Agent quality framework resources

A UK Agent Quality Framework (AQF) was established in 2022 following extensive research with students, education providers, education advisers and agents. The project is jointly led by the British Council, BUILA, UKCISA and Universities UK International (UUKi).

The Framework aims to enhance the partnership between recruitment agents and the UK education sector. It helps facilitate best practice, provides training for agents and counsellors, and provides key guidance and quality assurance tools. This ensures the ethical practices of agents and provides greater transparency on how agents and education providers work together to enhance the student experience. Over 150 institutions have signed up to the AQF pledge. 

Resources now available include: 

• The Good Practice Guide for UK Education Agents Partnering for Quality. 
• A student guide to choosing an education agent 
• The Good Practice Guide for Providers using Education Agents 

These resources are kept under review to ensure that they remain relevant to members and to international students, and help support the good practice that is established across the UK sector. UKCISA is working with the British Council, BUILA and Universities UK International to explore with government how this framework can be further developed, including making it mandatory, and enable any inappropriate practice to be identified and managed.