UWL fined £150,000 by Ofqual over ‘serious rule breaches’

The University of West London has been fined £150,000 by exams regulator Ofqual for “serious rule breaches” connected to its oversight of an external assessment centre.

UWL was accused of “failing to exercise proper control” over the centre, which designed and awarded qualifications in music theory, between January 2020 and November 2022.

Ofqual said that certificates issued to 224 students had “not been through UWL’s usual approval process” and UWL had “no assurance at the time that the assessments the centre used were fit for purpose”.

The external centre was initially contracted during the pandemic by the London College of Music Examinations (LCME), a trading name of UWL, to provide online assessments while students worked from home. 

Since then, about 40,000 students received certificates through the centre over the three-year period, and Ofqual said it “was not adequately supervised”.

An independent auditor, commissioned by UWL after it was requested by Ofqual, found no evidence that any other assessments had been conducted without going through its normal approvals process. 

Ofqual noted that when it originally imposed special conditions on UWL to commission the audit, the institution initially failed to properly comply, which Ofqual found was due to “negligence”.

Additionally, it was found that 4,300 students studying theory of music at UWL did not receive their certificates promptly after completion, and that the university did not have any student appeals process for nearly three years.

A university spokesperson said it accepted the decision. “UWL regrets that its oversight of this centre fell short of the standard required and apologises to the candidates affected by these failings,” they said.

“Since the relationship with the third-party was terminated in 2022, UWL has undertaken a thorough review of its oversight processes and has implemented new controls to ensure future compliance.”

Amanda Swann, Ofqual’s executive director of delivery, said the fine reflected the “serious nature of UWL’s failures as well as our commitment to protecting students’ interests and maintaining public confidence in our qualifications system”.

“Students must be able to trust that awarding organisations are properly overseeing how their qualifications are delivered. These failures by UWL also had a real impact on thousands of students who were left waiting for certificates they had earned and would have been unable to appeal their results.

“This action is necessary to deter UWL and other awarding organisations from similar failings in future.”