A theme on this site is the creation of new higher education providers. An aspect that’s becoming quite clear is that the promise of the regulatory regime in England to be faster in creating new providers is not yet being realised. The talk of fast track universities was quite a concern, so maybe this is a benefit?
If speed is a problem, then it’s only accentuated by the temptation of budding providers to be over-enthusiastic in the early stages of their development. Some proposed new providers instantly become badged as a university, even if stands little chance of meeting the criteria at the outset. As a case study, l have a look at the prolonged adventure in Hereford, apparently awarded probationary degree awarding powers. *
In July 2023 the Hereford Times carried the good news that NMITE had been awarded degree awarding powers. They quoted Jesse Norman MP:
He said: “This is a milestone in our county’s history. Thanks to NMITE, for the first time in more than 1,000 years, students coming here from near and far will be able to graduate with a Herefordshire university degree.
NMITE ‘massive breakthrough’ hailed by Hereford MP Jesse Norman Hereford Times 25 July 2023
“But this is also a milestone for NMITE itself. It shows the amazing progress which it has made since it opened its doors to degree students just two years ago. And it underlines the quality of its education and the confidence which the Office for Students as regulator has in it.
Interestingly, OfS took the unusual step of noting that NMITE had indeed got New DAPs in a press statement on revisions to the process on 27 July. But, in a way that surprises few that have followed this provider, the actual order had not been published a month after the press splash.
Despite that 1,000 year claim, Hereford has had higher education provision. There’s a university centre and an art college, both registered with OfS. Both had graduation ceremonies in the Cathedral in September last year. There also used to have a teacher training college, but that closed in the 1970s. A university is a really powerful development tool, however, it appears that the local worthies got excited about the prospect of a proper university, a STEM-focused one. Jesse Norman had promoted the idea of a university before he was elected MP for Hereford in 2010 and has continued to be a major supporter. A scheme came together for a new type of provider, offering a different type of engineering course. The New Model in Technology & Engineering was launched, with Norman securing DfE support to help them get going. In February 2015 George Osborne publicly announced that support.
DfE moved from that offer of support, to providing real funds. In October 2017 they confirmed £15 million was going to the project. Although small in the scheme of the overall education budget, this is was a significant intervention to support one new provider. There was no competition to decide who would get these funds. DfE also added this claim:
This follows the introduction of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, which aims to drive up quality and competition in higher education by making it easier for high-quality institutions to enter the market.
The NMITE project hasn’t been shy, there have been announcements along the way, often citing the confusing claim to be the first new greenfield university in 40 years. Most splendid of all was the inauguration at the cathedral, with officers clad in specially designed gowns.
NMiTE was inaugurated on Friday 19 October 2018, and is the first in a new wave of universities appearing in Britain following changes by the government to allow new entrants.
Activities have continued, but all the way back in 18/19 the accounts set out some key changes:
NMiTE changed its approach to validation during the year and engaged with a new validation partner of national standing in July with a view to acheiving validation of its programme by early 2020, and to achieve Registration as a higher education provider with the Office for Students.
Report of the Trustees and Financial Statements
Herefordshire Council acted as the publicly accountable body for DfE’s funds as well as being a key supporter. Their Audit & Governance Committee is kept apprised of developments, including audit opinions. In one update they noted progress:
The inspections to evaluate the progress of NMiTE in meeting the required standards for the course accreditation and for NMiTE’s registration with the office for students went ahead in October and November 2019 as scheduled. The feedback from NMiTE is that these inspections went well and a range of follow up inspections are being scheduled for March and April 2020.
Herefordshire Council, 2020, NMITE progress report (Audit & Governance Committee)
We know that one of these meetings was the Quality & Standards Review conducted by the QAA in November 2019, a requirement ahead of OfS consideration of registration. The Committee had been assured that DfE are happy with progress and would release the next tranche of funds. Hereford were not going for a franchise, where the students are those of an existing provider on one of its courses, but rather a validation of a different type of course.
It’s important that OfS registration establishes that a provider can access the student support system, apply to sponsor international students and apply for degree awarding powers. It’s vital for what David Watson called the ‘controlled reputational range’ of the sector. OfS Regulatory Advice Note 3 sets out the requirements, including a positive outcome from a QSR review and several self-assessments and drafts of access and student protection documentation.
