OfS removes Spurgeon’s College degree-awarding powers

A short legal notice with big practical effects: the Office for Students has signed the Power to Award Degrees etc. (Spurgeon’s College) (Revocation) Order 2026. It was made on Tuesday 7 April 2026 and takes effect on Monday 27 April 2026. The Order cancels the earlier 2022 and 2025 instruments that gave and then extended Spurgeon’s College’s powers to award its own degrees because the college has ceased to be a registered higher education provider in England. (legislationtracker.co.uk)

First things first: if you already hold a Spurgeon’s College degree that was awarded while the college had authorisation, your award remains a recognised UK qualification in law. What changes is future awarding: after 27 April 2026, any teach‑out must result in a degree from a validating university (for example, Liverpool Hope University or the University of Manchester), not from Spurgeon’s itself. (officeforstudents.org.uk)

Why now? Spurgeon’s closed its higher education courses on 31 July 2025, with the OfS saying around 200 students were affected and that it was working with the University of Manchester and Liverpool Hope University to support transfers. The college has since been in administration. Once a provider leaves the OfS Register, revocation of any time‑limited degree‑awarding powers follows the regulator’s procedure. (officeforstudents.org.uk)

Let’s separate two ideas we often bundle together. Registration is the licence to operate in England’s regulated higher education system; degree‑awarding powers are the legal right to make awards in your own name. If a provider is not registered, new students cannot access Student Loans Company finance, and the OfS expects degree‑awarding power holders to be registered. (officeforstudents.org.uk)

Where did Spurgeon’s powers come from? The OfS authorised the college to award taught degrees from 1 September 2022 and, in 2025, extended those powers to 30 November 2028. Under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, the OfS can award, vary, or revoke those powers by Order after a set notification and representations process-exactly what has now happened. (officeforstudents.org.uk)

If you studied on a course validated by another university, that university is your awarding body. The OfS’s student page for Spurgeon’s explains who holds records for different courses and who to contact for transcripts or replacement certificates. Check your offer letter, transcript, or certificate to confirm the awarding body named on your programme. (officeforstudents.org.uk)

If your certificate names Spurgeon’s College as the awarding body, it remains valid because it was conferred while the college was authorised. For job or visa checks, employers and agencies usually verify awards through HEDD, the UK’s official degree‑checking service-point verifiers there if asked. (officeforstudents.org.uk)

If you’re out of pocket or think something went wrong during closure or transfer, you can take a complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator. The OIA says Spurgeon’s students can complain until at least 30 July 2026, even though the provider’s courses have closed. Keep all emails and documents to support any case. (oiahe.org.uk)

For teachers and course leaders, this is a useful case study to teach how regulation works. We can help students tell the difference between OfS registration, degree‑awarding powers, and university validation; understand why financial sustainability matters for registration; and read statutory instruments with confidence the next time a provider changes status.

Dates to note: the Order was made on 7 April 2026 and comes into force on 27 April 2026. If you’re advising students, map those dates against assessment boards, graduation plans, and any transfer paperwork so that the correct awarding body appears on final documents. (legislationtracker.co.uk)