In February 2022 we announced our approach to monitoring access and participation plans. A letter sent to providers on 15 March 2022 provides full details of our approach to monitoring access and participation plans for the 2020-21 academic year.
To reduce burden on providers and ensure that our monitoring is risk-based and proportionate:
- you will not be expected to submit a monitoring return in 2022
- students and student bodies will not be asked to submit a voluntary independent student submission
- we will not generate standardised impact reports for you to publish.
What the OfS will do
We will use the following information to determine whether providers are making sufficient progress in the delivery of their plans:
- the access and participation data dashboard, to assess providers' progress against the milestones and targets in their plans
- access and participation expenditure information in providers' annual financial returns (for those providers that submit them to us)
- any other relevant information that we hold.
The monitoring process will take place over spring and summer 2022.
If we conclude that your provider is making sufficient progress we will not send a monitoring outcome letter to you. We will, however, inform you via email that the monitoring process is complete.
If we determine that your provider is not making sufficient progress, we may contact you for further information. You may also receive a letter setting out any concerns we have and highlighting where we expect improved performance.
We will continue to review our approach to monitoring to ensure it is effective and proportionate.
What universities and colleges need to do
We expect providers to continue to undertake internal monitoring of their plans for their own purposes.
