At BNU, our approach to new collaborations is guided by the principle of mutual impact over mere income generation. While financial sustainability is a necessary factor, it is never the primary driver. Instead, we seek partners who align with our strategic mission and can demonstrate academic rigour, ensuring any collaboration upholds our reputation for excellence. The student experience is paramount; the partnership must tangibly enhance learning, opportunities, and outcomes. Finally, we look for operational integrity, meaning partners must exhibit sound governance, financial stability, and the proven capacity to deliver high-quality programmes that meet all regulatory requirements. Ultimately, we pursue partnerships that create meaningful, lasting value for our students, staff, and communities, viewing financial return as a secondary outcome of a truly successful collaboration.

At BNU, we are open to exploring franchise partnerships in high-demand fields such as Law, Computing, Aviation Management, Engineering, Arts, and selected social sciences. However, our focus extends far beyond the discipline itself. We prioritise collaborations that address specific regional needs and demonstrate a clear, positive impact on local communities.

Therefore, before reaching out, potential partners should be prepared to articulate a strong rationale that goes beyond the course catalogue. We are particularly interested in understanding the proven market demand for the proposed programmes and the tangible social and economic benefits they will deliver. Ultimately, we view a franchise not as a simple transaction, but as the starting point for a deeper relationship. We are most excited by partners who share our ambition to co-create innovative and meaningful educational experiences that serve a greater purpose.

BNU's approach to international partnerships is strategically focused rather than restrictively geographic. While we actively consider regions with a high demand for UK Higher Education, our primary lens is one of opportunity and impact.

We are particularly keen to target areas we term 'cold spots', regions where there is a clear, unmet need for high-quality education that directly serves the community. Our priority is to go where we can create the most meaningful change. This means we seek partners in locations where:

We Can Co-Solve Local Challenges: We are drawn to partnerships where our academic strengths in areas like computing, health, and sustainable development can be applied to specific local or regional issues. We don't just deliver a curriculum; we aim to work with partners to adapt our knowledge to build local capacity, address skills gaps, and empower communities.

The Infrastructure Supports Collaboration: A successful partnership requires a foundation of robust governance, academic quality, and operational integrity from the partner institution. This enables us to work together effectively to deliver programmes that are both academically rigorous and contextually relevant.

We Can Prepare Graduates for Local Futures: Our goal is to equip students not just with a UK degree, but with the specific skills and critical thinking needed to thrive in and contribute to their local economies and societies.

Furthermore, our strategy is influenced by the UK's regulatory environment (e.g., Office for Students guidelines) which requires rigorous due diligence, meaning we must carefully assess the legal and regulatory landscape of any potential region.

In essence, BNU is less about prioritising specific countries on a map and more about identifying partners who share our commitment to co-creating educational programmes that are demand-led, impact-driven, and transformative for their communities. We believe the most powerful partnerships are those built on a shared mission to make a tangible difference.

To help us understand your institution and proposal quickly, we request that you first complete our Potential Partner Questionnaire, which is available via this link on this Web Page.

This questionnaire is designed to ensure we can evaluate your proposal effectively against our strategic criteria, including market demand, community impact, and potential for co-creation. Providing this information from the outset will allow our team to conduct an initial review and ensure your proposal is directed to the most appropriate academic and strategic leads within the university for a timely and considered response.

We look forward to learning about your ideas for an impactful partnership.

To ensure a thorough and efficient review process, we ask that all initial proposals are structured to provide key information about your organisation. The most effective way to submit this information is by completing our Potential Partner Questionnaire (PPQ), which is thoughtfully designed to capture all essential elements.

Buckinghamshire New University offers a range of collaborative partnership models to suit the strategic goals and operational capacity of our partners. Our primary aim is to find a flexible framework that ensures academic quality, safeguards the student experience, and creates mutual impact. 

The core models we typically consider include:

1. Franchise Agreement 

BNU grants a partner organisation the right to deliver an existing, pre-approved BNU programme. Students are registered with BNU, and while teaching is conducted by the partner, the assessment is typically set and marked by the partner and moderated by BNU to ensure standards are maintained. The student receives a BNU award.

• BNU's Role: Quality assurance, moderation of assessment, programme leadership, award. 
• Partner's Role: Delivery of teaching, local student support, internal assessment, marketing, and recruitment. 

2. Validation

The partner institution develops its own programme, and BNU approves it as meeting the standard of a UK higher education award. The programme is then 'validated' by BNU. Upon completion, students receive a certificate that is a BNU award.

• BNU's Role: Rigorous scrutiny and approval of the programme design, learning outcomes, and assessment strategy. Ongoing quality assurance through external examining. 
• Partner's Role: Full programme design, delivery, assessment, and student support. 

