UKVI (UK Visas & Immigration) Compliance – Guidelines for Programme Development
Plymouth University holds a licence as a Tier 4 Sponsor to be able to recruit, enrol and teach International Students, particularly students on Tier 4 visas.In order to maintain our licence we are expected to have the highest levels of compliance with the Home Office (UKVI) guidance for Tier 4 sponsors.
The following checklist briefly describes the key areas to consider when developing a programme, if the intention is to recruit International students to that programme.
N.BThese guidelines apply to students who will be studying at Plymouth University on a Tier 4 visa. There are however other groups of International Students who may not need a visa at all (for example Norwegians, British citizens who are overseas fee payers) or who may have a visa in a different category that also allows study, or that falls outside the Tier 4 rules (Short term Student visas, spouses, dependants etc)
Therefore programmes that would fall outside the Tier 4 policy guidance due to their nature, i.e. distance learning, part time, pre-sessional programmes below B2 level, may still be approved to recruit International Students who do not require Tier 4 visas, as long as these restrictions are understood and clearly communicated when the course is marketed or advertised, and before any offers are made to applicants.
For further information please contact the UKVI compliance team (part of the International Office, Academic Partnerships)
Checklist for programme development (where the intention is to recruit International Students who will require Tier 4 visas):Educational oversight and Tier 4 Sponsor status:
We must maintain our educational oversight and report all material changes in circumstance, as determined by our educational oversight body, to them within required deadlines.
We must also maintain our Tier 4 Sponsor status, which means keeping within core measurable requirements set by UKVI and re-applying annually (Basic Compliance Assessment).
We must demonstrate the highest levels of compliance with the Tier 4 policy guidance, and continue to have satisfactory inspections / audits.These would be carried out by the Higher Education Assurance Team (HEAT), part of UKVI.
We must not be (or perceived to be) a threat to immigration control.
Age of students:
Students aged 16 or 17 who are studying a course at NQF level 3 or above can apply for a visa under Tier 4 (Child) or Tier 4 (General).
The University does not have a licence under Tier 4 (Child) so any course must be aimed at students who are at least 16 at enrolment.
- Course Level:
- Courses must be a minimum of NQF level 3 on the National Qualifications Framework but currently we have informed the Home Office (UKVI)that we offer no courses to Tier 4 students below NQF 6, other than English Language pre-sessional courses.
English Language Courses:
Must be mapped at Level B2 on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
English Language requirements:
Programmes should conform to standard published Plymouth University and Plymouth University International College (PUIC) English Language requirements for International Students which can be found here.
Any request for an exception to the standard requirements must be made through the ELRIS group with justification / reason for higher requirements supplied.
A list of programmes that require higher than the standard English Language requirement is also maintained here
Information on English Language requirements must be maintained centrally and any changes made through the ELRIS group, to ensure we can justify the qualifications we are accepting in the event of a UKVI audit.
(Contact UKVI Compliance Team for more information).
- Courses must be full time, which is defined by UKVI as –
- a full time course leading to a UK recognised qualification at level 6 or above on the QCF or NQF or equivalents
- An overseas higher education course that the student is studying for in the UK and leads to a qualification from an overseas higher education institution that is recognised as being equivalent to a UK higher education qualification (for PU this would apply to students doing an exchange or study abroad year here, who require a Tier 4 visa)
- A course of study below UK degree level that involves a minimum of 15 hours a week of classroom based, daytime study (08.00 – 18.00, Monday to Friday) (for example pre-sessional English Language courses)
This does not apply to students who are repeating studies on the same programme and may only be required to repeat some modules / credits. We are permitted to continue sponsoring them under Tier 4 as long as our sponsorship duties can be and are still fulfilled, and the student began their study on a full time programme.
Tier 4 students may not be recruited to a course whose mode is part time OR distance learning. Programmes with blended learning or solely consisting of self-study may also cause problems for Tier 4 students.
Engagement:
Generally, programmes aimed at recruiting Tier 4 students should have continuous engagement that can be recorded every month throughout the academic year (aside from official holiday periods). UKVI define engagement, or contact points as any combination of the following:
Attending formal academic activities including: - a lesson, lecture, tutorial or seminar; a test, examination or assessment board; a meeting with a supervisor or personal tutor; a research-method or research panel meeting, writing-up seminars or doctoral workshops; an oral examination - (viva); or submitting; assessed or unassessed coursework; or an interim dissertation, coursework or report.
- The course must lead to an approved qualification;
- In England on the Register of Regulated Qualifications (Ofqual) at QCF or NQF level 3 or above, Validated by Royal Charter, awarded by a body that is listed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, an overseas qualification that UK NARIC can assess as valid and equivalent to level 3 or above on the NQF, etc.
- An International Student who requires a Tier 4 visa cannot be sponsored further after the programme award has been granted, for example to undertake work experience, an internship, work based learning after the degree is complete, or to gain professional accreditation, or where the course does not lead to a recognised award.
Any programme that incorporates or offers experience post award may not meet Tier 4 requirements.
- Pre-sessional courses must meet the requirements for the level of the course but do not have to lead to a recognised qualification
- Distance learning courses are not acceptable for Tier 4.
