
‘Buckinghamshire New University has collaborated positively with us to address the concerns we identified in relation to the quality of its business and management courses.
‘We’re satisfied that the university has accepted the need for changes and has a thorough plan in place to mitigate future risks. We recognise the important steps it has taken to ensure students can be confident that they’re getting the academic experience they were promised.’