However, there were concerns along the way. In an extraordinary outburst, Jesse Norman rounded on the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) . In a ministerial response to a Westminster Hall debate, Norman accused the LEP of being ‘absolutely diabolical in the way it has treated this very innovative project’.
The LEP, which by charter is supposed to support economic growth in the Marches, has done nothing but prevaricate and delay. Even now, it is seeking to impose a £5 million indemnity on Government investment, although the Government made it clear in letters from the Secretary of State and from senior civil servants as early as January 2019 that no such indemnity was required. … I put it on record that this important opportunity for a portable model of regional growth in higher education, which was developed through a pioneering model of tech and engineering at university and which offers possibilities and creativity, has been ignored and is being actively undermined.
Jesse Norman, Hansard 21 January 2020
£23 million (presumably £15 million from DfE and £8 million from the LEP) is a lot of government funding. There is also a considerable amount of support from Herefordshire Council and other support from the LEP. There’s some effective fundraising supporting this (for example the Garfield Weston foundation), it’s not quite building the kind of endowment the earlier press statements hinted at. The summaries from the most recent years show the substantial outgoings (remembering that capital grants & expenditure are included here).
| Income (£,000s) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Tuition fees and education contracts | 120 | ||
| Funding body grants | 6128 | 89 | 892 |
| Other income | 2646 | 2407 | 5279 |
| Donations & endowment | 3365 | 3067 | 2844 |
| Total | 12139 | 5563 | 9135 |
| Expenditure (£,000s) | |||
| Staff Costs | 2366 | 2968 | 2878 |
| Restructuring costs | 39 | 171 | |
| Other operating expenses | 3266 | 3809 | 4495 |
| Depreciation | 108 | 110 | 499 |
| Interest & other finance costs | 2 | 32 | 65 |
| Total | 5705 | 6958 | 8109 |
What NMITE’s accounts have shown is they were generating real costs in advance of having students; in the year to July 2019 it had 21 staff with a staff cost of £1.6 million within an overall ‘expenditure on education’ of £2.5 million. This is a bit on the high side for a provider that was still two academic years away from students on academic awards, but it highlights the issue that a provider taking this route – validation and registration – needs to have time and funding. I’ve written about Daniel Coit Gilman who the first president of Johns Hopkins University: he had $3.5 million at his disposal to set up a university in 1876 (then the largest ever donation). It seems unlikely that a new provider could get far on £3.5 million in 2020.
NMITE aren’t alone, the London Interdisciplinary School postponed its start to 2021 citing the process taking longer than thought. LIS has a fully thought through ‘oven ready’ proposition (down to detailed student regulations) and yet couldn’t complete the process in time. The Inns of Court College of Advocacy was admitted to the Register in January 2020 having applied in December 2018. Again, this is a single course provider, in this case offering a PGDip in conjunction with a partner university. It may be that having a postgraduate only offer simplifies the process, ICCA managing to complete registration in 14 months.
OfS have addressed the concern about the speed of registration, but even recent examples have clearly taken a long time between the QSR and getting on the register. The franchise route at least provides both the ‘apprenticeship’ support and the means to provide students, although there are new worries about that. S P Jain is an example of the other possible route; an established international provider joined the register in January 2023 and got probationary degree awarding powers at the end of July 2023.
What makes NMITE an exception is DfE’s continued sponsorship of this new provision. The 2022 accounts confirm that in addition to the grants provided, DfE has agreed loans with ‘tranches in February 2022 and a further tranche of £3m confirmed for receipt in the following financial year in January 2023’. This is a significant proportion of the recurrent costs of the provider. A ‘charge’ has been lodged with Companies House, in effect noting that NMiTE has mortgaged its buildings to the DfE (which in the majority HMG has paid for).
With expansion needed, it seems that completely new providers having their own registration and opting for validated provision and/or ‘New DAPs’ is the slowest, riskiest and most expensive route to follow. If a DfE supported (and funded) provider with a limited offer struggles to get going in 5 years, then we should be promoting the quicker route, which is an ‘apprenticeship’ involving existing providers.
* Update 1. An order was made on 29 August, coming into effect on 1 September, to allow NMITE time-limited degree awards up to and including master’s level for subjects related to—
(1) engineering, and
(2) architecture, building and planning,
* Update 2. On 2 October, the Herefordshire Times carried the story that NMITE had admitted a record intake of 55 students. There are now three courses and, although the accelerated courses could have a fee of £11,100 they are charging £9000. This would give fee income for this cohort of £495000.
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