University of West London Fined for Failures Affecting Music Exams
Watchdog found inadequate oversight of third party assessor
Picture: UWL
February 10, 2026
The University of West London has been fined £150,000 by the exams regulator Ofqual after serious regulatory failures affecting thousands of music students over a three-year period.
Ofqual said the university, which acts as an awarding organisation for graded music qualifications through its London College of Music Examinations brand, failed to properly oversee a third-party centre responsible for delivering online assessments during and after the Covid-19 lockdowns. The breakdown in oversight meant unauthorised exam papers were used, certificates were delayed for thousands of learners and no formal appeals process was in place for nearly three years.
The regulator’s investigation found that between January 2020 and November 2022, a contracted centre designed and delivered its own music theory assessments without approval from UWL. A total of 224 students sat these unauthorised papers and were issued certificates, even though the university had not carried out its usual quality assurance checks.
Ofqual said this meant UWL could not be confident at the time that the assessments were reliable, properly marked or fit for purpose. While a later internal review concluded the papers were broadly of acceptable standard and the certificates were not withdrawn, the regulator said the situation posed a serious risk to public confidence in qualifications.
The problems went far beyond those directly affected by the unauthorised exams. Ofqual found that around 40,000 students received certificates via the same third-party centre during a period when it was not being adequately supervised, creating what it described as a significant systemic risk.
The investigation also revealed widespread delays in issuing certificates. More than 4,300 learners who completed regulated music theory qualifications did not receive their certificates promptly, in some cases having to submit online claims after the relationship with the centre ended in late 2022. UWL has since reviewed those claims and issued outstanding or replacement certificates.
In addition, Ofqual found that the university had failed to establish a formal appeals process for its music qualifications for almost three years, meaning students had no clear route to challenge results during that period.
Concerns about the arrangements first emerged through an anonymous whistleblower, a former UWL employee, who contacted Ofqual in late 2022. The whistleblower warned that governance around third-party delivery was weak and that the centre’s role had expanded well beyond what was set out in written contracts, with some responsibilities agreed verbally by a senior member of staff.
UWL later confirmed that a former senior manager had authorised a “parallel process” allowing the centre greater control over assessments without wider oversight within the university. A disciplinary investigation was launched but discontinued when the individual left UWL.
Following the initial findings, Ofqual imposed special regulatory conditions requiring the university to end high-risk third-party arrangements and commission an independent audit of its practices. However, UWL initially failed to provide the auditor with key documents outlining the regulator’s concerns, resulting in an overly positive first audit report. A second audit, submitted in June 2024, identified extensive failures in supervision, certification and appeals procedures.
Ofqual concluded that the initial failure to comply with the audit requirements was negligent and had added time and cost to the investigation.
Announcing the fine, Ofqual’s executive director of delivery Amanda Swann said the sanction reflected the seriousness of the breaches and the need to protect students and public trust in qualifications.
She said students must be able to rely on awarding organisations to properly oversee how qualifications are delivered, adding that the failures had real consequences for thousands who were left waiting for certificates and unable to appeal their results.
The enforcement panel noted that UWL admitted the breaches, cooperated with the investigation and had no previous adverse regulatory history. These factors contributed to a reduced penalty under a settlement agreement, though the regulator stressed the misconduct was systemic and prolonged.
Ofqual said the £150,000 fine, alongside a further £10,000 in investigation costs, was intended both to punish the failures and deter other awarding bodies from weakening oversight of third-party providers.
UWL has since introduced new digital exam systems, tighter governance over outsourced services and an online appeals portal.
A UWL spokesperson said, “UWL accepts Ofqual’s decision on this matter. UWL regrets that its oversight of this centre fell short of the standard required and apologises to the candidates affected by these failings. Since the relationship with the third-party was terminated in 2022, UWL has undertaken a thorough review of its oversight processes and has implemented new controls to ensure future compliance.”
Ofqual said it will continue monitoring the university’s compliance to ensure standards are maintained in future.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |