Findings and response following quality assessment of business and management courses
Buckinghamshire New University welcomes the thorough findings of the Office for Students’ (OfS) assessment of our business and management courses between October 2022 and May 2023, and acknowledges that a breach of condition B2 occurred during that period.
We welcome recognition from the OfS about how we have ‘collaborated positively’ and made ‘significant changes…in relation to the concerns set out in the assessment report’ which was published in January 2024.
Prior to, and since the assessment team’s visits, the University conducted an internal review of its business and management courses. The findings of this internal review reflected those of the OfS quality assessment report in identifying inconsistencies around the quality of learning resources and the reporting of student attainment data.
The University’s ‘thorough plan…to mitigate risks’ and ‘appropriate actions to remedy the breach’ for business and management students, as described by the OfS, includes:
- Embedding captured content and ‘Active Digital Design’ pedagogy to enhance the academic experience for business and management students so that the learning resources provided on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) ensured a high-quality experience to support student success
- Implementing a consistent approach to the availability and presentation of module resources in the VLE using captured content
- Ensuring consistency of high-quality teaching approaches and strengthened professional development for academic staff
- Establishing strong educational leadership oversight of the quality of learning resources
- A refreshed approach to the module evaluation process to complement other student feedback mechanisms, to strengthen academic support and student engagement
- Active and consistent use of insightful module performance data to drive improvement and avoid missed opportunities for academic support
Professor Damien Page, Vice-Chancellor at BNU, said: “I’ve been laser focused on ensuring that each learner at BNU receives a high quality academic and student experience from my first day at BNU in June 2023. Since my appointment as Vice-Chancellor in February 2025, I’ve created a new leadership team in which every one of us is now driven by putting students’ interests and outcomes at the heart of every decision we take.
"Our learners make a significant financial investment when they choose to come to university. And in return we must absolutely do all we can to ensure our students thrive at BNU and leave us ready to succeed in their chosen careers.”