BUILA Agent Quality Framework
The UK Agent Quality Framework (AQF) is a sector-led initiative developed by the British Universities’ International Liaison Association (BUILA) in partnership with the UK education sector. It aims to enhance quality, transparency, and professionalism of international student recruitment through education agents.
The AQF promotes four key principles:
- Empowering student choice and enabling informed decision making
- Ensuring good agent governance and professionalism
- Promoting ethical agent practices, professional knowledge and competency
- Increasing transparency and accountability
At the heart of the framework is the AQF Pledge that education providers sign to demonstrate their commitment to responsible agent management. Coventry University is a proud signatory of the pledge.
Education agent responsibilities
As part of the AQF pledge, Coventry University expects all education agents to:
- Adhere to and host the National Code of Ethical Practice on their website
- Display the British Council’s Student Guide to Choosing an Education Agent on their website
- Proactively send a copy of the Student Guide to all students who engage with the agency’s services
- Complete the British Council’s UK Education Agent and Counsellor Training. A minimum of one counsellor per branch must have valid certification and provide this to agentscommission.io@coventry.ac.uk
- Provide and deliver a quality service to all prospective students
For education agents that work with sub-agents, the University has the following additional expectations:
- Be transparent around the use of sub-agents
- Train sub-agents in accordance with the National Code of Ethical Practice, holding them accountable to deliver a quality student experience
Resources
The following resources and materials are provided to help education agents align with the AQF framework and Coventry University’s operational standards.
