St Patrick's College, London

Last updated

St Patrick's College
St Patrick's College, London - logo.jpg
Other name
St Patrick's International College
Type For-profit private higher education college
Established1999 (1999)
Principal Deborah Hayes [1]
Location
Tower Hill, London
,
UK

51°32′32″N0°00′09″W / 51.5423°N 0.00256°W / 51.5423; -0.00256
CampusUrban
Owner Global University Systems
Website st-patricks.ac.uk

St Patrick's College (also known as St Patrick's International College) is a for-profit private higher education college based in the United Kingdom with its main campus located at Tower Hill in London. The college offers Higher National Diploma programmes in business and health care. Although its roots trace back to a Catholic primary school founded in Soho in 1803, the college was established in its present form in 1999. Since 2013 it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the corporate group Global University Systems.

Contents

History

Establishment

St Patrick's College traces its roots to St. Patrick's School, part of a group of schools established in 1803 by St Patrick's Church for the education of poor children in the Soho area of London. The school operated at 24 Great Chapel St until 1967. After its closure, the Catholic Church ran St Patrick's as a language school teaching English. In 1998, the language school was bought by Girish Chandra and incorporated as St. Patrick's International College Limited in 1999. [2] Under Chandra's ownership, the college began adding externally awarded diplomas at both undergraduate and postgraduate level in law, business, tourism and hospitality, computing and health and social care. In 2012 Chandra sold the college to the entrepreneur Aaron Etingen (also known as Arkady Etingen) [3] through Etingen's company Interactive World Wide Limited. [4] [5] Etingen is the founder of the London School of Business and Finance and several associated for-profit colleges known collectively as the LSBF Group. After the purchase, St Patrick's College was describing itself as "a member of the LSBF Group". [6] In a subsequent reorganisation of his companies begun in late 2012, Etingen established Global University Systems which is registered in The Netherlands as a besloten vennootschap (BV), a type of private limited liability company. Global University Systems BV then became the owner of St Patrick's College and the institutions of the LSBF Group through Dutch BV holding companies. [5]

Expansion

St Patrick's College and the LSBF Group expanded rapidly after the 2011 market reforms of post-secondary education introduced by UK higher education minister David Willetts. The reforms opened up access to government-funded maintenance grants and loans for students in private colleges. Together, the London School of Business and Finance and St Patrick's grew from 50 government-funded students in 2011 to approximately 6,000 over the next two years. LSBF and St Patrick's collectively netted £13.5m in tuition fee payments, with their students receiving a total of £49m in government grants and loans. [3] An £80 million overspend on student loans at private providers led the government temporarily to suspend St Patrick's designation for receiving student loan funding, along with that of LSBF and 21 other private colleges. The designation was restored for the 2014–2015-year, and by the end of that year, St Patrick's had 6,668 students claiming £25.3 million in tuition loans from the Student Loans Company. It had become the biggest private higher education provider in England in terms of the number of students claiming SLC loans. [7] [8] To accommodate the increased student numbers, the college moved its main teaching site from Soho, first to Carey Street near Covent Garden and then to Billiter Street in the City of London which it shared with other colleges in the LSBF Group, and finally to High Street in the Stratford area in 2015. [5] [9]

The college's rapid expansion also generated a number of student and staff complaints, described in The Guardian in 2014 and in the BBC Radio programme Face the Facts broadcast on 26 February 2015. The BBC programme aired allegations that between 2012 and 2014 the college offered a poor learning environment with large classes and over-crowding and some student work rejected as sub-standard by its external examining body after having been initially passed with high marks by the college. [3] [10] The students' complaints also led to an investigation by the UK's Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) in March 2015. According to the QAA, the concerns related primarily to admissions procedures, programme approval, the learning environment, student retention and attendance, teaching quality, and record keeping. [11] The QAA report found that practice was "broadly acceptable in four out of six areas examined. The "significant exceptions" were admissions procedures and student retention and attendance, where the QAA said the "concerns raised are justified." The QAA found dropout rates of more than 30 per cent and evidence "indicative of recruitment errors and a failure to ensure that academic staff are equipped to cope with periodic disciplinary problems". [11] According to an article in Times Higher Education published on 7 May 2015, the UK government nevertheless allowed the college to resume access to public money after it had been suspended earlier in the year. Daniel Khan, the college's principal at the time, was quoted in the article as saying that the college "takes particular satisfaction from QAA's finding that the majority of the concerns raised cannot be upheld and its recognition that students speak positively about the helpfulness of teaching staff, person[al] tutors, and unit leaders". [12]

Post-2015

According to a UK Home Office spokesman quoted in Times Higher Education, St Patrick's College had its Tier 2 and Tier 4 visa sponsor licenses suspended on 19 February 2015 "due to concerns about a number of compliance issues." The college was given 20 working days to submit representations to a review. [13] As of January 2019 the college is not on the Home Office registers of Tier 2 and Tier 4 sponsors and thus cannot recruit non-European Union students or offer them work placements. [14] [15]

