Higher Education Public Standard

Higher Education Institutions

A complete public pass checklist for recognized higher education providers. Every applicable line is mandatory.

Standard: LI-HE-STD-001
Edition: 1.0
Status: In force
Issued: 8 September 2026

Who is eligibleInstitutions on the jurisdiction’s official higher education register, assessed for recognized ISCED 5–8 provision.

Assessment unitThe registered higher education provider; material levels, modes, fields, campuses and partner delivery must also pass.

Outside this standardUnrecognized providers, honorary awards, stand-alone short courses and non-qualification training.

PASSAll 68 applicable checks meet their pass marks.

NOT LISTEDOne failed check or one missing public value.

NOT APPLICABLEOnly when the provider does not offer that level, mode or regulated activity.

Jump to:1 Legal 2 Public proof 3 Continuation and completion 4 Outcomes 5 Capacity & protection 6 Public information Rules Formal basis

1 · Legal recognition and status

The provider and every qualification must be recognized and in good standing.

11 required checks
No.	What we check	Pass mark	Public proof
L1	Official higher education provider recognition	Active and unrestricted	Government or statutory higher education register
L2	Authority to deliver and, where applicable, award higher education qualifications	Current and valid for 100% of assessed provision	Official provider and awards registers
L3	Active degree and higher education programmes within approved scope	100%	Official programme or accreditation register
L4	Branches, campuses and partnership delivery	100% legally authorized	Official campus, franchise or partnership record
L5	Continuous higher education operation	≥ 5 years and ≥ 1 complete qualification cycle	Official registration history
L6	Latest required external higher education quality review	Within the official cycle and ≤ 6 years old	Official review or accreditation report
L7	Mandatory external-review areas	Every area meets the required standard	Complete official review report
L8	Current major regulatory sanction	0	Official enforcement record
L9	Current stop-admission, stop-award, closure or insolvency notice	0	Regulator, court or public register
L10	Final finding of serious misrepresentation, qualification fraud or academic fraud	0	Final regulator, court or awarding-body decision
L11	Provider identity and higher education scope	100% match for legal entity, name, ID, location and qualification level	Official registers and data records

2 · Public evidence

Every decision must be independently reproducible from public records.

12 required checks
No.	What we check	Pass mark	Public proof
E1	Open access	100% of decision evidence available without login or payment	Public webpage, report, API or open-data file
E2	Private provider submissions used	0%	Published evidence record
E3	Complete data details	100% include numerator, denominator, period and scope	Official data and methodology
E4	Outcome history	≥ 2 of the latest 3 valid cycles	Dated annual or cohort data
E5	Registration and enforcement check	≤ 90 days old	Official current-status source
E6	Continuation, completion and destination data	≤ 36 months old	Official provider-level data
E7	Enrolment and staffing data	≤ 24 months old	Official provider-level data
E8	Financial evidence	≤ 24 months old	Published independent audit
E9	Tuition and compulsory charges	Current admission year	Public provider fee schedule
E10	Unresolved evidence conflict	0	Published source comparison
E11	Manual exception or provider-specific waiver	0	Published decision record
E12	Evidence tied to the assessed provider and delivery scope	100%	Official provider, campus and programme identifiers

3 · Continuation and completion

Students must remain enrolled and complete recognized qualifications.

8 required checks
No.	What we check	Pass mark	Public proof
HE-C1	Students covered by published outcome data	≥ 90% of total enrolment	Official provider-level student data
HE-C2	Full-time short-cycle or other undergraduate continuation	≥ 80% and ≥ matched 60th percentile	Official continuation data
HE-C3	Full-time bachelor’s or taught master’s continuation	≥ 85% and ≥ matched 60th percentile	Official continuation data
HE-C4	Full-time research postgraduate continuation	≥ 90% and ≥ matched 60th percentile	Official continuation data
HE-C5	Part-time continuation	Short-cycle/bachelor’s ≥ 65%; taught postgraduate ≥ 75%; research postgraduate ≥ 80%; and ≥ matched 60th percentile	Official mode-level continuation data
HE-C6	Full-time completion	Short-cycle ≥ 70%; bachelor’s ≥ 80%; taught master’s ≥ 85%; research postgraduate ≥ 80%; and ≥ matched 60th percentile	Official completion data
HE-C7	Part-time completion	Short-cycle ≥ 60%; bachelor’s ≥ 55%; taught postgraduate ≥ 70%; research postgraduate ≥ 70%; and ≥ matched 60th percentile	Official mode-level completion data
HE-C8	Continuation and completion stability	≥ 2 of the latest 3 cycles pass; latest cycle passes	Comparable official cohort data

4 · Graduate and professional outcomes

Graduates must progress and, where required, pass professional examinations.

