Provider guide to coronavirus

Regulatory requirements

We have published detailed guidance about the regulatory requirements we have suspended and the specific information we need from providers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Quality and standards during the coronavirus pandemic

Guidance for registered providers about how the OfS will approach the regulation of quality and standards matters during the period of disruption resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Read the guidance on quality and standards

Uni connect programme

We have also published more detail about how these requirements will affect the Uni Connect programme.

Read the update on the Uni Connect programme

Consultation on proposals for a new, time-limited condition of registration

We launched a consultation on the integrity and stability of the higher education sector in England. The consultation closed on 26 May 2020. Proposals included a new, time-limited condition that would allow us to take action against higher education providers that engaged in conduct which would not be in the interests of students and the wider higher education sector in these exceptional circumstances.

Find out more Read the consultation

Prevent

We have written to providers to set out the OfS’s Prevent monitoring requirements during the coronavirus pandemic.

Read the letters

Common questions

Do universities and colleges need to comply with the F3 Notice sent on 9 March 2020, asking them to report cases and suspected cases of coronavirus?

No. The letter sent by Susan Lapworth on 25 March includes full details of reporting requirements during the coronavirus outbreak. Universities and colleges can stop returning the information requested in the Notice of 9 March.

Are you going to change all reporting requirements or just the requirements in relation to coronavirus?

We have temporarily suspended a number of our reporting requirements in order to minimise the regulatory burden on higher education providers during this period. The letter sent on 25 March gives detailed information about the regulatory requirements we have suspended and the specific information we need from providers.

Will reduced reporting put student interests at risk?

No. The intention of the OfS is to regulate in the student interest. As set out in the earlier letter sent by Susan Lapworth on 17 March one intention of the current changes is to ensure that the OfS protects the interests of students by working with providers to develop practical ways to maintain teaching quality and standards, enable adequate exams and assessment, and support financial sustainability.

Why do providers have to notify the OfS if they are ceasing delivery of a course or other provision but not if there is a planned closure of a campus/subject/department. Could that mean provision is stopped without the OfS being aware?

No. The requirements that the OfS has now put in place would still cover those events. This includes requirements for providers to report that:

is no longer delivering higher education to one or more groups of students
is ceasing or suspending delivery of one or more modes of study to current students, for example no longer delivering a course on a part-time basis
is ceasing or suspending delivery of higher education, in whole or in part, to current international students with a visa issued under a Tier 4 licence
is ceasing or suspending delivery of higher education in such a way that current students who expected to complete their course in the 2019-20 academic year are unable to do so
has lost accreditation by a professional, statutory or regulatory body (PSRB) because of changes to the delivery of higher education made as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Will universities and colleges need to report to the OfS if there are no cases of coronavirus?

Universities and colleges no longer need to submit reports to the OfS about the number of cases of coronavirus at their institution (including where there are none).

Which conditions of registration are affected by the regulatory changes?

In this unprecedented environment it would not be appropriate for us to continue to operate the regulatory system as we would in normal times. We are adapting our approach to support higher education providers as they seek to protect the interests of their students.

We are not setting out particular approaches that providers should adopt - we recognise that understanding the local context for these difficult decisions is essential. In practice, this means that we are unlikely to draw negative conclusions about the actions a provider has taken – or not taken – where it is clear to us that it has properly considered the needs of its students and has made a reasonable decision. For significant decisions, this could mean recording the reasons for the decision clearly.

Will the OfS take regulatory action if, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, a provider cannot deliver all of the commitments in either its 2019-20 or 2020-21 access and participation plans?

Providers are expected to seek to deliver their approved access and participation plans, in particular any financial commitments they have made to current students under a 2019-20 plan and future students under a 2020-21 onwards plan. We will look at how providers have sought to meet their other commitments and, when we do this, we will take into account the current circumstances.

In doing so, there may still be significant uncommitted funding for planned activities such as the delivery of face-to-face outreach activity in schools which have been closed as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Given that, it may be both reasonable and necessary to divert such resources towards other activities for vulnerable students, including the enhancement of mental health support for students and student hardship. In such cases, the provider should refer to the advice on OfS student and disabled student premium funding (see questions under ‘support for vulnerable students’).

When making regulatory decisions in the future, we will look at whether a provider made reasonable decisions about its delivery of the commitments in its plans. It is critically important, therefore, that a provider has a clear and robust rationale if it is not able to meet a commitment in its plan and is clear that it has explored reasonable alternatives. As with all significant decisions in these uncertain times, this could mean recording the reasons clearly.

Providers who are unclear about any aspect of this guidance can get in touch with the regulatory contact identified in Nicola Dandridge’s email to accountable officers on 14 April 2020.

Contact us

If you are a higher education provider and you have a question about our regulatory requirements in relation to coronavirus, please email us at [email protected] or call 0117 931 7305 to speak to a member of our regulation and ongoing monitoring team.

For up to date information on upcoming deadlines, please see our deadlines and forward look page.

Published 19 March 2020
Last updated 27 May 2020 + show all updates

27 May 2020: Content updated to reflect that the consultation has closed
07 May 2020: Added link to letter on Prevent monitoring requirements during the coronavirus pandemic
04 May 2020: Content updated with details of our consultation on a new, time-limited, condition of registration
29 April 2020: Added link to our deadlines and forward look page
27 April 2020: Updated wording for the question about regulatory action
24 April 2020: Minor text update to question about access and participation plans to link to further information on student and disabled student premium funding
06 April 2020: Question about access and participation plans and link to the recent guidance on teaching quality and standards added.
01 April 2020: Contact information added
30 March 2020: Question about degree apprenticeships added.
26 March 2020: Revised FAQ on reporting requirements, vulnerable students and healthcare students

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Provider guide to coronavirus

Regulatory requirements

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