Statutory Instrument 2026 No. 1109 came into force on 25 October 2026 and gives MLA College Ltd authority to grant taught awards up to and including master’s level. The order was made by the Office for Students under section 42(1) of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, placing the decision within the current statutory regime for higher education regulation in England. (legislation.gov.uk) For policy readers, the key point is that this is an authorisation to award degrees within a defined scope, not a generic institutional upgrade. The OfS framework allows providers to hold powers that are limited by level, subject and duration, and this order applies all three constraints. (officeforstudents.org.uk)
The legal scope is narrower than a quick reading might suggest. MLA College is authorised in subjects related to engineering and technology, business and management, and geography, earth and environmental studies, with the published text naming areas such as mechanical engineering, maritime technology, finance, accounting, environmental sciences and earth sciences. (legislation.gov.uk) That wording matters. The schedule is described as including but not limited to the named subjects, so the boundary is set by the three higher-level subject groupings in article 2 rather than by a closed list of 30 titles alone. In practical terms, this is a subject-specific grant of taught degree-awarding powers rather than an unrestricted right to award across all provision. (policyindex.ai)
The order also records that the Office for Students sought advice from the relevant body on quality and standards before making the decision. That reflects section 46 of the 2017 Act, which requires the regulator to request and consider advice on whether a provider can maintain appropriate quality and appropriate standards before degree-awarding powers are granted, varied or, in some cases, revoked. (policyindex.ai) This is the point most likely to be missed in headline coverage. The instrument is not simply an administrative notice; it sits on top of a statutory assessment process intended to test whether a provider can sustain the quality and standards attached to the awards it is being authorised to make. (legislation.gov.uk)
The authorisation is also temporary. The published text states that it begins on 25 October 2026 and expires at the end of 24 October 2030, giving MLA College a four-year window in which it may award its own taught qualifications within the approved subject areas. (policyindex.ai) That end date is a material regulatory condition rather than a drafting detail. The power is neither indefinite nor institution-wide, and it does not extend to research awards or to taught provision outside the authorised subject groupings. Under the OfS framework, taught and research powers are separate categories and authorisations may be time-limited. (officeforstudents.org.uk)
For students and applicants in the affected subject areas, the significance is mainly about the awarding body attached to eligible provision. Within the authorised fields, MLA College can award its own taught qualifications up to master’s level; outside that scope, the order creates no new authority. (legislation.gov.uk) For the sector more broadly, the order is another working example of how the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 operates in practice. The OfS can confer powers that are specific to level and subject, and it can attach a defined term rather than granting open-ended status from the outset. That structure allows permissions to be revisited through later orders where a provider seeks a broader or longer authorisation. (legislation.gov.uk)
The explanatory note says no impact assessment was produced because the instrument is assessed as having no impact on businesses, civil society organisations or the public sector. That places the change firmly in the category of provider-specific regulatory action rather than system-wide reform. (policyindex.ai) The immediate policy takeaway is therefore precise rather than dramatic. From 25 October 2026, MLA College holds a time-limited route to award its own taught degrees up to master’s level in defined subject areas, under an OfS order grounded in sections 42 and 46 of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. (legislation.gov.uk)