Private institution passes QAA review

Not-for-profit Richmond – which describes itself as an international, liberal arts, and business studies institution and has around 1,000 students – has undergone a successful institutional review by the Quality Assurance Agency.

Publicly-funded universities must undergo institutional review by the QAA. However, it is not an automatic requirement for private providers. Richmond, whose UK degrees are validated by the Open University, underwent its review voluntarily.

John Annette, Richmond president, said: “This is a great result for the university, progressing towards our own UK taught degree-awarding powers and reinforcing our reputation for quality higher education delivered to a global student body.”

Richmond, which charges tuition fees of £9,000 a year for UK/EU students, already offers US-accredited degrees. The university was established in 1972 and has campuses in Richmond and Kensington.

The institution met UK expectations on all four QAA review criteria: academic standards, quality of student learning opportunities, information about learning opportunities, and enhancement of student learning opportunities.

The QAA report praises the “care and attention paid to academic and pastoral support for international students throughout their association with the university”.

Among recommendations for improvement, the report says that the university should “align its terminology about complaints and appeals to reflect the relevant chapter of the UK Quality Code for Higher Education”.

john.morgan@tsleducation.com