Our engagement with providers
Information on how we engage with the universities and colleges we regulate.
Provider visits
Visiting higher education providers on our Register helps us develop our understanding of the context in which they operate and the challenges they face.
Visits also provide an opportunity for staff and students to hear about our approach to regulation, our priorities, and to ask questions and provide feedback.
These visits are part of our wider commitment to increasing our engagement with the sector we regulate.
A lot of preparation goes into each visit so that both the provider and the OfS get the most from the occasion. This involves liaising with the provider in advance to agree details like who to meet and a suitable itinerary.
On a visit, the OfS is represented by a member of our senior team, accompanied by a member of our core regulatory team and occasionally an OfS board member or staff from some of our other functions where a visit provides valuable insight and in-person contact.
We typically meet with a cross-section of students and staff to hear more about their experiences and any challenges they face. This way, the visits inform our thinking, and shape our priorities.
We also use these visits as an opportunity to see at first hand local initiatives and activities, better understand the context providers are operating within, and basically see what things look like ‘on the ground’.
England’s higher education sector is diverse, made up of different universities and colleges with different missions and working in different regions and contexts. It is important that our visit programme reflects this diversity.
In each block of visits we select providers from our Register at random, and then check the selection to make sure it appropriately reflects the diversity of the sector.
We see visits as a key part of our engagement with the sector we regulate.
Something we consistently hear back is that providers really appreciate in-person contact with the OfS, and putting a human face to the regulator.
Engaging with accountable officers
Each provider on our Register has an approved ‘accountable officer’. The accountable officer is the person, normally the head of the provider, who reports to the OfS on behalf of the provider. We explain the role of an accountable officer in more detail in Part C of Regulatory advice 10.
We engage with accountable officers in a number of ways.
Our chief executive sends an email twice a month to accountable officers. These include updates about important information, OfS consultations, new regulatory guidance, upcoming events, and our wider work.
They also include a reminder of the senior member of OfS staff who is the provider’s contact.
We host quarterly webinars for accountable officers where they can hear directly from our chief executive and senior team about current and upcoming OfS priorities, and learn more about particular topics.
All newly appointed accountable officers are offered an introductory meeting or call with a senior member of staff.
This allows those new to the role to hear more about our approach to regulation and ask any questions they may have.
Engaging with students
The student voice is essential in shaping our work.
Read more about our student engagement strategy.
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Queries
If you have any questions about provider engagement, please contact us: [email protected]
Last updated 17 February 2026 + show all updates
17 February 2026 - Refresh of information.
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