Clause 17
Further Education and Training Bill [Lords]
6:15 pm
Bill Rammell (Minister of State (Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education), Department for Education and Skills; Harlow, Labour)
If I can make some progress, I shall allow further interventions. The issue is important, and we must get this clarification on the record.
When an institution has proved its ability to take full responsibility for its foundation degree programmes and shown that its academic management procedures are robust, there should be the option to grant it the full powers without further restriction, but that will not be an automatic right. The QAA operates an ongoing quality assurance cycle, and any FE institution granted foundation degree-awarding powers will rightly be subject to regular monitoring.
The institution will need to continue to demonstrate that it is able to guarantee the quality standards of provision for students on its foundation degrees, wherever and however that provision is delivered. Failure to do so, irrespective of where the provision is delivered, could lead to intervention by the QAA. That could occur as part of the regular cycle of quality audits, or it could be picked up as a cause for concern at any time. The QAA has a robust mechanism for dealing with causes for concern in higher education, whether they occur in HE or FE institutions.