University of Kent Partnership Forum UKBA Tier 4 Immigration System

1. Jon Pink – Academic Registrar University of KentPartnership ForumUKBA Tier 4 Immigration System

2. Topics • The principles of sponsorship and its role in controlling net migration • The Sponsor Licence and HTS • Sponsorship with partners • UKBA Compliance Visits • Engagement or attendance monitoring Add presentation title here in the Slide Master

3. The Principles of Sponsorship Sponsorship is based on two basic principles, they are that: • Those who benefit most directly from migration...help to prevent the system being abused and • Those applying to come to the UK to work or study are eligible to do so and a reputable employer or education provider genuinly wishes to take them on Add presentation title here in the Slide Master

4. Inflows of non-EU long-term migrants, by reason for migration Source: Estimates from the International Passenger Survey 2009, Office for National Statistics (UK) 4

5. The Tiers • Tier 1 – for highly skilled worker, the worker does not need to be sponsored • Tier 2 – general worker route, the worker needs a sponsor • Tier 3 – unskilled worker route not used at the moment • Tier 4 – student route, the student needs a sponsor • Tier 5 – temporary workers, covers a range of worker types: sports, entertatinment Add presentation title here in the Slide Master

6. What is a Sponsor Licence • An institution, organisation, company can apply for a sponsor licence to bring in workers and students to the UK • When applying for the licence the organisation agrees to a range of duties • If the organisation does not meet those duties then there are sanctions • The sanctions range from action plans to improve through to loss of licence • An Education Institution can become a Highly Trusted Sponsor which means it has certain flexibilities within the licence Add presentation title here in the Slide Master

7. HTS Mandatory Requirements Add presentation title here in the Slide Master

8. HTS Core Measurable Requirements Add presentation title here in the Slide Master

9. Sponsorship With Partners • It is possible for one organisation to sponsor individuals where those individuals are supported/managed by another organisation • The main example for Education is that a sponsoring institution has its courses taught by partners and chooses to sponsor those students. They must have arrangements to meet their sponsor duties • This can be a risk to the sponsoring institution and many choose not to work in this way Add presentation title here in the Slide Master

10. UKBA Visits • There are 4 broad categories of visits that UKBA may make to an institution: • Informal Account Manager visit, perhaps to introduce themselves • Compliance Visit where a relatively small number of student files may be inspected (perhaps 30-50). Institution should get a letter giving a broad outcome • Compliance Audit where a large number of student files will be examined (25%-45%). These types of visit are usually as a result of a compliance visit that identifies problems. This may result in a formal report and suspension or revocation • Intelligence Led Visit when information has been gathered by the UKBA about a potential and significant issue. The outcome depends upon what is found UKBA Compliance Visits

11. What is Checked during a Visit • For a full compliance visit UKBA officers will want to see a range of evidence including: • Student files containing admissions documentation, application, evidence of qualifications, evidence of meeting English Language requirement • Copies of passport details and visa stamps, biometric information • Partnership agreements • Contracts with overseas recruiting agents • The right to trade and operate • Engagement / attendance records • Engagement or attendance monitoring is one of the biggest issues in the sector at the moment Add presentation title here in the Slide Master

12. Examples of expected interactions include, but are not limited to: • attending any lesson, lecture, tutorial or seminar (as relevant to the level of study); • attending any test, examination or assessment board; • submitting assessed or unassessed coursework; • submitting an interim dissertation, coursework or report; • attending any meeting with a supervisor or personal tutor; • attending any research-method or research-panel meetings, writing-up seminars or doctoral workshops; • attending an oral examination (viva); • registration (matriculation or enrolment); • attending an appointment with a welfare advisor or international student adviser. UKBA Compliance Visits

