Provider guide to coronavirus

Regulatory requirements

Update on approach to regulation

We wrote to providers on 30 July 2020 to set out our approach to regulation and information about deadlines for data returns. This guidance supplements the guidance issued on 25 March 2020 (see below).

Read the letter

On 25 March 2020 we published detailed guidance about the regulatory requirements we have suspended and the specific information we need from providers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Student protection directions

We recently consulted on proposals for a new approach to enable us to intervene more quickly and in a targeted way when we consider that a provider is at material risk of leaving the higher education sector.

Read the proposals

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

Time-limited condition of registration Z3

Following a consultation on the integrity and stability of the higher education sector in England, we have introduced a time-limited ongoing condition of registration which enables us to take action to ensure the stability and integrity of the English higher education sector, during the exceptional circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic.

Find out more

Prevent

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

Read the letters

Common questions

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 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 disrupted by 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.

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.

As indicated in Susan Lapworth’s letter to providers in July 2020, we are using insights from polling of students and engagement with providers to inform our approach to re-setting our regulatory requirements for access and participation.

We plan to issue guidance to providers in November, which will set out how they should report in spring 2021 on the activity and financial support they delivered to students through their access and participation plans during 2019-20, together with any impact the pandemic has had on the plans we have agreed with them for up to five years from 2020-21 onwards. These reports will also collect any information previously required through enhanced monitoring reports, which are currently paused.

We will use this evidence to determine whether providers made reasonable judgements in relation to changes they may have made to their plans and to agree any changes with individual providers that may be necessary to their forward plans.

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.

Can I still apply to join the OfS Register?

Due to the current unprecedented circumstances related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and the need to prioritise OfS resources, we are not currently accepting any new registration applications, and therefore not issuing any new access keys for the registration portal.

We will keep the situation under review and will update our website accordingly.

If you believe any exceptional circumstances apply in your case, please contact us at [email protected].

The OfS is in the process of contacting all providers individually where an application has already been submitted.

Where can I find details about the reporting information and data returns now required by the OfS?

We wrote to providers on 30 July 2020 with an update on our approach to regulation and information about data returns. The letter has been published on our website. Upcoming deadlines are also listed on our deadlines and forward look page.

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 01 October 2020 + show all updates

01 October 2020: Common questions reviewed and updated to reflect current situation
14 September 2020: Page updated to reflect that the consultation on student protection directions has now closed
30 July 2020: Page updated following our letter to providers updating them on our approach to regulation
17 July 2020: Link added to proposed new student protection details.
03 July 2020: Details added about the new time-limited condition of registration.
30 June 2020: One FAQ removed
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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