It’s a story that sounds familiar to anyone who’s been following the fate of franchising in higher education in England ever since then universities minister Jo Johnson said that the state of HE subcontracting was “akin to Byron Burger having to ask permission of McDonald’s to open up a new restaurant” back in 2015. Now, following a National Audit Office investigation and action from the Office for Students (OfS), we learn of “widespread academic misconduct”, inadequate contracts, TikTok ads that say “the government will pay the student to study”, and universities “prioritising the financial benefits of these arrangements over the quality of courses”. With universities increasingly cash-strapped, these arrangements are proliferating along with the risks. click here to access the link
