---
title: "Tackling Bogus Degree provision and Degree Fraud in England"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-68b4356b-654c-4ccc-8205-07490a9a9a74"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-68b4356b-654c-4ccc-8205-07490a9a9a74"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-68b4356b-654c-4ccc-8205-07490a9a9a74.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-68b4356b-654c-4ccc-8205-07490a9a9a74.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION"
published: "2018-01-11"
---

# Tackling Bogus Degree provision and Degree Fraud in England

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-68b4356b-654c-4ccc-8205-07490a9a9a74

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## Summary

The Department for Education (DfE) is conducting a tender titled "Tackling Bogus Degree provision and Degree Fraud in England" aimed at enhancing services to combat bogus degree provision in the UK higher education sector. The contract, which falls under the category of education and training services, has a total awarded value of £50,000 and was directly awarded. The contract period commenced on 1st June 2017 and extends until 31st May 2018. Businesses interested in this type of contract should note that the procurement process is at the award stage, with the relevant activities based in England.

This tender presents growth opportunities for businesses specialising in education oversight, fraud prevention, and compliance services, particularly Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations. As degree fraud continues to be a pressing concern, firms capable of offering innovative solutions or effective educational compliance services can position themselves favourably to compete effectively for contracts with the Department for Education.

## Notice

The Department for Education (DfE) is seeking a contractor for the delivery of services to enhance the Department's activities to tackle bogus degree provision and degree fraud in England. DfE is responsible for promoting and protecting the reputation of the UK higher education (HE) sector. An important part of this work is concerned with dealing with issues that arise from activities carried out by bogus degree providers, also known as degree mills. In order to seek to better protect the reputation of the UK HE sector, the Department commissioned a service in 2015 for an initial one year period to expand its activities in this area by taking a more proactive approach to tackling degree mills and also the related area of degree fraud. Due to the success of the first year the project was ran again for a further year in 2016. The Department is now looking to continue the service for another one year period. DfE is responsible for maintaining lists of recognised UK degree course providers. This comprises institutions who have their own degree awarding powers (known as Recognised Bodies) as well as institutions who deliver degree courses that are awarded by a 'Recognised Body' through validated or franchised arrangements. Under sections 214-216 of the Education Reform Act 1988, it is an offence for a body to award a UK degree or offer a UK degree course unless that body is already recognised and officially listed. DfE has no direct enforcement role (this being the responsibility of Trading Standards Departments). DfE's role is to advise the public about legitimate degree providers and to liaise with the enforcement authorities where appropriate where bogus degree providers appear to be operating in the UK. Degree mills have been a growing concern, not just here in the UK, but worldwide. Their expansion has been fuelled by the World Wide Web. This has enabled degree mills to take on a virtual presence and to give the appearance of an actual HE institution even though no such institution actually exists. The strong reputation of the UK HE sector means that the UK is a target for bogus operators who purport to operate a UK based "university". Degree fraud is a closely related area. The "qualifications" offered by bogus providers tend to be used by applicants seeking to gain employment under false pretences. This has the potential to disadvantage students with genuine qualifications who are competing for labour market opportunities with candidates with false qualifications because employers have not made the necessary checks. Additional information: awarded value is exc VAT

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/5ad34555-ebf4-4f35-b24a-c78151aa32f9 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 11 Jan 2018 |
| Submission deadline | 31 May 2017 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 30 May 2017 |
| Contract period | 31 May 2017 - 31 May 2018 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £50,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION |
| Locality | SHEFFIELD, |
| Post town | Sheffield |
| Postcode | S1 2FJ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber |
| ITL 2 | TLE3 South Yorkshire |
| ITL 3 | TLE32 Sheffield |
| Local authority | Sheffield |
| Electoral ward | City |
| Westminster constituency | Sheffield Central |
| Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England), TLL Wales, TLM Scotland, TLN Northern Ireland |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | HIGHER EDUCATION CAREER SERVICES UNIT |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services

### Codes

- 80000000 - Education and training services

## Release History

- 11 Jan 2018 at 09:42 - AwardUpdate - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/5ad34555-ebf4-4f35-b24a-c78151aa32f9
- 28 Jun 2017 at 14:33 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/5ad34555-ebf4-4f35-b24a-c78151aa32f9

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/5ad34555-ebf4-4f35-b24a-c78151aa32f9
  11th January 2018 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/c2e22b90-d9ce-4e7e-97a9-a3cf90710209
  Contract

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-68b4356b-654c-4ccc-8205-07490a9a9a74. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-68b4356b-654c-4ccc-8205-07490a9a9a74.json.