A university¡¯s process for the validation of foreign partners has ¡°serious shortcomings¡± and must be tackled as a ¡°matter of urgency¡±, a report from the standards watchdog has found.

The Quality Assurance Agency says that the University of Wales failed to stage thorough checks on the new owners of a Singaporean business school that was offering the institution¡¯s degrees.

Students at the Turning Point Business School were left unsupported after the owners disappeared a year after acquiring the college in an unannounced sale.

The QAA investigation found that the university¡¯s vetting procedure had been ¡°too dependent¡± on assertions made by the owners and had not checked the financial status of the school.

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In a summary of its report, the QAA says that ¡°the university¡¯s decision to accept the assertions of the new owners at face value, and not to set in train a more thorough due diligence process¡­seems culpably credulous¡±.

As well as looking at the university¡¯s dealings with the business school, the QAA also investigated its links with colleges in Thailand and Malaysia after a BBC Wales programme last year uncovered irregularities.

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The QAA says that the vetting of Wales¡¯ partner in Thailand ¨C Accademia Italiana in Bangkok ¨C was inadequate and its validations ¡°flawed¡±. It adds that there had also been a lack of ¡°due diligence¡± in vetting the Fazley International College in Kuala Lumpur, which had been run by a Malaysian pop star with a fake doctorate.

Meanwhile, an audit of overseas provision across the sector found problems in the university¡¯s links with another Singaporean institution ¨C TCA College.

And a separate institutional review, also published by the QAA this week, found ¡°weaknesses¡± in Wales¡¯ external validation processes.

In summarising the reports, the QAA says that ¡°the shortcomings identified are serious and need to be addressed as a matter of urgency¡±.

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Philip Gummett, chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, said that the reports ¡°identify a considerable range of serious shortcomings in the university¡¯s central processes and its relations with several partner institutions, and a failure by the university to establish proper control over these matters. There needs to be an urgent and effective response.¡±

simon.baker@tsleducation.com