How the framework is run — and how we're held to it.

Structure of the framework

Program Backed LLC is a Delaware-registered company that operates the framework. It has two functional arms, deliberately separated:

1. Framework operations

Operations handles admissions, listings, provider relationships, and the commercial participation agreements. This is the arm a provider talks to.

2. Audit and enforcement

Audit reviews outcome claims, samples source records, investigates candidate complaints, and issues findings. Audit reports to the company's directors, not to operations. Operations cannot overrule an audit finding.

Independence and conflicts of interest

• Program Backed does not receive commissions on candidate enrolments.
• Program Backed does not take a percentage of provider tuition.
• Program Backed does not receive placement fees from employers on either side of a placement.
• No director or employee of Program Backed may hold an ownership stake in a participating provider. Existing holdings must be disclosed and divested before employment begins.
• Audit staff are prohibited from moving into a role at a participating provider they have audited within the previous 12 months.

Complaints and disputes

A candidate who believes a provider has breached the Framework Agreement — including failure to meet a Schedule B commitment or failure to administer a Schedule C refund — may open a case with Program Backed at any time. The process is designed to be navigable without a lawyer.

1. Open a case. Email info@programbacked.com with a short description of the dispute and the programme in question. A case reference is issued within two business days.
2. Provider response. The provider is given ten business days to respond, produce records, and propose a resolution.
3. Audit review. If operations cannot broker a resolution, audit takes over. Audit reviews the signed agreement, the source records, and the candidate's evidence, and issues a written finding within twenty business days.
4. Enforcement. Where the finding is against the provider, the remedy in Schedule C is administered by Program Backed, and the provider's participation is reviewed.
5. Escalation. A candidate who disagrees with an audit finding may request a review by an external adjudicator on the Program Backed panel. The external adjudicator's decision is binding on Program Backed and the provider under the Framework Agreement.

Accountability of the framework itself

The framework operator can be wrong. When that happens, candidates and providers need a route that is not "email the same team that made the decision".

• Every audit finding is subject to external adjudicator review on request.
• The external adjudicator panel is composed of individuals with no commercial relationship with Program Backed or with any participating provider.
• Aggregated findings, complaint volumes, and remedy outcomes are reported in the annual framework report, published on this site.
• Serious complaints against Program Backed itself — including alleged conflicts of interest — can be sent directly to the directors at info@programbacked.com and are logged separately from operational cases.

Working with regulators

Where a participating programme is separately regulated — for example by Ofqual, AAT, ISTQB, BCS, PMI, APM, or an equivalent professional body — the regulator's requirements apply in addition to the Program Backed Standard. We do not attempt to displace or duplicate statutory regulation; we are a contractual layer that gives candidates a remedy the regulator cannot always provide on their timescale.

Information security

Program Backed handles candidate agreements, identity information used to verify signatures, and payment references. We work on the principle of least data: we collect only what is required to administer the framework and hold what we collect for only as long as we need it, subject to legal record-keeping obligations. Payments on this site are processed by Stripe; we do not store card numbers or full payment credentials.