OfS publishes student outcomes data for subcontracted courses

Today’s data provides additional detail about student outcomes under these arrangements by publishing outcome measures for individual, named partnerships for the first time. This increases transparency about outcomes for students in a part of the sector that has seen significant growth in recent years. The proportion of students studying through partnership agreements has more than doubled in recent years. In 2020-21, 67,550 full-time undergraduates studied through partnerships (4.6 per cent). This grew to 116,150 students in 2022-23 (7.7 per cent).

The data shows that, at a sector level, there is evidence of weaker outcomes for students taught under partnership arrangements. The OfS’s student outcomes measures consider the proportion of students continuing, completing and progressing from their course to positive outcomes. For students studying under partnership arrangements:

• 77 per cent of students continue their courses into a second year, compared to 88 per cent of full-time first degree students at the sector as a whole
• 74 per cent of students completed their courses, compared to 87 per cent sector-wide
• 57 per cent went on to good outcomes 15 months after finishing their courses, compared to 71 per cent across the sector.

The sector-level outcomes for continuation, completion and progression are all below the OfS’s numerical thresholds used for regulating student outcomes.

Commenting, Jean Arnold, Deputy Director of Quality at the OfS, said:

‘This data provides important information about student outcomes on courses which are subcontracted. This will be useful for prospective students, ‘lead’ providers responsible for registering the students, and institutions responsible for teaching students on these courses.

‘While some partnerships operate positively, the OfS has consistently raised concerns about the increased risks associated with this type of provision. 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.

‘Our expectation is that the outcomes for partnership students should be comparable with those for students taught directly. This data shows that this is not always the case, and institutions with differences in outcomes between direct and subcontracted provision should seek to understand the reasons behind them. Above all, institutions should ensure that students on subcontracted courses have the potential to succeed on the course, and receive good teaching and support through their studies.’

The OfS has recently consulted on new proposals to ensure that risks to students and taxpayers arising from subcontractual arrangements are effectively identified and addressed. The OfS will publish decisions after all responses have been analysed and considered.

Notes

1. The data included in this release is the latest available. The continuation measure looks at students who began their courses in 2022-23. The completion measure considers 2019-20 entrants, and the progression measure looks at the outcomes of students who qualified in 2022-23.
2. The approach to publishing this data was trialled with a group of pilot providers. Following valuable feedback from the pilot, this has now been extended this to all provider partnerships in the sector.
3. Find out more about the OfS’s proposed new requirements for the oversight of subcontracted provision.