AQF: UK Quality Framework for Education Agents

The Agent Quality Framework (AQF) is a set of tools to enhance the experience of international students working with education agents and counsellors to apply to study in the UK. The AQF is designed to ensure agents and counsellors have the right knowledge of the UK as a study destination and understand the integrity of the UK visa and immigration system to uphold the UK’s reputation as a world-class study destination. The AQF promotes four key principles: 

• empowering student choice and enabling informed decision making 
• ensuring good agent governance and professionalism 
• promoting ethical agent practices, professional knowledge and competency 
• increasing transparency and accountability.

The AQF recognises the critical role that agents and counsellors play in attracting and supporting international students on their journey to study in the UK. It provides a suite of guidance and quality assurance tools designed to enhance the partnership between UK education providers on the register of licensed student sponsors and their agent/counsellor representatives.  

The AQF was established after extensive research with students, education providers, education counsellors and agents. It was produced in collaboration with sector partners: the British Universities' International Liaison Association (BUILA), Universities UK International (UUKi), the British Council, and the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA). 

There are eight parts to the AQF:  

1. A student and parent guide to choosing an education agent 
   The guide supports students and their parents on what they should look for when selecting an agent, including links to the National Code of Ethical Practice for Education Agents.  
2. The National Code of Ethical Practice for Education Agents 
   A code of practice which sets out the standards and best practice that education agents and agent aggregators, brokers and marketplaces (Digital Agent Networks) representing UK education providers on the register of licensed student sponsors must adhere to. 
3. The Good Practice Guide for Providers using Education Agents 
   A guide on education agent management best practice for UK education providers on the register of licensed student sponsors. The information in the guide allows providers new and established to international recruitment to use it as a step-by-step guide, minimising their risk and embedding resource-efficient processes. 
4. The Good Practice Guide for UK Education Agents Partnering for Quality 
   A guide enabling all agents and representatives partnering with UK providers on the register of licensed student sponsors to deliver high quality applicant experiences. 
5. The Agent Quality Framework Pledge 
   A pledge enabling UK education providers on the register of licensed student sponsors to demonstrate their commitment to the AQF.   
6. The UK agent and counsellor certified training 
   British Council training that provides agents and counsellors with knowledge and awareness of the UK as a study destination and certifies them through assessments. 
7. The British Council UK agent and counsellor training and engagement hub 
   The hub includes all the information that agents and counsellors need when serving UK-bound international students. 
8. British Council database of certified counsellors 
   Students and parents can access a public-facing database of certified counsellors who have passed the training.  

The AQF applies to all UK education providers on the Gov.uk register of licensed student sponsors and to education agents themselves. Requirements to adhere to the AQF are included in the UKVI Sponsor Licence Guidance. 

The AQF works to increase transparency and accountability and enhancing agent governance and ethical agent practices across the sector, so students have an excellent applicant experience and feel welcomed and supported throughout their journey to study in the UK. 

In support of the AQF, HEIs and international education providers across the UK have signed and committed to the UK Agent Quality Framework Pledge, to demonstrate support for the framework and a commitment to quality assurance in agent management practices within their institutions.   

The pledge shows an institution's commitment to the principles of the Agent Quality Framework, as well as a plan for setting them into practice with a set of basic quality measures. These principles include: 

• Empowering student choice and enabling informed decision making
• Ensuring good agent governance and professionalism
• Promoting ethical agent practices, professional knowledge and competency
• Increasing transparency and accountability

Alongside providing clarity and security for both international students and agents, the Pledge provides a demonstrable commitment from the UK HE sector towards sustainable internationalisation practices. It also responds to concerns from Government around “unscrupulous education agents” by providing a proactive, sector-led approach to agent quality management. 

The AQF is continuously being enhanced with the following developments underway to further strengthen the Framework:

• Development of an Agent Risk Framework
• The enhanced sharing of agent information between the sector and the Government
• The creation of an authority for students to speak to if they are unsatisfied with the services provided by their agent