The Office for Students has made the Power to Award Degrees etc. (Richmond, The American International University in London, Inc.) Order 2026. The instrument was made on 14 May 2026 and came into force on 15 May 2026, using powers in sections 42(1) and 43(1) of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. The Order applies to Richmond, The American International University in London, Inc., registered as FC008955 and also known as Richmond, The American International University in London. In regulatory terms, this is a provider-specific authorisation rather than a wider change to the higher education framework in England.
Article 2 authorises the provider to grant taught awards of the kind mentioned in section 42(2)(a) of the 2017 Act. The explanatory note identifies the institution by UKPRN 10005470, aligning the legal instrument with the provider's regulatory record. The authorisation is time-limited. Under article 3, it begins on 15 May 2026 and expires at the end of 15 May 2029, giving the provider a fixed three-year period in which to exercise these taught degree-awarding powers.
The instrument also records the process followed before the Order was made. The Office for Students states that it requested advice from the relevant body on the quality of, and standards applied to, the higher education provided by Richmond, and that it had regard to that advice in line with section 46(1)(a) and (7) of the 2017 Act. That procedural point is important because it shows the authorisation was not granted on application alone. The statutory framework requires the regulator to consider external advice on academic quality and standards before conferring powers of this kind.
Article 4 gives Richmond the ability to authorise other institutions to grant the awards specified in article 2 on its behalf. The wording does not create a separate award-making power for those institutions in their own right, but it does permit delegated award arrangements within the limits of the Order. For providers working through partnerships or shared delivery models, that clause gives legal clarity on how awards may be conferred where teaching is delivered with another institution. The awarding authority, however, remains the one established by the Office for Students in this instrument.
The Order was signed by Jean Arnold, Interim Director of Quality and Access at the Office for Students, on 14 May 2026. The instrument is narrowly drafted and administrative in character, with the named provider, company number and relevant statutory basis set out in the operative provisions. This matters for compliance teams and advisers because the Order does not alter the general law on degree-awarding powers. Instead, it applies the existing regime in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 to a single institution for a defined period.
The explanatory note states that no impact assessment was produced because the instrument is judged to have no impact on businesses or civil society organisations, and no impact on the public sector. That positions the measure as a targeted regulatory authorisation rather than a policy change with broader economic effects. The immediate effect is straightforward. From 15 May 2026, Richmond holds Office for Students authorisation to grant taught awards until 15 May 2029, subject to the terms of the Order and the wider statutory conditions that govern higher education providers in England.