The north Wales institution was one of three universities and 57 private colleges which were told in June by the Home Office that they could not sponsor any new international enrolees, but was the only university to have its highly trusted status suspended.
Speaking at the time, immigration minister James Brokenshire said the nationwide action was taken in light of a “detailed and wide-ranging investigation into actions by organised criminals to falsify English language tests for student visa applicants”.
It followed a BBC Panorama exposé which alleged systemic cheating in tests from an organisation called the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Some 230 students sponsored by Glyndwr were identified as having invalid test results provided by ETS – a figure which rose to 350 if “questionable” scores were counted.
The other two universities involved in the June announcement, the University of Bedfordshire and the University of West London, have since been allowed to start sponsoring non-EU students again but, in a statement issued today, a Glyndwr spokesman said negotiations with UK Visas and Immigration were continuing.
“Glyndwr University has requested an extension to respond to the issues raised by the UKVI regarding the current suspension of the university’s HTS licence,” the spokesman said. “The extension has been granted up to October 8. The university remains in positive discussions with the UKVI. We have no further comment to make at this time.”
