Franchise governance framework

Last updated on Thursday 25 Jul 2024 at 10:49am

In partnership with GuildHE and the Committee of University Chairs (CUC), we’ve developed a framework to help senior leaders in universities to spot and manage risk in franchised partnerships.

The framework aims to support universities to:

improve governance of franchised provision
identify and reduce risk from the start to the end of a franchised partnership
deliver value for money by being able to identify risk to public funds through stronger oversight

We’re setting out high level principles about of how universities should manage risk in franchised partnerships. The framework will also set out practical steps universities can take to do this.

Franchising is an important element in the delivery of higher education in the UK. The framework sets out the needs of governing bodies to be assured that franchise operations are being effectively managed within a framework that the governing body has agreed to.

John Rushforth

Executive Secretary, the Committee of University Chairs

Summary

Principles

Franchised partnerships come in many forms. The framework recognises this by setting out principles that should underpin the development and management of franchised partnerships.

The principles are intended to support universities to assess their existing approach and make sure there are the right checks and balances in place to assess, assure and respond to risk in these partnerships.

Behaviours and reflective questions

We provide examples of how these principles can be demonstrated. There are also reflective questions for universities to use to help prompt conversation and assessment of their processes.

Lifecycle approach to risk

Managing risk means considering risk at the beginning, duration and end of a partnership. The framework looks at these stages and suggest ways in which universities can mitigate risk so that partnerships deliver on the goals of the partners and students and provide value for money.

We’ll continue to work with our members to understand the benefits and challenges of franchised partnerships and how the framework has helped to change university practices.

Franchised provision makes a great contribution to access to higher education across the UK. The higher education sector is taking note of the need to strengthen oversight around these kinds of partnerships so that they continue to offer quality education to students and value for public money. The framework will help universities to assess their processes and improve oversight of this important part of UK higher education.

Kate Wicklow

Policy Director, GuildHE

Download (pdf)

Download the full framework to see how we want to see universities that deliver franchise provision to consider the governance of their partnerships.

Pdf