3. Joint/Dual/Double Awards

A single programme of study is developed and delivered collaboratively, leading to two separate awards: one from BNU and one from the partner institution. This requires careful alignment of two sets of regulatory frameworks.

• BNU's Role: Co-design of curriculum, shared delivery (e.g., specific modules), shared assessment, and quality assurance. 
• Partner's Role: Co-design of curriculum, shared delivery, shared assessment, and local quality assurance. 

4. Articulation

This is a model where students complete a defined programme of study (e.g., a diploma or foundation degree) at a partner institution and are then granted entry with advanced standing into a specific year of a BNU programme, either on-campus in the UK or online.

• BNU's Role: Defining entry requirements and curriculum mapping to ensure a smooth academic transition. Marketing the pathway to students. 
• Partner's Role: Delivering the high-quality preparatory programme that meets the agreed learning outcomes. 

5. Progression Agreement

A progression agreement provides students with a clear pathway from a partner’s programme into a designated BNU programme. Unlike articulation, progression is typically based on broader eligibility criteria rather than detailed curriculum mapping. Students apply to BNU after completing their initial programme with the partner.

• BNU’s Role: Defining progression routes and entry requirements, ensuring smooth admissions and enrolment processes.
• Partner’s Role: Delivering the feeder programme, preparing students for progression, and supporting them through the application process.

6. Student Exchange / Study Abroad

A reciprocal agreement where students from BNU and the partner institution study at each other's campuses for a semester or a year, paying their home tuition fees. Credits are transferred back to complete their home award. 

• Partner's Role: Hosting incoming students, providing courses, and transferring credits. 
• BNU's Role: Hosting BNU students, providing courses, and transferring credits. 

Summary

The most suitable model is determined by a thorough discussion during the proposal stage, focusing on your institution's strengths, strategic objectives, and our shared commitment to academic excellence and student success. Our Partnerships Team can guide you through the benefits and requirements of each option. 

If you are considering a special arrangement outside these models, please complete the details in the Prospective Partnership Questionnaire (PPQ) form.

Yes, you can request a preliminary discussion with a member of the Partnerships Team to clarify requirements before submission at partnerships@bnu.ac.uk.

Initial proposals are reviewed within 4–6 weeks. More complex proposals may require additional time.

If your initial proposal is successful and aligns with BNU's strategic priorities, it will enter a structured due diligence and approval process designed to ensure the partnership is robust, sustainable, and academically sound. This process typically involves the following stages:

• Detailed Due Diligence: Our Partnerships Team will work with you to conduct a comprehensive review. This involves a deep dive into your institution's financial stability, operational capacity, governance structures, and academic quality assurance processes.
• Internal Committee Scrutiny: The proposal and due diligence findings are presented to a series of university committees for rigorous review:
• University Collaboration Committee (UCC): This academic-focused committee assesses the strategic and academic merit of the partnership.
• University Strategic Group (USG): This executive group reviews the operational and financial viability of the proposal.
• Final Approval: The partnership proposal is presented to the university Council (our governing body) for final sign-off.
• Programme Authorisation: Concurrently, the specific academic programmes undergo our rigorous internal approval process to ensure they meet all UK academic standards and regulatory requirements.

Throughout this process, our Partnerships Team will guide you and serve as your main point of contact, ensuring clarity and transparency at every stage.

BNU will provide feedback and guidance on areas for improvement. You may revise and resubmit your proposal.

BNU does not charge any fees for the initial review of partnership proposals. We are committed to making the initial stages of exploration as accessible as possible.

However, for the due diligence and approval phases that follow a successful initial proposal, certain costs may be incurred and would be the responsibility of the prospective partner. These are outlined below to ensure full transparency:

1. Travel for Site Visits:
If a site visit to your institution is deemed necessary by our Partnerships Team for a comprehensive due diligence assessment, we would ask the prospective partner to cover the travel costs for our staff. Our travel policy is based on standard international benchmarks for comfort, productivity, and duty of care on long-haul flights.

Flights: For flights under 6 hours, our representatives will travel in Premium Economy class.

For flights exceeding 6 hours, our duty of care policy requires Business Class travel to ensure our team arrives rested and able to conduct the thorough assessment required.

All travel expenses would be discussed, agreed upon, and formally confirmed in writing before any bookings are made.

2. Accommodation:
To ensure the security and well-being of our staff, we require accommodation at internationally-recognised business-class hotels, typically rated at a minimum of 4 stars. The specific hotel would be agreed upon in advance.

