---
title: "Provision of Online Graduate and Postgraduate Educational Services"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04297a"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04297a"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04297a.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04297a.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "ASTON UNIVERSITY"
published: "2023-12-22"
---

# Provision of Online Graduate and Postgraduate Educational Services

Buyer: ASTON UNIVERSITY  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04297a

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## Summary

The procurement process was undertaken by Aston University for the provision of online graduate and postgraduate educational services. This services contract falls under the higher education services industry category. The procurement stage was completed through a limited procurement method, specifically an award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition. The contract was awarded to Online Education Services Limited. The contract worth £230 million was signed on December 15, 2023.

This tender for online educational services offers opportunities for businesses with the capability to deliver high-quality online education services at the graduate and postgraduate levels. Companies willing to make substantial upfront investments in infrastructure to support the contract can compete for similar opportunities in the higher education services sector. Aston University, the buying organization, sought a provider through a competitive but limited procurement process, ultimately leading to the selection of Online Education Services Limited as the awarded supplier.

## Notice

This is a services contract for the provision of online educational services at graduate and post graduate level.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

This is a services contract for the provision of online educational services at graduate and post graduate level. These services include acting as a college of Aston University by: - Creating and adapting Aston University materials in order to ensure that they are appropriate for online teaching; - Delivering online teaching in respect of courses from undergraduate to doctorate level; - Marketing the courses to prospective students; - Providing an admissions service; and - Providing student support services.

### Procurement Information

The University sought to appoint a provider through which to secure its online education offering. The University's objective requirements for its provider included (1) the provision of online education services; and (2) the ability to make a significant (multimillion pound) upfront investment in infrastructure to support the contract. The University is of the view that that there is no reasonable commercial alternative through which to achieve its online education offering. It also considers that its requirements are driven by commercial positions and are not aimed at the artificial narrowing of competition. Recognising that its requirements were more extensive than many online education contracts, the University directly engaged with the market to ascertain the market's ability to meet the University's requirements and its appetite for doing so. Following that engagement the University identified only one party who had the capability to deliver the requirements and who was willing to contract with the University on this basis. Indeed, the engagement did not reveal any other provider with a viable solution and who would be willing to put forward the significant multi-million pound upfront investment for the infrastructure required under the contract. Therefore, following a review of the commercial case put forward, the University has made the commercial decision to enter into the contract with OES, who satisfies all of the criteria under Regulation 57 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037811-2023 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 22 Dec 2023 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 15 Dec 2023 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £230,000,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | ASTON UNIVERSITY |
| Locality | BIRMINGHAM |
| Post town | Birmingham |
| Postcode | B4 7ET |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG3 West Midlands |
| ITL 3 | TLG31 Birmingham |
| Local authority | Birmingham |
| Electoral ward | Nechells |
| Westminster constituency | Birmingham Ladywood |
| Delivery location | TLG31 Birmingham |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ONLINE EDUCATION SERVICES |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services

### Codes

- 80300000 - Higher education services

## Release History

- 22 Dec 2023 at 11:12 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037811-2023

## Notice URLs

- https://www.aston.ac.uk

## 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-h6vhtk-04297a. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04297a.json.