Any time after an access and participation plan has been approved, providers may apply to the Director for Fair Access and Participation to request a variation of that plan.
A variation request includes any change to a provider’s approved access and participation plan, or targets and investment plan. It also includes any change to a provider’s fee levels within the period that the plan is in effect, including those returned within annual fee information returns.
A variation of a plan will be subject to the same assessment, approval and review process as a whole plan and can take up to 12 weeks to complete. The Director for Fair Access and Participation will consider the variation request and will inform the provider of his decision.
Variations that are approved will normally come into effect from the start of the following academic year and will apply to students entering the provider from that year onwards.
This includes changes to fee limits and when requesting a fee variation, a provider should have due regard to consumer protection law and the potential implications this may have for its ongoing compliance with condition C1 and other conditions of registration.
Requesting a variation
If a provider wants to make a change to their approved plan, they should request a variation to their plan. To do this they should email [email protected] outlining the changes they wish to make. The OfS will then advise whether a variation is needed.
Changes to fee limits submitted as part of the annual fee return will be treated as variation requests and assessed in the same way.
Variation process
Once a provider has submitted a request to vary their approved access and participation plan, we'll check that we have received all the required information to be able to carry out an assessment.
An OfS assessor will undertake an assessment of the variation request and may contact the provider with queries throughout this process.
A variation that would result in a reduction in the level or rate of progress or that would impact on support to students would require a compelling justification.
Following the assessment process, the OfS assessor will make a recommendation to the Director for Fair Access and Participation who will consider the variation and decide if it should be approved. The provider will be notified of the decision.
Should the Director approve the variation, the provider must publish the revised approved access and participation plan on its website. The revised plan will also be published on the OfS website.
Should the Director not approve the variation request, the provider can make representations and request a review of the decision according to the process set out in paragraphs 41 to 48 of Regulatory Notice 1.
