OfS grants degree powers to London School of Innovation

Who signs your degree can shape where you study, how employers read your certificate and how universities overseas recognise your qualification. From Friday 13 March 2026, the Office for Students has authorised London School of Innovation Ltd to award its own taught degrees up to and including master’s level in four areas: computing; engineering and technology; business and management; and combined and general studies. The order was made on 10 March 2026 and runs until the end of 12 March 2030, giving a four‑year window in which awards can be made in LSI’s name.

Here’s the plain‑English bit: degree‑awarding powers are the legal permission that lets a provider in England issue degrees in its own name. Parliament gave the Office for Students this responsibility in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, which allows the regulator to grant, set limits on, or revoke these powers. (legislation.gov.uk)

Orders like this follow a quality check. By law the OfS must take advice from an external quality body before it acts, and its own published materials show it assesses whether providers meet baseline standards. For LSI, the OfS has already published a quality and standards assessment against its B7 and B8 conditions, which feeds into decisions of this kind. (legislation.gov.uk)

What has been granted here is specific. The permission covers taught awards only-so bachelor’s and taught master’s degrees, not doctorates-and only in the subjects named in the order. The text also says awards may be given only to people enrolled with LSI at the point they complete their course, a standard safeguard that ties the award to the teaching you actually received.

Time‑limited authorisations are common for newer providers. They allow the OfS to review progress and, if needed, renew, vary or remove powers later. The OfS’s guidance explains that degree‑awarding powers can be set at a particular level, limited to certain subjects and reviewed after a fixed term. (officeforstudents.org.uk)

If you hold an offer from LSI or you’re applying now, check who the awarding body is on your offer letter and programme specification. With this order in force from 13 March 2026, LSI can be named as the awarding body for eligible courses in the listed subjects. If anything is unclear, ask admissions for written confirmation so you can keep it with your records.

If you’re already on a course, look at your expected completion date. The order covers completions between 13 March 2026 and 12 March 2030 for students enrolled with LSI when they finish. If your completion date falls after 12 March 2030, the OfS would need to extend or replace the authorisation for future cohorts to receive LSI‑awarded degrees.

You can verify a provider’s status in two quick checks. First, the OfS publishes information about orders it has made. Second, confirm the provider’s UK Register of Learning Providers details; LSI’s UKPRN is 10091282, which matches the name used in the order. (officeforstudents.org.uk)

A note on timing helps. The OfS paused new applications for registration and degree‑awarding powers in late 2024 to focus on sector finances, then said these processes would restart from August 2025. That restart created space for new decisions to land in 2025–26, including today’s order. (feweek.co.uk)

All of this sits on a clear legal base. Under the 2017 Act, the OfS can authorise providers to grant awards and must have regard to independent quality advice when doing so. That’s why the order sets precise dates, subjects and conditions rather than a blank‑cheque power. (legislation.gov.uk)

The official note says no impact assessment was produced because the instrument has no impact on businesses, civil‑society organisations or the public sector. That’s standard for technical education orders, but for students and staff it still matters because the awarding body named on a certificate is part of academic identity and progression.

Your practical next steps are simple. Read your programme documents carefully, keep copies that show who the awarding body is, and look at the provider’s student protection plan so you know how courses would be supported if things change. For LSI, that plan is published on its website. (lsi-ac.uk)