1. An assessment of the range of risks to the continuation of study for your students, how those risks may differ based on your students’ needs, characteristics and circumstances, and the likelihood that those risks will crystallise
Russbridge Academy is committed to ensuring students achieve the best academic outcome for their studies. Like all Higher Education providers, the Academy is faced with potential risks to the courses made available to learners, depending on their particular situation and any altered circumstances that may arise during the delivery of a programme. This plan is to outline how the College will deal with such unforeseen changes and protect the student interest to assure continuity of study in such an event.
Identified Risk and risk rating
1. The College as a whole is no longer able to operate due to financial instability: Very Low
The risk that the College as a whole is unable to operate is low because our financial performance and position is graded as satisfactory.
Our financial statements will provide assurance that the College is sufficiently stable not to be in danger of complete closure.
2. Losing validation or change to existing programmes: Low Risk
The awarding bodies that the College works with and intends to work with in future are reputed organisations with a long established presence. However, awarding bodies like Pearson establishes unit structures for Higher National Diplomas and could decide to eliminate specific units or a particular range of courses.
However, such changes would develop over a longer time period allowing the College to seek validation for its programme from another organisation. In the case of unit amendments, existing units would be replaced with alternative appropriate units following consultation with students.
3. College closure: Very low
The risk that the College as a whole is unable to operate is assessed as extremely low. This is because its financial performance is monitored and audited internally and externally. This process of internal and external audit of financial performance confirm the College as an ongoing entity.
4. Course Closure: Very low
The College has procedures in place in the event of it deciding to close a course. At present there are no plans not to run any proposed courses for either strategic or recruitment reasons. In the event that the College decides to close any course, it would do so in a phased manner to ensure all students could be taught out.
5. Course Validation: Low Risk
The assessed risk of the College losing its accreditation with any awarding bodies is low. The College has an excellent track record of successfully meeting all awarding body quality requirements till date through the External Examiner visits with commendable reports.
However, in the unlikely event the college loses any accreditation, the college will consider measures to protect student experience by:
• Supporting students in moving to another course
• Supporting students in transferring to another provider who holds the relevant accreditation
6. Programme Content Changes: Low Risk
The college will endeavour to deliver the programme in accordance with the description applied to it, in the college prospectus and on the website. However, in the event of changes to course content the college will ensure:
• All changes are restricted to the minimum necessary to achieve the required quality of experience.
• If the applicant has already accepted an offer, they shall be provided with all the necessary information, advice and guidance by the college support team to help them make an informed decision on their future course of action.
7. Course Designation: Low risk
The risk of the College losing its Course Designation for student support purposes has been assessed as very low as it has a consistent track record of achieving all quality measures
8. External Disruptions: Low Risk
Where external events result in term-time programme disruption, the College will normally consider whether it is practicable to make changes to programme delivery, rather than closing or suspending an affected programme. Disruptive factors may include:
• Adverse weather conditions resulting in campus closure
• Terrorist Attack
• Network/IT infrastructure failure
• Fire on campus
2. The measures that you have put in place to mitigate those risks that you consider to be reasonably likely to crystallise
Course Designation
In the unlikely event of the de-designation of its courses (resulting in the withdrawal of statutory student finance) the College would take reasonable steps to minimise the resulting disruption to students by:
• Working with relevant regulatory bodies to allow enrolled students to complete their programme;
• Supporting students to transfer to appropriate programmes at other providers and, if appropriate, refunding and/or compensating students where they suffer demonstrable, material financial loss because of disruption to their studies;
• Consider, where appropriate, possible refunds or compensation to students if, because of disruption to their studies, they suffer demonstrable, financial loss or in the event that some students are not able to move their studies to an another provider,
• Exploring the possibility of merging with another provider to maintain all or part of the current provision.
External Disruption
In the unlikely event of disruption of institutional activity through external factors the College will usually seek to:
• take all reasonable steps to fulfil its responsibilities to students in ensuring that any disruption is minimised and students are not, as far as is possible to determine, disadvantaged;
• Offer one to one support internally or referral externally for any students who may be disproportionately affected by any such event
• ensure that normal operations and services are maintained as far as possible.
In such instances, this may result in temporary short-term suspension of programme delivery (e.g. where there is a change in the programme delivery location or staffing, with appropriate actions to mitigate impact on students); and/or changes to the programme delivery location or method, which may include distance learning.
3. Information about the policy you have in place to refund tuition fees and other relevant costs to your students and to provide compensation where necessary in the event that you are no longer able to preserve continuation of study
Refund and Compensation
As outlined above, the situation should only arise very rarely that the College is not in a position to preserve continuation of study for an individual or small number of specific students. For this unlikely eventuality, however, the College Refunds and Compensation Policy is readily accessible to students via the College website. This document should be consulted for all details relevant to the continuity of provision.
Cash Reserves
The College has sufficient cash reserves to provide refunds and compensation for those students for whom we have identified an increased risk of non-continuation of study. The College is also conscious about its fixed and variable cost of running its operation and an appropriate balance is maintained to deal with such situations. The financial discipline of the College is to maintain profitability in the region of 15%-16% to enable the College to utilise the retained revenue reserves for any such purposes.
Insurance arrangements
The College will put in place insurance/factoring arrangements for an appropriate amount to provide refunds and compensation for those students for whom we have identified an increased risk of non-continuation of study. We will ensure that this is in place by 1st September 2023.
4. Information about how you will communicate with students about your student protection plan
The College recognises that a key determinant of the effectiveness of its Student Protection Plan will be how its content is relayed to all students, both current and prospective.
The College will publicise the student protection plan to current and future students on the college website. Applicants will be sent information on the student protection plan as part of their enrolment documentation. The College will also ensure that staff are aware of the implications of the plan when they propose changes, by publishing the plan on Intranet and offering Staff Development training to new and existing staff.
The College will inform students if there are to be any material changes to their course by:
• notifying them by e-mail via the VLE;
• arranging meetings with affected groups or individuals;
• notifying students who have not yet commenced their studies of any changes by e-mail and/or phone.
If the College needs to implement the measures in its Student Protection Plan, it will:
• ensure information is timely and reaches all affected students;
• ensure sufficient staffing resources are available to discuss any proposed changes and their implications with students;
• offer dedicated one to one support for students who may be more at risk of being affected by any changes
The College will review its Student Protection Plan by:
• consulting student representatives in the process of developing the initial Student Protection Plan;
• responding to feedback on the effectiveness of any actions put in place as part of the measures outlined in the Student Protection Plan;
• monitoring any complaints that may arise in relation to student protection issues.