13. Monitoring Systems Seen by UKBA • UKBA has visited a number of Universities. The next 3 slides show monitoring systems from sponsors maintaining Highly Trusted Status • Electronic attendance monitoring is not the only method of compliance monitoring and is not necessarily a substitute for good record keeping. • It is essential that Universities demonstrate that they are complying with their stated monitoring systems through electronic and paper files • Source documents may be required to support computer based systems when data has ben input UKBA Compliance Visits

14. Example Monitoring System - University A • Use electronic attendance monitoring and 6 ID check points during the year to monitor their sponsored students. • They have a bar code scanner in place and student ID cards are scanned at the start of each class. • This system is linked to an internal system for monitoring purposes. • If a student goes missing during class then it is up to the lecturer to inform the International Office. • A narrative of any contact with the student is retained i.e. phone, e-mail, text, letter. UKBA Compliance Visits

15. Example Monitoring System - University B • Expected contacts are any timetabled contacts (i.e. lectures, tutorials, lab time). • Class lists to establish if there are any non-attendees. • Initially, any patterns of absence are monitored by the individual faculty. • If the faculty is unable to resolve the issue it is referred to the International Office. • They also have an engagement scheme whereby any attendance at the library, International Office or entrance via a barrier system is recorded. UKBA Compliance Visits

16. Example Monitoring System - University C • The sponsor set up 10 random expected interactions for the academic year (these expected interactions can be any form of contact with the university including email contact or a meeting with the International Office). • These interactions where then recorded on an electronic database. • If the student misses 4 expected interactions then action was taken by the international office taken. • If the missed interactions are during the academic year a meeting is arranged and a verbal warning is issued. • If the missed interaction is near the end of the year then an email warning is issued. • If there is further non attendance a final warning is issued. UKBA Compliance Visits

17. Monitoring System – University of Kent • Where possible University regulations are used to set out expectations and resulting actions • All taught modules have a defined attendance pattern and registers are marked and entered into the student data system (SDS), normally seminars and tutorials not lectures • Research students have at least one meeting a month with their supervisor from which the student submits a brief report to the SDS which is verified by the tutor • Students on work placement or year abroad submit a monthly report to a supervisor at Kent which is verified by the supervisor at the host organisation. (Paper/email based) • Reports can be drawn from SDS to show attendance patterns and poor attendance is followed up by the School • Schools have others contacts to check engagement UKBA Compliance Visits

18. Developments in Attendance Monitoring • Meeting between UKBA and UUK, UKCISA, GuildHE, NUS and ECU • Resulted in a “clarification letter” from George Shirley a copy of which has ben circulated around the sector. • UKBA have committed to a co-regulation working group with HE organisations • Group will be UKBA, UKBA, Guild HE and UKCISA • UKBA do not want ARC or AUHA directly involved in the group, though they have agreed for an ARC/AUHA replacement if UUK cannot be represented • Risk based compliance visits • Tier 1 and PhD changes from April 2013

19. Attendance Monitoring – Main Points from UKBA • The intention of the attendance monitoring policy is not to put existing layers on existing processes, nor is intended to monitor students to the ‘nth degree’ • The intention of attendance monitoring was never for institutions to create separate systems for international students • UKBA officers are not interested in the technicalities of contact points determined by individual sponsors. They are interested in sponsors having appropriate systems in place and  the outputs from those systems being satisfactory • Policy on attendance monitoring has deliberately not been prescriptive as it has to cover 2,000 Tier 4 sponsors • UKBA accepts that input from individual compliance officers has in some cases driven particular approaches to be adopted by institutions and that these have on occasions been “outside the spirit of the Tier 4 rules”

20. Attendance Monitoring – “Set of Principles” • During the meeting in early January, it was suggested that the sector could develop a set of principles setting out a few high-level commitments in relation to attendance monitoring (or ensuring on-going 'engagement with studies'). • UKBA have said they will work with the sector to produce this but it won't be a formal UKBA document. • It is something that a range of organisations could sign up to including UUK, UKCISA, NUS, ECU, GuildHE • It was felt that the principles themselves should be developed by practitioners and supported by other bodies