AIHEP News

The Association of Independent Higher Education Providers (AIHEP) was launched on a formal basis on 19th July, 2004 in the House of Lords, under the Chairmanship of Lord John Tomlinson. Strict guidelines of membership have been drawn up to implement the quality policies that are of paramount importance to the Association. Members of this Association have been validated by UK universities and they are a part of the quality audit process of the UK university framework. Member colleges follow a strict code of conduct

that emphasise the Association's commitment to quality and transparency. AIHEP also strongly recommends that the entry clearance system should be robust not just at the entry clearance phase, but also in the subsequent monitoring phases. The enforcement mechanisms for monitoring students should be more stringent and effective, with reports on students attendance and progress patterns being reported to the Home Office at regular intervals. Essentially, there should be both an ethical and stringent code of conduct from the recruitment phase to the graduation phase of a student. It also advocates a greater involvement by the DFeS in monitoring the independent private sector.

The objectives of the AIHEP include:

• to provide a representative body for the UK's high quality independent providers
• to ensure clear standards for course delivery and student support
• to ensure compliance with UK government regulations, particularly immigration (members are lead participants in the current Home Office pilot tracking system)
• to grow effective public-private partnerships for mutual benefit

AIHEP Conference - National Meeting: 1 March 2010

Equal treatment for public and private higher education institutions

This was the theme that ran through the National Conference of AIHEP held in London this week. Jeremy Oppenheimer of the UK Border’s Agency assured the delegates that public and private institutions will be treated equally in terms of visas for students. He said that there were likely to be private providers included in the UKBA’s approved list of ‘highly trusted’ institutions when it is published in April. However any UK provider, failing to meet requirements, will be removed – public as well as private. The security of the UK could not be compromised.

The conference heard that there will be more private providers applying for degree awarding powers but, as David Willetts MP asked the delegates: ‘are the provisions of the current system biased against UK private providers?’ Obtaining university status was an almost impossible task for UK private institutions. David Willetts said he was concerned that some foreign universities with low credentials were operating in the UK with university title while high quality UK private providers found it extremely difficult to obtain the status.

The conference questioned whether a UK public university, falling short of QAA requirements, would ever have its degree awarding powers removed.

The conference called for a closer dialogue with public sector providers and their representative bodies to share experiences, to help remove misunderstandings and to engage the UK’s quality private sector in the wider higher education community. When might UK private institutions expect to be supported from HEFCE or other government funding?

For Full details of the conference please click here.