The Home Office is reportedly looking into the sponsorship programme of a partnership between Glyndwr University and the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF).
While there is no suggestion that any rules have been broken, entry has been suspended to a programme connected with the university. The programme sponsored overseas students to allow them to work in Britain while teaching was provided by a private college, which also collected tuition fees.
The Times Higher Education supplement (THES) reported on the breakdown of the arrangement, which follows the end of a similar partnership between the LSBF and London Metropolitan University.
It also comes as Glyndwr stated that it had been considering starting up a much wider partnership validating other courses offered by the LSBF and other organisations. However, a spokesman for the university told the paper: “After following a stringent process of due diligence [the university] decided not to proceed.
“We never validated or delivered any degree programmes and no CAS [confirmation of acceptance for studies, needed to gain a student visa] was ever issued or places offered on any programme leading to a Glyndwr University award.”
At the moment, 312 students are on jointly offered accountancy courses through the LSBF and Glyndwr link. The door to new applicants was shut at the end of May but the current students are still sponsored by Glyndwr in order to give them the right to work in the UK. They are registered as students with the university but taught at the Glyndwr London campus by the LSBF.
An LSBF spokesman told the THES that this decision was made to “support students' ability to fulfil practical experience requirements on their course”.