Quality assessment report: RTC Education Limited

The report sets out the advice of independent academic experts who carried out the assessment for the OfS during the 2022-23 academic year. The assessment included two on-site visits, with the team considering a range of evidence, including from staff and students.  

The assessment team found six areas of concern. These concerns were:

• Concern 1: All students did not receive a high quality academic experience. The assessment team found that courses were often not up to date, not consistently effectively delivered, often lacked educational challenge and coherence, and often did not teach relevant skills.
• Concern 2: Academic staff resource was often not sufficient or deployed effectively, leading to inadequate resourcing of modules and reduced quality of the support provided to students. Evidence of academic staff resource impacting on module organisation and management could be seen through the module tutor frequently changing, a lack of clarity in information and guidance to students, and summative assessment grades and feedback being provided to students inconsistently.
• Concern 3: Staff resource for student support through the college’s ‘HubX model’ did not consistently ensure that students received academic support needed for a high quality academic experience and success in and beyond higher education.
• Concern 4: Teaching room facilities and study spaces were insufficient to support students successfully participating in their studies.
• Concern 5: The assessment team found a lack of physical and digital library resources, including access to course reading materials.
• Concern 6: Academic practices relating to summative assessment meant that some students were not assessed effectively and some assessments were not valid and/or reliable.  

The report published today sets out the findings of the assessment team in more detail. It does not take into account matters which may have occurred subsequent to the assessment taking place.

Jean Arnold, Deputy Director of Quality at the OfS, said:  

'This report sets out the significant concerns of the assessment team across a range of areas which are relevant to a number of the OfS’s conditions around quality and standards. All institutions offering these types of courses, including those delivered through partnerships, should be sure that their courses are high quality, that they are recruiting students with the potential to succeed on the course, and that students from all backgrounds receive good academic and pastoral support.

'Today’s report does not contain the OfS’s regulatory judgement about the quality of business and management courses at RTC Education Limited. Before taking any regulatory decisions, the OfS will look closely at the assessment team’s findings and consider the next steps in the investigation, which may include considering whether any regulatory action is appropriate.'

 Notes   

1. The Office for Students is the independent regulator for higher education in England. Our aim is to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers.  
2. An assessment report contains the judgements and advice of an assessment team. Once the OfS receives a report it considers the advice and whether it raises any compliance issues with its conditions of registration. The OfS has not yet made any decisions in relation to this provider.
3. This is the final quality assessment report from our first cycle of assessment reports that we opened into business and management and computing courses. See the previous assessment reports from this cycle.