University of West London fined £150,000 by Ofqual for failing to oversee music qualifications properly

Fine reflects the severity of the university’s failure says qualifications body

Ofqual, the department which regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England, has fined the University of West London £150,000 for breaking the rules governing the award of qualifications to students, affecting thousands of music students.

‘University of West London failed to properly oversee how a third party delivered graded music assessments and issued certificates’ says the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation.

‘From January 2020 to November 2022, UWL failed to exercise proper control over one of its third-party centres. As a result, the centre designed, delivered and awarded music theory qualifications to 224 students which had not been through UWL’s usual approval process – and issued certificates to students’.

An Ofqual investigation also found that 4,300 students taking the Ofqual-regulated Theory of Music qualifications did not receive their certificates promptly after completing assessments.

In addition, it found that UWL had no appeals process for students for nearly three years.

‘While 224 students were directly affected by the third-party centre’s decision to use its own unauthorised test papers, UWL, as the awarding organisation responsible, had no assurance at the time that the assessments the centre used were fit for purpose’.

Approximately 40,000 students received certificates via the centre for nearly three years when it was not adequately supervised, ‘posing a risk to students and to public confidence in exams’.

Amanda Swann, Ofqual’s Executive Director of Delivery, said:

“This fine reflects 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”.

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.”

Ofqual has not revealed the identity of the third party centre, but there must now be a question over the validity of music theory qualifications held by thousands of learners who have gone through their system.

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