Safeguarding integrity in postgraduate admissions depends not only on formal rules but also on whether universities can detect where those rules are most likely to fail. From an internal-control perspective, this paper examines risk-based secondary oversight by university discipline inspection and supervision bodies. Secondary oversight is understood here as an independent review of how admissions units exercise authority and perform their own control duties, rather than the direct substitution of supervisory personnel for operational staff. A practice-oriented analysis identifies three recurring difficulties: the large and dispersed group of participants, the technical complexity of the admissions workflow, and the long annual cycle over which evidence must be retained and reviewed. In response, the paper develops a framework centered on key personnel, high-risk procedures, and critical time windows. It links preventive integrity reminders and responsibility confirmation with targeted checks on examination security, marking, interviews, information disclosure, complaint handling, and rectification. The framework also emphasizes documented follow-up so that identified weaknesses lead to changes in routine controls. This approach can help universities use limited supervisory resources more selectively, preserve the primary responsibility of admissions units, and strengthen procedural fairness and accountability throughout the admissions cycle.

Liao Ting. Risk-Based Secondary Oversight in University Postgraduate Admissions: An Internal-Control Perspective. Frontiers in Educational Research (2026), Vol. 9, Issue 9: 62-66. https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2026.090909.

[1] Xing Dali, et al. Political supervision in postgraduate admissions[J]. Continuing Education Research, 2021.

[2] Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Internal Control—Integrated Framework: Executive Summary[R]. Durham, NC: COSO, 2013.

[3] Spira LF, Page M. Risk management: The reinvention of internal control and the changing role of internal audit[J]. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2003, 16(4): 640-661. DOI: 10.1108/09513570310492335.

[4] Institute of Internal Auditors. Global Internal Audit Standards[S]. Lake Mary, FL: The IIA, 2024.

[5] International Organization for Standardization. ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management—Guidelines[S]. Geneva: ISO, 2018.