E10: Relevant subcontractual arrangements and exempt arrangements

Under condition E10 outlined in our earlier blog, a relevant sub-contractual arrangement is an arrangement between a registered provider and one or more other entities in relation to the provision of higher education courses in which:

1. The provider holds a contract with one or more partner providers in relation to the provision of the courses;
2. Students on one or more of those courses hold (or will hold) a contractual relationship with the provider; and
3. 50 per cent or less of the total course delivery hours on one or more of those courses is provided (or will be provided) by the provider’s staff or contractors;  There are further detailed rules on how “course delivery hours” are calculated.

There are a number of exemptions for example where the partner(s) are schools/sixth form colleges, further education providers, NHS providers, specified local government and central government bodies and the armed forces.  Arrangements with partners who are authorised by Royal Charter or Act of Parliament to grant taught or research awards are also exempt, as are some arrangements with accredited institutions for the delivery of certain programmes of medical, veterinary and initial teacher training. 

Also excluded are arrangements where the contract relates to higher education courses and all the course content is either:

1. Delivered in a location outside England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; or
2. Delivered online but where all of the students registered on the “relevant course” are ordinarily resident outside of the home nations.

The OfS has also outlined some views on the extent to which E10 may apply in a range of scenarios such as validation arrangements, embedded colleges, joint ventures, subsidiaries, parent entities and trading arms.

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