Location and premises:
Except when a student is on a work placement, all study that is part of the course must take place on your premises, or at a temporary location you authorise. For example, it is acceptable if a student is on a field trip.
On all CAS issued to Tier 4 students the University’s main campus address is stated as the study location
We must prove our ownership or right to use these premises as part of the documents required when applying to renew our licence
Sites and partnerships guidance March 2015:
Thistightens up these rules considerably – please consider any part of a course where a Tier 4 student might be taught, undertake a placement, work based learning or research at another institution, or location off University premises and the main campus.
New sites and partnerships would need to be added to the University’s Tier 4 licence, and we would need approval from the Home Office before the course could recruit any Tier 4 students. This would need careful consideration as sites and partners added may have an impact on our licence. Please speak to the compliance team for more information.
- Pre-sessional courses:
- A pre-sessional course should be a course that prepares the student and directly precedes their main, full time course, and enables them to acquire the skills or knowledge necessary to adjust to study in the UK. This will usually be English Language studies or instruction in the British Education system, but should not be designed to give the student fundamental knowledge of their main subject area or act as a stepping a stone to it, i.e. Foundation degrees.
- Courses which form a fundamental part of the main course or replace part of it, but which are administered separately, are not considered pre-sessional courses.(For full details please refer to PBS Guidance for sponsors, doc 2)
- Doctorate Extension Scheme:
- This scheme is for postgraduate research students when they have completed their PhD. They are no longer classed as students when on this scheme but still have a Unit-e programme enrolment to facilitate monitoring.
- Work / Study Placements / Work Based Learning:
- Courses for Tier 4 students may include a work or study placement if it is an integral and assessedpart of the course.
If the placement is optional the length cannot be included on the initial CAS, the student must apply to extend their visa if they manage to secure a placement.
All placements undertaken must be assessed and evidenced on the final award and / or transcripts
Students must undertake and submit the placement project where required, or otherwise may not be able to progress to their final year, if the placement has not been assessed.
The placement should replace the entire academic year that the student would have studied here, in terms of the number of weeks. If the placement is shorter or has significant gaps we would need to stop sponsoring the student under Tier 4 during this period and they could not remain in the UK, although a placement carried out overseas could still be completed without a Tier 4 visa. (see 60 gap in engagement)
Further reporting to UKVI and monitoring is carried out for students on placement.
Where the course is at NQF 6 or above and is studied at an HEI the work placement must not make up more than 50% of the total length of the course – except where there is a UK statutory requirement for the course to contain a specified period of work placement that exceeds this limit. The work placement must still be an integral and assessed part of the course.
We apply this guidance to students on work placements, study placements, other assessed placements and work based learning (as part of courses such as teaching, medicine and dentistry).
(For further details on work placements please refer to PBS Guidance for sponsors, doc 2)
- Students on courses in music or dance at NQF 6 or above:
- are able to undertake work placements which involve a professional performance, onlywhere the performance has been arranged by the sponsoring education provider and is an integral and assessed part of the course
- Academic Progression and Tier 4 Time Limit:
- When setting up programmes that involve progression from a partner college or through an articulation agreement, if students have already been studying in the UK the academic progression rules and Tier 4 Time Limit must be taken into consideration.
- Studies that the student may already have done in the UK may count towards their total time limit allowed for study at and above NQF6, so may affect what length or type of programme we can offer them.
- If programmes involve additional work based elements that are not an integral and assessed part of the course:
- For example the Plymouth Award, internships, etc, we would need to clarify if the immigration rules will allow Tier 4 students to fully engage with these additional activities, and if not this must be made clear at the outset.
- Students who may appear to be looking for a route to settle in the UK OR looking for long term employment in the UK when they apply for their Tier 4 visa may be refused on credibility grounds by UKVI. Please bear this in mind when designing programmes with a focus on employability or work experience / work based learning.
- Credibility refusals are counted against our licence.
Monitoring of Tier 4 students and study location:
Consideration must be given to where the student will be based. See section on Location and premises, Sites and partnerships.
Monthly attendance and engagement monitoring is carried out, and the student is expected to be based on the Plymouth campus for the majority of their studies, with some temporary exceptions. Consideration needs to be given to monitoring arrangements as without these we cannot sponsor the student.
Gaps in Engagement:
The introduction of CEP has caused some problems where students do not have continued engagement throughout the academic year.
If there is a gap of more than 60 days during term time we are required to stop sponsoring the student and they would need to leave the UK. Please bear this in mind when designing programmes.
ATAS certificates:
Please be aware that some programmes (mainly but not solely PhD programmes) require ATAS clearance and an ATAS certificate (Academic Technology Approval Scheme)
Individual course webpages state this requirement where applicable or please contact the UKVI Compliance Team.
The overriding principle of Tier 4 is that we as the sponsor must take responsibility for the students we wish to recruit and how we recruit them, so that to the best of our knowledge the students we admit have a genuine intention to study. The courses we offer must be suitable and meet the requirements of the Tier 4 guidance for sponsors.
UKVI Compliance 03/03/17