Bogus colleges - Advice for students

Thursday, 10 June 2010 14:56

What is a bogus college?

Although the vast majority of privately-run colleges in the UK are fully legitimate and committed to providing their students with the service they expect, some students may be at risk from so called 'bogus colleges'. These colleges' activities may involve providing fraudulent vocational or general qualifications at very high or very low prices.

Recent examples of allegations concerning bogus colleges have involved health care qualifications achieved through distance learning and English for Speakers for Other Languages (ESOL) qualifications. Accredited ESOL qualifications are in some cases required by immigrants seeking British citizenship, as evidence that they meet the English language requirement stipulated by the Home Office.

Students of bogus colleges are often not registered by the college as candidates with the appropriate awarding organisations, and may end up paying large sums of money for qualifications which they later find out are not accepted by employers, other education establishments or the Home Office.

For bona-fide colleges to offer an accredited qualification they must become approved by an awarding organisation recognised by the regulator, Ofqual. The awarding organisation centre approval process ensures that colleges can deliver qualifications to the required regulatory and qualification specifications, have the necessary resources to deliver the assessment to candidates equally, safely and securely and have the financial security required to protect candidates interests.

Most bogus colleges will not be approved centres, but may falsely claim to be accredited or approved by an awarding organisation. If you are in any doubt about the validity of a centre or college it is a good idea to ring the awarding organisation they claim to be approved by, and ask them whether they are a genuine centre. The awarding organisation will be able to tell you if they are an approved centre and, although this is important information, it is important to remember that a college may still operate fraudulently even though they are approved.

In some cases, even though approved by an awarding organisation, a centre may undertake activities that are considered to be fraudulent or constitute malpractice. In such circumstances, Ofqual requires the awarding organisation to investigate allegations of malpractice and take action to protect the integrity of the qualification and the interests of the candidates wherever possible.

Warning signs

Fees

Common sense is the best means of ensuring that your course is genuine. If your course appears to be surprisingly cheap (or expensive) you should be suspicious. Course fees do vary but if you are suspicious of the cost for course you should contact the awarding organisation which provides the qualification and check with them whether the price seems reasonable. Contact details for all recognised awarding bodies can be found in The Register.

Length of course

The length of the course is often another useful indicator of the validity of the qualification being offered. If your course appears to offer a full qualification in a very short time you should be suspicious. It is important to remember that some basic qualifications can be completed with a simple test in one day, but generally a course which claims to offer a qualification pass in a day is reason to be suspicious. All accredited qualifications have a recommended number of guided learning hours, which can be found in the qualification specification. The specification is available on the website of the relevant awarding organisation. For instance, many Level 3 ESOL courses recommend around 100 guided learning hours. Although this total will vary depending on the ability of the student, be suspicious of a college which offers this qualification in very short periods of time, especially less than a week.

Pass requirements

Some colleges offer a 'guaranteed pass' in their advertising. Although this may simply reflect high standards within the centre, be aware that no accredited qualification comes with a guarantee of a pass and be wary of courses which offer such a guarantee, especially if you are also suspicious of the cost and time the course will take. A very cheap course, which guarantees you will pass in an afternoon, may not be legitimate.

Advertising

A centre's promotional material may reflect their legitimacy. A website with very little information, or one which encourages you to telephone or email them only, rather than providing a legitimate postal address may be bogus. Additionally, poor English spelling and grammar on the website may be cause for concern. Legitimate centres will usually display the logo of the awarding organisation that approves them to offer their courses. Some bogus colleges will fraudulently display an awarding organisations logo even though they have not been approved. If a centre displays such a logo but you are suspicious of their activities you should contact the awarding organisation directly to discuss your concerns.

Some colleges offering ESOL with citizenship courses for people who wish to apply for naturalisation as a British citizen or for settlement in the UK may erroneously claim to be 'Home office approved'. The Home Office does not in fact approve, license or otherwise endorse any particular providers of this course. To be acceptable for naturalisation or settlement purposes, however, the course must include appropriate citizenship content and it must lead to the award of an accredited ESOL 'Skills for Life' qualification at Entry Level in Speaking and Listening. More information about these requirements can be found at http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/applying/.

An alternative means of demonstrating eligibility for naturalisation or settlement in the UK is to pass a short test known as the "Life in the UK Test". More information about the Life in the UK Test, which is aimed at people who already have a good standard of English, can be found at www.lifeintheuktest.gov.uk. Only those colleges listed on the Home Office website are able to offer this test.

Under the new points system, all colleges which bring foreign students into the UK as learners must be registered as a tier 4 sponsor with the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA). Check whether your college is registered on the UKBA website. Further information on the Tier 4 points system is available here. If you are a foreign student your visa may be contingent on continuing a full time course. If you leave your course or discover that your course is not valid (because, for example, it is not full-time or is with an unregistered college) you may be ineligible to remain in the UK on that visa. United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) will be able to advise on the best course of action if you are affected by a bogus college.

Doing as much research into your potential college and the qualifications offered before you enrol is the best way to avoid becoming a victim. However, there are many unfortunate circumstances where students have enrolled with a college and paid significant sums of money before they realise the college is not genuine.

What can I do if I think I am the victim of a bogus college?

If you believe you are the victim of a bogus college you must discover several important pieces of information. Firstly, whether you were ever registered with the awarding body your college may have claimed to be approved by. If you were registered then the awarding body is responsible for helping transfer you to a legitimate course.

If you are completing an NVQ then try to find out where your portfolio is. It is best to try to retain your portfolio at all times (except when it is being assessed), but if you can retain possession of it you may not have to repeat all the work you have completed if you transfer to another course.

If you are a foreign student your visa may be contingent on continuing a full time course. If you discover that you have not been enrolled with an awarding body you must contact your immigration officer immediately, who will be able to help you. If you leave your course or discover that your course is not valid you may be ineligible to remain in the UK.

If you discover that a qualification you have completed is not legitimate then make sure you keep the certificate and any other information from the centre (such as receipts, confirmation of registration, etc), especially if the certificate appears to be from a recognised awarding body. These documents will provide important information which the awarding organisation can use to follow the audit trail, and if necessary withdraw centre approval.

Where can I get help?

The Register - provides a full list of all the qualifications which have been accredited by Ofqual. For more on Ofqual's accreditation process see Ofqual's website. The Register also provides contact details for all recognised awarding organisations. If your qualification does not appear on this website it has not been accredited and it is not within Ofqual's remit to regulate it.

Your college/centre if you are not sure which awarding body is providing your course you should ask your college directly. If they are legitimate they should have no concerns about providing the information. Refusal to do so would be suspicious behaviour, and may indicate that they are not a genuine provider.

United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) if you are a foreign student the UKBA will be able to help you, and advise the best course of action if you are affected by a bogus college.

Ofqual (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) if you wish to discuss concerns about a college or qualification with Ofqual please call our helpline on 0300 303 3346 or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Ofqual can advise on the best course of action.

Awarding organisation if you want to check whether a centre is legitimately claiming to be approved by an awarding organisation, use NDAQ or an internet search engine to find the awarding organisation's contact details and discuss any concerns with them directly.

Trading standards are responsible for ensuring quality of goods and services in the UK and preventing the exploitation of customers. If colleges are mis-selling courses this may, depending on the circumstance, be of interest to trading standards.

The Police finally, if you are concerned that you, a friend or relative may be the victim of fraud you may contact your local police station. They will be able to advise whether they will address the issue directly and if not should be able to suggest the most appropriate body to contact.

Last Updated on Monday, 25 October 2010 11:21 Tags: Ofqual, education, examination regulation, qualifications, assessments