We want to ensure that every student with the ability and desire to undertake higher education is able to make informed decisions about where, how and what to study, and to access a course that meets their needs and aspirations.
We want to see students, regardless of their background or identity, enjoying courses that stretch and inspire, that form part of a wider educational and social experience, and lead to the outcomes sought, whether that be employment or further study, wellbeing or resilience.
We want to ensure that students leave their courses with the knowledge, qualifications, skills and attributes that are required by employers, both now and into the future, or which support the setting up of their own businesses.
We want to see educated graduates, from all forms of higher education, who can flourish in the world as it is today and might be tomorrow.
Why this matters
Students invest significant time and money in their studies. Undergraduate and postgraduate courses involve commitments of several years. Many students take out substantial loans, to be repaid when they graduate and earn over certain limits. They need to know that their investment of time and money is worth it.
The benefits of higher education go beyond the benefit to the individual student. It is a powerful driver of social mobility. Employers need graduate skills. Graduates are essential for delivering public services. Graduates and postgraduates are needed to support research, and its development into products and services.
A successful higher education system benefits not just the individual, but employers, our economy and society. It is a public as well as a private good.
An efficient and effective regulator
We need to be an efficient and effective organisation to successfully deliver our four strategic objectives.
We will support and develop our staff to enable high performance across all our work.
We will be innovative and thorough in our systems and processes, holding ourselves to the high standards to which we hold the sector.
We will focus on our ability to learn and to improve ourselves, systematically tracking our performance and evaluating our impact. We will continue to learn from other regulators, organisations and sectors. Above all we will learn from and engage with students to better understand how we can regulate in their interests.