50th meeting of the OfS board, 13 May 2026

In the video below, OfS chair Professor Edward Peck summarises discussions that took place at the May board meeting.

Agenda and associated papers

1 Chair’s welcome

2 Minutes of the previous meetings

Minutes of the February 2026 meeting

Minutes of the April 2026 meeting

Considered to be exempt from publication.

3 Chair’s report

4 Chief Executive’s report

5 The OfS’s operating environment

This paper includes:

Annex A – Summary of student pulse survey

The summary of the student pulse survey is considered to be exempt from publication.

We publish a report showing data from our student pulse survey three times during the academic year. It shows trends for each of the key measures of student experiences at their provider in key areas of interest to the OfS. The latest survey was published on 21 May 2026.

Annex B – Provider visits

6 Development of approach to the regulation of governance at providers

7 OfS operational funding 

A paper setting out the OfS’s current funding position.

Considered to be exempt from publication.

8 Report from the Risk and Audit Committee

9 Risk report

The latest report on the current strategic and principal (high) corporate risks.

Considered to be exempt from publication. A summary of risks is published in the annual report.

10 Progress report on delivery of attitudes, strategic goals, KPIs, and finance update 

Annex A – Strategy progress report

A report on progress against the 2025-30 strategy, including implementation of the attitudes, progress against the six strategic goals and key performance measures.

Considered to be exempt from publication.

Annex B – Finance update

Considered to be exempt from publication. Relevant information is published in the annual report.

11 OfS business plan 2026-27 

A paper setting out our operating budget, approved detailed business plan including assumptions and how these align with our key performance measures.

The detailed paper is considered to be exempt from publication. We expect to publish our 2026-27 business plan in June.

12 Triennial review of the designated data body

A paper seeking the board’s approval of the report on the triennial review on the performance of Jisc as the designated data body.

Considered to be exempt from publication. We expect the final report to be published later in 2026.

13 Stakeholder survey findings 

A paper providing an overview of the results of the OfS stakeholder survey conducted with accountable officers earlier this year.

Considered to be exempt from publication. The results were published on 21 May 2026.

14 Market exit cases

An update on overall market exit risks across the sector, and updates on individual cases.

Considered to be exempt from publication.

15 Report from the Provider Panel

16 Report from the Quality Assessment Committee

17 Report from the People Committee 

A summary of the February 2026 committee meeting.

Considered to be exempt from publication. Relevant information is published in the annual report.

18 Revision to OfS scheme of delegation 

A paper setting out changes to the scheme of delegation to ensure legal and operational clarity when the joint chief executives begin their role on 15 June 2026.

Considered to be exempt from publication. The revised scheme of delegation took effect from 20 May 2026.

19 Annual plan for board business 

A plan of the business of the board over the next 12 months.

Considered to be exempt from publication.

20 Restricted item

21 Financial performance of the higher education sector 

A summary of this year’s report into the financial sustainability of higher education providers in England. See: Financial sustainability of higher education providers in England: 2026.

22 Change to Prevent monitoring approach 

A summary of the OfS’s role in monitoring providers’ implementation of their statutory Prevent duty, the changes we are making to our Prevent monitoring framework and information on outstanding risk.

Considered to be exempt from publication.