The Office for Students has refused the registration application of Barking and Dagenham College, following a rigorous process of assessment and evaluation

The Office for Students has refused the registration application of Barking and Dagenham College, following a rigorous process of assessment and evaluation.

The application has been refused because the initial conditions of registration, as set out in our regulatory framework, have not been satisfied. Specifically, the OfS considers that Barking and Dagenham College does not satisfy the following initial condition of registration:

• Condition B3 – Quality (student outcomes).

Barking and Dagenham College sought an injunction to prevent the Office for Students publishing this decision. Following a hearing at the High Court this week, the application for an injunction was refused.

Office for Students registration https://t.co/Q7vgWlHbL6

— FE News (@FENews) October 11, 2019

Commenting following the court’s decision, Susan Lapworth, director of competition and registration at the Office for Students said:

‘We welcome the court’s judgment which allows us to publish an important regulatory decision in the interests of current and prospective students. This means that all students will have the information necessary to make informed choices about their studies. The OfS is prepared to defend vigorously the interests of students through the courts and, as in this case, we will seek to recoup the costs of such litigation.

‘The Office for Students is working with the college in order for it to have the opportunity to apply to ‘teach out’ its current students. Being granted designation for teach out would mean that continuing students, subject to individual eligibility, would be able to continue to access student support from the Student Loans Company.’

The Office for Students is the independent regulator for higher education in England. Our aim is to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers. 

Conditions of registration are the primary tool that the OfS uses to regulate individual higher education providers. They are minimum requirements that providers must meet in order to be and stay registered with us, because they demonstrate that the provider is able to offer high quality higher education to students.

Our conditions are set out in detail in our regulatory framework.

   The OfS’s assessment of condition B3 related to the college’s higher education courses that had previously been directly funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

The college’s further education courses, which are inspected by Ofsted, are not affected by the OfS’s registration decision.

Students on courses delivered by the college under a subcontractual arrangement with a higher education provider that is registered with the OfS may continue to access the student support system.

The OfS has published a guidance document for students who may be affected by this decision.