OfS finds ‘concerns’ on Bedfordshire’s business courses

England’s higher education regulator has found three “concerns” in a report on the University of Bedfordshire’s business and management courses, in the latest of its government-initiated investigations to be published.

The Office for Students said its investigation “identified three concerns that may relate to the University of Bedfordshire’s compliance with the OfS’s conditions of registration”: on “limited flexibility” for working students; on “limited central monitoring of student engagement with their course”, including those at risk of dropping out; and a lack of steps to address “low continuation rates”.

From 2016-17 to 2019-20, the non-continuation rate for students on Bedfordshire’s undergraduate business and management courses was 40.7 per cent, the OfS said.

The investigation was among eight announced by the OfS in May 2022, after a letter from ministers said they “would expect a significant number of investigations to be initiated” at larger universities falling short of the regulator’s new B3 quality baselines, which cover student continuation and completion, and graduate progression to “professional employment”.

Previous OfS reports on business and management investigations found four “areas of concern” at the University of Bolton, no concerns at London South Bank University and no concerns at the University of East London.

On concern one in the Bedfordshire report, the OfS said “undergraduate courses were delivered mainly through a traditional full-time student model that operated during standard teaching hours with limited flexibility for students”, a problem given student cohorts “that the university acknowledged were non-traditional in nature, with many students who were working full time while studying”.

“This concern relates to condition B1, because this condition requires that the higher education provider must ensure that the students registered on each higher education course receive a high quality academic experience, including that courses should be effectively delivered,” it added.

Concern two, on limited monitoring of student engagement, “relates to condition B2, because this condition requires that the higher education provider take all reasonable steps to ensure students receive sufficient academic resources and support”.

In concern three, the OfS said, there was “an inability to take effective action to address low continuation”.

Jean Arnold, deputy director of quality at the OfS, said: “Today’s report does not contain the OfS’s regulatory judgement about the quality of business and management courses at the University of Bedfordshire. Before taking any regulatory decisions, the OfS will look closely at the assessment team’s findings and consider the next steps in the investigation, which may include considering whether any regulatory action is appropriate.”

Bedfordshire has been approached for comment.

john.morgan@timeshighereducation.com