Leeds City College Group granted degree awarding powers

The Leeds City College Group is the second provider in the Yorkshire region and seventh in the country to have been granted foundation degree awarding powers by the Privy Council.

Previously validated by Teesside University and the Open University, Leeds City College Group will now be able to award degrees in its own right.

It currently offers a range of foundation degrees including art, computing, biomedical science, business, childcare, dance, engineering, sport, teacher training, tourism and aviation, photography, theatrical hair and make-up and law. The college’s University Centre recently completed a £400,000 makeover to incorporate a brand new makeup suite and specialist science labs.

There is now scope for the group to develop and validate its provision further in-line with local market demand.

Janet Faulkner, Director of HE at the University Centre, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for us and is testament to the high quality teaching and learning that we deliver.

“Staff have been working extremely hard to reach this stage and we’re excited to move forward with the autonomy to quickly respond to the economic needs of the region.”

QAA’s Quality Assurance Manager for Degree Awarding Powers said: “We carried out stringent checks to ensure that the college was equipped to offer its own foundation degrees to the standard expected.

“The checks were carried out by experts from other universities and colleges: academics with a clear understanding of what it means to design, deliver and award UK degrees’.