QAA awards first tranche of Access licence renewals

Following the March meeting of QAA's Board, Agored Cymru, Ascentis and Laser Learning Awards have each been awarded a renewed licence to operate as an Access Validating Agency (AVA) for a period of five years.

This decision reflects these organisations' compliance with the Access to HE Conditions and the absence of any significant ongoing regulatory concerns. All renewed Licences are subject to the standard monitoring arrangements will apply to every AVA.

QAA has been responsible for the regulatory oversight of the Access to Higher Education Diploma (AHED) since 1997, and in that time more than a million students have enrolled on AHED courses. In this regulatory capacity, QAA licenses Access Validating Agencies to validate, award and monitor the delivery of Access to Higher Education Diploma courses by providers based across the UK.

QAA is currently conducting a staggered relicensing process to align all existing AVAs with the revised iteration of the Access to HE Recognition Scheme, which will be fully implemented by August 2026. AVAs which have not yet received a relicensing decision continue to operate fully under their existing licences and remain compliant with the current Recognition Scheme. The sequencing of this relicensing process reflects the staged implementation of the new arrangements and does not indicate any difference in regulatory status or confidence.