Our business plan

What we will do in 2025-26

• We will set out clear expectations for higher education providers on financial sustainability, and seek greater transparency in how they meet key viability and sustainability indicators.
• We will continue to monitor the financial health of individual providers, using a risk-based approach to determine the appropriate level of engagement.
• We will increase oversight where providers perform less well against key indicators.
• We will continue in-year data collections and publish updates on sector resilience.
• We will finalise an information-sharing framework with DfE, and refer providers for early intervention where appropriate.
• We will increase transparency about our assessment of risk, to improve individual providers’ understanding of the nature of our concerns and to enable effective responses.

What we will do in 2025-26

• We will oversee cases where there is a significant risk of institutional closure, using a risk-based approach.
• We will, where necessary, put in place Student Protection Directions for individual providers at risk of institutional closure.
• Through engagement with the sector and with government, we will produce an options analysis for implementing a validator of last resort, to protect students’ interests in the event that the provider that validates their degrees closes.
• We will engage with UCAS on the potential for a bespoke clearing system for students in the case of the closure of their provider.

What we will do in 2025-26

• We will complete our consultation on proposed new initial conditions relating to treating students fairly and to effective governance.
• We will consult on a new ongoing condition of registration for lead providers involved in subcontractual arrangements, including greater transparency in relation to income from such activity.
• We will seek evidence to inform our wider approach to improving governance standards, for example developing potential new ongoing governance conditions, including through collaborative working with the Committee of University Chairs.
• We will consult on proposals to reduce registration burden by removing governance conditions for further education colleges without degree awarding powers where oversight is already in place from another regulatory body.
• We will undertake our functions relating to:
  • the regulation of exempt charities
  • Privy Council obligations
  • monitoring of relevant providers’ compliance with the Prevent duty to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. 

What we will do in 2025-26

• We will monitor risks to public funding, working closely with DfE and the SLC to identify concerns, respond to intelligence and support investigations.
• We will identify and communicate risk factors relating to the potential misuse of public funding.
• We will increase our data audit activity to improve assurance across the sector.
• We will undertake monitoring and assurance activity to ensure that OfS funding is used for the purposes intended.

What we will do in 2025-26

• We will complete investigations currently in progress.
• We will initiate additional investigations into governance and protecting public funding matters where we identify potential concerns.
• We will continue informal engagement with providers to address risks early where possible.
• We will further develop our enforcement guidance and processes, to ensure that our approach to regulatory interventions is clear and efficient.