In September 2015 St Patrick's parent company Global University Systems (GUS) announced plans for a two-year restructuring process of the corporation's UK holdings set to begin in mid-2016. According to John Cox, at the time director of organisational development at GUS, the plan would involve the London School of Business and Finance coming under a new vocational entity offering only diploma courses, short courses and corporate training products. The vocational courses delivered by St Patrick's College would also come under this division. [16] [17]

By the April 2016 Academic Management Review by Pearson Education (who validate the college's Higher National Diploma and other professional and postgraduate diplomas), the student enrollment on the HND courses was down to about 2000 from a previous high of 4000. The HND recruitment was predominantly domestic. The review singled out two areas of "exemplary practice": [18]

  1. "A robust system for obtaining student feedback on teaching and learning" was in place.
  2. "Plagiarism panels which highlight the importance of proper referencing by students" were "utilised to maximum effect."
St Patrick's College Tower Hill campus LSBF-Sceptre-Court-Tower-Hill-.JPG
St Patrick's College Tower Hill campus

Courses

As of 2019, the college has two schools: Business Plus and Health Plus. Within these schools, various programmes are offered for Higher National Diplomas accredited by Pearson Edexcel. In the past, the college also had schools of Technology, Tourism and Hospitality, Art and Design, and Law and offered several post-graduate diplomas and degrees awarded by a variety of external providers. [19] [20]

Campus

The campus of St Patrick's is located at Sceptre Court in London's Tower Hill which it shares with the London School of Business and Finance. Previous campuses were at Duncan House in the Stratford area of London with a further site in the Holborn area. [18] [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universities in the United Kingdom</span>

Universities in the United Kingdom have generally been instituted by royal charter, papal bull, Act of Parliament, or an instrument of government under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 or the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. Degree awarding powers and the 'university' title are protected by law, although the precise arrangements for gaining these vary between the constituent countries of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London College of Communication</span> Constituent college of the University of the Arts London

The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. Its origins are in education for the printing and retail industries; it now specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Phoenix</span> American for-profit university

University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree levels. It is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and has an open enrollment admissions policy for many undergraduate programs. The school is owned by Apollo Global Management and Vistria Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Buckingham</span> Private university in Buckinghamshire, UK

The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university in Buckingham, England and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (UCB) in 1973, admitting its first students in 1976. It was granted university status by royal charter in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education</span> British non-profit organization

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education is the United Kingdom higher education sector's independent expert quality body. It has a remit to maintain and enhance the quality of teaching and learning in tertiary education in the United Kingdom and beyond. It conducts quality assessment reviews, develops reference points and guidance for providers, and conducts or commissions research on relevant issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland</span>

Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland includes all education after second-level, encompassing higher education in universities and colleges and further education on Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) and other courses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond American University London</span> University in London, England

Richmond American University London is a private university in London, United Kingdom. Richmond was founded in 1972, by British educator Cyril Taylor.

TheUniversity of Law is a private for-profit university in the United Kingdom, providing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law, business, psychology, criminology, policing and computer science. It also provides postgraduate courses in education, and specialist legal training and continuing professional development courses for British barristers, solicitors and trainees; it is the United Kingdom's largest law school. It traces its origins to 1876.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Bedfordshire</span> University in Luton, UK

The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The university has roots in further and higher education from 1882: it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The university changed its name to the University of Bedfordshire in 2006, following the merger of the University of Luton with the Bedford campus of De Montfort University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tertiary education in Australia</span>

Tertiary education in Australia is formal education beyond high school in Australia, consisting of both government and private institutions and divided into two sectors; Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training (VET) provided by government-owned TAFEs & private Registered Training Organisations (RTO). Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), the Australian national education policy, classifies tertiary qualification into 10 levels: level 1 to 4 vocational certificates ; level 5 & 6 undergraduate diploma and advanced diploma; level 6 associate degree; level 7 bachelor degree, level 8 bachelor honours degree & graduate certificates and graduate diplomas; level 9 for master's degree; and level 10 PhD. Most universities are government owned and mostly self-regulated. For other institutes there are two national regulators for tertiary education for registration, recognition and quality assurance of both the "provider institutes" as well as the "individual courses" provided by the providers. Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) regulates institutes which provide education from level 5 or above. Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) regulates institutes which provide education from level 1 to level 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London School of Business and Finance</span> Profit private business and finance school, London

The London School of Business and Finance is a private business school in the United Kingdom, owned by the for-profit education corporate group Global University Systems. It was founded in 2003 by the entrepreneur Aaron Etingen. By 2015 it had become one of England's largest private colleges.

BPP University is a private university in the United Kingdom.

