Tuesday, August 5, 2014. The University of Bedfordshire in the UK has welcomed today’s decision by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to allow the University to resume recruiting international students.
The decision confirms that the University can continue to issue Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) letters to new international students. It follows a detailed audit by UKVI of the University’s procedures for the management and monitoring of international students.
Welcoming the decision Bill Rammell, the University of Bedfordshire’s Vice Chancellor, said:
“I was always confident that our procedures for monitoring international students were robust, and I’m pleased that UKVI’s thorough and detailed audit has confirmed this. We take our immigration compliance responsibilities extremely seriously. We cooperated with UKVI throughout the audit and I’m delighted that, following this decision, we can now resume issuing CAS letters to new international students and we retain our Highly Trusted Sponsor status. I’m looking forward to welcoming more international students to our diverse and vibrant learning community.
“Current international students were not affected in any way by the short pause in our ability to issue new CAS letters.
“The high quality of our teaching, excellent student experience and our location are the three main reasons international students come to Bedfordshire. We give students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live and study with our home students and with students from many different countries and backgrounds.”
The University of Bedfordshire received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade in 2011 and the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2014 – the highest form of recognition for universities in the UK.
The University of Bedfordshire’s ability to issue CAS letters to new international students was paused by the Home Office on 24 June 2014, when the Minister for Immigration and Security made a statement in the UK Parliament regarding student visas. The Minister stated that the University would not sponsor new students pending the outcome of a UKVI investigation. The University of Bedfordshire was one of a number of universities in London and the South East of England affected.
The University cooperated fully with UKVI and, following the conclusion of their investigation, UKVI announced on 5 August 2014 that the University may once again issue CAS letters.
Ashraf Jawaid, Deputy Vice Chancellor, External Relations at the University of Bedfordshire, added: “Our courses are driven by world-leading research and are taught by some of the leading academics in their field. The University provides students of all backgrounds with high quality teaching, outstanding facilities, great support and an excellent experience.
“And 92% of Bedfordshire students find employment or are in further study soon after they graduate – one of the highest rates in the country.”
To find out more about the University of Bedfordshire and the courses available to international students please visit www.beds.ac.uk/international, email international@beds.ac.uk or phone +44 (0)1582 489326
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