The University of West London (UWL) has been fined £150,000 by exams regulator Ofqual after serious regulatory failures affected thousands of students taking
graded music qualifications.
Ofqual found that between January 2020 and November 2022, UWL did not properly oversee the work of one of its third-party assessment centres. As a result, the centre designed, delivered and awarded music theory exams to 224 students using unauthorised assessment materials that had not gone through UWL’s formal approval process. Certificates were issued despite the lack of authorisation.
The investigation also revealed widespread administrative failures. Around 4,300 students who completed Ofqual-regulated Theory of Music qualifications did not receive their certificates within a reasonable timeframe. In addition, UWL did not have a functioning appeals process for students for almost three years, leaving learners without a formal route to challenge assessment decisions.
While the unauthorised assessments directly affected 224 students, Ofqual said the wider risk was far greater. Approximately 40,000 certificates were issued through the third-party centre during a period when it was not adequately supervised, raising concerns about standards and public confidence in the qualifications system.
Although an independent auditor—commissioned by UWL at Ofqual’s instruction—found no evidence that other assessments bypassed UWL’s approval procedures, the regulator said the lack of oversight represented a serious breach of awarding organisation rules.
The third-party centre had originally been contracted to deliver online assessments during the COVID-19 lockdown for the London College of Music Examinations (LCME), which operates as a trading name of UWL. However, Ofqual concluded that UWL failed to maintain sufficient control over how assessments were delivered once the arrangement was in place.
Ofqual also criticised UWL’s response after special conditions were imposed, finding that the university initially failed to meet requirements to commission an independent audit. This failure was attributed to negligence.
The regulator said the fine reflects the scale of the breaches and the risk posed to students and the integrity of regulated qualifications. Photo by Ethan Doyle White, Wikimedia commons.