Northeastern University – London is a public university in London, England. It was founded in 2010 as New College of the Humanities by the philosopher A. C. Grayling, who became its first Master. The college originally specialized in the humanities, social sciences, and master's degrees at the intersection of the humanities and technology. In February 2019 the college was acquired by Northeastern University, a private American research university based in Boston, Massachusetts, and rebranded as NCH at Northeastern. A year later, in February 2020, NCH at Northeastern was granted its own taught degree awarding powers. It was awarded university title and changed its name to "Northeastern University – London" after regulatory approval by the Office for Students in July 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GSM London</span> Private, for-profit school in London, Greater London, England

GSM London (formerly Greenwich School of Management (GSoM)) was a private provider of higher education based in Greenwich, south-east London, and Greenford, west London. Founded in 1973, it offered business-specific courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels alongside other specialist training, and catered to a large number of international students. As of 2019, GSM London had educated over 20,000 students. It was owned by the private equity firm Sovereign Capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurits van Rooijen</span> Dutch historian

Maurits van Rooijen is a Dutch socio-economic historian and geographer. His research has concentrated on green urbanisation and re-interpreting garden city principles. In recent publications he has promoted the concept of the "Global Knowledge City" arguing that in "the 21st century besides the need to blend urbanisation with agriculture and manufacturing, global knowledge innovation should be at the core of sustainable urbanisation."

For-profit higher education in the United States refers to the commercialization and privatization of American higher education institutions. For-profit colleges have been the most recognizable for-profit institutions, and more recently with online program managers, but commercialization has been part of US higher education for centuries. Privatization of public institutions has been increasing since at least the 1980s.

The LSBF Group is a UK-based group of private for-profit educational institutions whose "hub" institution is the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF). The group also includes the London College of Contemporary Arts (LCCA) and the LSBF School of English. They are all owned by Global University Systems (GUS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global University Systems</span> A company

Global University Systems B.V. (GUS) is a for-profit private limited company registered in the Netherlands. As a corporate group, it owns and operates several private for-profit colleges and universities in the UK, Canada, Israel and Europe, as well as other brands and companies in the education sector, such as the e-learning provider InterActive. GUS was founded in its present form and name in 2013 by Aaron Etingen, who is chairman, CEO and majority stockholder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arden University</span> British private for-profit university

Arden University is a private, for-profit teaching university in the United Kingdom. It offers a variety of undergraduate and post-graduate programmes with both blended and online distance learning delivery options. Its head office is in Coventry with study centres in Birmingham, Manchester, London and Berlin. Originally established as Resource Development International (RDI) in 1990, it was later bought by Capella Education and awarded university status by the British government in 2015. Since August 2016, it has been owned by Global University Systems. It is named after the Arden area of England, where its Coventry headquarters are situated.

London School of Management Education is a for-profit private Higher Education in the United Kingdom. LSME was founded in 2007 by Dr Ravi Kumar and Dr Sarita Parhi. It is currently listed as a Higher Education Provider (HEP). The School offers diplomas, undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Business Management, Education, Health and Social Care, Accounting and Finance, and Hospitality and Tourism. To support the UK government's effort to bridge the widening gap of educationally and economically deprived children and young people and also young people with special needs and those in the category of Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET), LSME has an ambitious Access and Participation Plan, which is approved by the Office for Students (OfS). LSME has students from various nationalities enrolled across its diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. External institutions award all degrees.

References

  1. ↑ St Patrick's College. "Our people". Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  2. ↑ Hilton, Michael (Summer 2014). "A Brief History of St Patrick's College London". The Patriarch, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 6–14. St Patrick's College. ISSN 2056-323X. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Malik, Shiv; McGettigan, Andrew; Domokos, John (30 May 2014), "Lecturers claim private college puts profits first". The Guardian . Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Morgan, John (2 July 2014). "Director of education wins claim against former owner of St Patrick's College for unfair dismissal". Times Higher Education . Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Morgan, John (17 April 2014)."Private college goes Dutch but says profits are taxed in UK". Times Higher Education . Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  6. ↑ EducationInvestor (8 May 2012). "New partner for LSBF". Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  7. ↑ John Morgan (29 November 2013). "Private colleges suspended from student loan access". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  8. ↑ John Morgan (29 January 2015). "St Patrick's College students top private loans bill". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  9. ↑ Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (November 2015). "Higher Education Review (Alternative Providers): St Patrick's International College Ltd.". Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  10. ↑ John Waite (26 February 2015). Inside St Patrick's. Face the Facts. BBC Radio 4 . Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  11. 1 2 Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (March 2015). "Concerns about standards and quality in higher education: St Patrick's International College". Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  12. ↑ Morgan, John (7 May 2015). "QAA upholds two out of six concerns about St Patrick's". Times Higher Education . Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  13. ↑ Morgan, John (26 February 2015). "Private college's visa licence suspended as BIS and QAA launch inquiries". Times Higher Education . Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  14. ↑ Home Office (29 January 2018). Register of Licensed Sponsors (Tier 4). Retrieved 39 January 2019.
  15. ↑ Home Office (29 January 2019). Register of Licensed Sponsors (Tiers 2 and 5). Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  16. ↑ Custer, Sara (25 September 2015). "Global University Systems to restructure". The Pie (Professionals in International Education). Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  17. ↑ Morgan, John (2 June 2015). "University of Law sold to Global University Systems". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  18. 1 2 Heagney, James (reviewer). "Academic Management Review Report 2015-16" for Pearson Education. Retrieved 11 May 2016 via the official website of St Patrick's College.
  19. ↑ St Patrick's College. "Schools". Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  20. ↑ QAA (September 2017). "Specific Course Designation: St Patrick's International College Ltd, monitoring visit report". Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  21. ↑ St Patrick's College. Our Campuses. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.