10 required checks
No.	What we check	Pass mark	Public proof
HE-O1	Full-time short-cycle positive progression	≥ 60% and ≥ matched 60th percentile	Official graduate-outcomes data
HE-O2	Full-time bachelor’s positive progression	≥ 70% and ≥ matched 60th percentile	Official graduate-outcomes data
HE-O3	Full-time taught postgraduate positive progression	≥ 75% and ≥ matched 60th percentile	Official graduate-outcomes data
HE-O4	Research postgraduate positive progression	≥ 85% and ≥ matched 60th percentile	Official graduate-outcomes data
HE-O5	Part-time positive progression	Short-cycle ≥ 70%; bachelor’s ≥ 75%; taught postgraduate ≥ 80%; research postgraduate ≥ 85%; and ≥ matched 60th percentile	Official mode-level graduate data
HE-O6	Graduate destination known	Administrative match ≥ 90% or official survey response ≥ 60%	Official destination coverage
HE-O7	Required professional or licensing examination participation	≥ 95% of eligible graduates	Professional regulator or examination authority
HE-O8	Required professional or licensing examination pass rate	≥ 80% and not below the national first-attempt rate	Professional regulator or examination authority
HE-O9	Completion gap for published priority groups	≤ 15 percentage points	Official group data; pooled sample ≥ 60
HE-O10	Positive-progression gap for published priority groups	≤ 15 percentage points	Official group data; pooled sample ≥ 60

5 · Teaching capacity and student protection

Qualified staff, sound oversight and effective learner protection are mandatory.

12 required checks
No.	What we check	Pass mark	Public proof
S1	Legally required qualifications for teaching students	100%	Official workforce or external-review data
S2	Required background and suitability checks	100%	Official external-review finding
S3	Students–teaching-staff ratio	≤ 20:1 and not above matched local median	Official same-date learner and staff data
S4	Official teaching-quality result	Meets the required standard	Official external quality review
S5	Assessment, learning resources and learner-support result	Every applicable area meets the required standard	Official external quality review
S6	Latest independently audited financial statements	Published and ≤ 24 months old	Independent audit report
S7	Audit opinion and going-concern status	Unmodified opinion; 0 material going-concern warnings	Independent audit report
S8	Statutory tuition protection, insurance or escrow	100% of applicable learners	Official scheme or audited record
S9	Programme-closure teach-out plan	100% of enrolled learners covered	Current public learner-protection plan
S10	Academic-record custody after closure	100% defined	Current public records policy
S11	Confidential internal complaint or reporting route	≥ 1	Current public policy
S12	Independent external complaint or redress route	≥ 1	Named statutory or recognized external body

6 · Information for prospective learners

The full offer, cost, conditions and official outcomes must be visible before enrolment.

15 required checks
No.	What we check	Pass mark	Public proof
F1	Legal name and operating entity	100%	Official name, provider ID, address and ownership
F2	Every programme currently admitting learners	100%	Programme name and resulting qualification
F3	Recognition and accreditation status	100%	Authority, status, expiry date and official link
F4	Delivery location and mode	100%	Campus, online, blended and delivery partner
F5	Normal programme duration	100%	Full-time and part-time duration and workload
F6	Admission requirements	100%	Prior qualification, grades, language and other conditions
F7	Credit transfer and recognition of prior learning	100%	Eligibility, limits and procedure
F8	Current tuition	100%	Amount, currency and billing period
F9	Application fee, deposit and every compulsory charge	100%	Amount and refund status
F10	Estimated total programme cost	100%	Tuition and required study costs
F11	Withdrawal, refund and deposit rules	100%	Notice, calculation and non-refundable items
F12	Curriculum, learning outcomes and teaching language	100%	Every current programme
F13	Assessment, completion and placement requirements	100%	Credits, examinations, attendance and required placement
F14	Official student outcomes	100%	Direct links to continuation, completion and destination results
F15	Complaints, appeals, academic integrity, anti-harassment and non-discrimination policies	100%; reviewed ≤ 24 months	Current policies and external complaint route

How the numbers are handled

Eight rules keep every decision consistent.

Technical rules
Rule	Requirement
Material cohort	A level, mode or field with a 3-cycle sample ≥ 60 and ≥ 5% of total enrolment must pass separately.
Regulated programmes	A programme leading to a regulated profession is checked regardless of its enrolment share.
Matched benchmark	Match jurisdiction, qualification level, study mode, delivery mode, broad field and provider type.
Small samples	Use the official confidence interval; otherwise pool 3 cycles to ≥ 60. Never estimate suppressed data.
No denominator	A value without its denominator cannot decide listing.
Campus and partner delivery	Provider-wide data cannot support a campus or partner claim unless the reporting scope matches.
No private correction	A correction changes a decision only when it points to a current public source.
Annual expiry	Every listing expires with its edition and is removed if any applicable requirement is no longer met.

Formal basis

The official frameworks and datasets behind this standard.

Formal reference basis
Subject	Authority	Used for	Link
Scope and education levels	UNESCO Institute for Statistics	ISCED levels and programme classification	Official source
Institution recognition	International Association of Universities	Recognized higher education institutions and Global WHED IDs	Official source
Higher education quality assurance	ENQA, ESU, EUA and EURASHE	External review, public information, student progression and completion	Official source
External quality-assurance results	European Quality Assurance Register	Official agency status, decisions and reports	Official source
Numerical student-outcome thresholds	Office for Students	Continuation, completion and progression by level and mode	Official source
Public course and graduate data	UK higher education funding and regulatory bodies	Continuation, graduate outcomes, response rates and cohort rules	Official source
International graduate outcomes	OECD	Employment outcomes by tertiary level and field	Official source
Provider and programme status	Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency	Registration, accreditation, conditions and regulatory action	Official source

These sources support definitions, evidence classes and threshold design. Leading Institutions publishes and applies its own pass marks. A general reference never replaces institution-specific public proof.