3. Consultancy Services:
In some cases, a potential partner may wish to engage BNU experts for specific pre-partnership consultancy work (e.g., detailed market analysis, curriculum development advice). This is arranged through a separate, temporary consultancy agreement for a fee, and is entirely optional.

We believe in complete transparency from the outset. For any questions or to discuss these points in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact the Partnerships Team at partnerships@bnu.ac.uk.

Yes, without exception. All prospective partner institutions must successfully complete the formal partner approval process. 

This rigorous and mandatory process is a critical component of our quality assurance framework and is designed to ensure that any organisation delivering a BNU award, or representing our brand, meets our stringent academic, operational, and ethical standards. It is a non-negotiable requirement that safeguards the value of your qualification and protects the student experience.

Typically, partner approval takes 6–8 weeks from submission of the full application, depending on complexity and supporting documentation.

Fees vary based on partnership type and programme level. For further discussion, please contact: partnerships@bnu.ac.uk.

Requirements include compliance with UK Quality Code standards, curriculum alignment with BNU programmes, qualified staff, student support mechanisms, and evidence of academic governance.

Programme approval typically takes 8–12 weeks, including documentation review, site visits (if applicable), and approval panels.

Approval events are usually held virtually or at BNU’s UK campus. On-site visits may be required for certain partnerships.

Programmes are generally delivered in English. Exceptions require approval and evidence of appropriate academic quality controls.

Intellectual property created in partnership programmes is governed by the University’s IP policy. Typically, the University retains rights to curriculum and associated materials, with negotiated rights for partners.

Partners may only advertise once formal approval and agreements are signed, and marketing materials have been approved by BNU.

BNU provides branding guidelines, marketing templates, co-branding support, and strategic guidance for student recruitment campaigns.

All materials must comply with BNU’s brand guidelines. Partners must not misrepresent the University and must seek approval for co-branded communications.

Fees vary by partnership type, programme level, and student numbers. Details could be discussed with members of the partnerships team at partnerships@bnu.ac.uk.

All financial transactions with Buckinghamshire New University are conducted via bank transfer (SWIFT/IBAN) in accordance with the specific payment schedules and currencies detailed within the formal partnership agreement.

Our standard processes are designed for clarity and security:

For International Partners:

Partners are responsible for paying the agreed fees to BNU as per the terms of the contract. This typically includes franchise fees or validation fees, which are calculated based on the agreed model (e.g., per student, per cohort).

Invoices will be issued by BNU according to the agreed schedule (e.g., per semester, annually), and payment is expected within the specified terms.

For UK-Based Partners:

To ensure robust financial safeguarding and compliance with UK regulations, BNU typically operates a Fee Collection Model. Under this model:

BNU centrally collects the full student tuition fees directly from the students.

Following collection, we then disburse the agreed partner share of the fees to you, in line with the payment schedule outlined in our agreement.

This model provides significant assurance for students and streamlines the financial administration for both parties.

All payment structures, schedules, and responsibilities will be explicitly defined and mutually agreed upon during the contract negotiation phase, ensuring full transparency before any agreement is signed.

For any specific questions regarding payment terms, please contact the Partnerships Team at partnerships@bnu.ac.uk.

BNU operates under strict financial governance and has clear policies to manage late or non-payment of fees. These measures are designed to protect the university's financial interests and ensure all partnerships operate on a stable and sustainable basis. The specific terms, including payment deadlines, interest rates, and penalty clauses, are explicitly detailed in the formal partnership agreement.

Requirements include legal status as an educational provider, financial stability, academic capacity, quality assurance systems, and alignment with BNU strategic objectives.

BNU offers workshops, online training, teaching observations, and access to a professional partnership tutor. 

Partners are expected to meet agreed recruitment targets, monitor student progression, and report regularly to the University.

Partners are expected to provide secure learning management systems compatible with BNU platforms, and access to digital resources for students.

Complaints and appeals follow BNU’s policies, with initial resolution at partner level and escalation to the University where required.

Partners must provide enrolment data, student progression, assessment outcomes, and annual reports to BNU as part of quality assurance.

Yes, BNU encourages collaborative research projects and staff exchanges where aligned with University priorities and capacity.

Yes, BNU encourages collaborative research projects and staff exchanges where aligned with University priorities and capacity.

Termination procedures are outlined in the partnership agreement, including notice periods, student completion arrangements, and financial settlement.

BNU monitors quality via annual reviews, moderation of assessments, site visits, and compliance with academic standards and external benchmarks.

Yes, all partnerships are subject to periodic reviews, typically every 3–5 years, to ensure continued compliance with University standards.

Any changes require prior approval from BNU’s Academic Standards and Quality Team to ensure consistency with University standards.