How we regulate quality and standards

We have made some changes to the way we regulate quality and standards.

It is important that English higher education delivers a high quality academic experience for all students and that qualifications awarded are credible.

This means that providers need to meet our requirements for the quality and standards of the courses they offer.

What requirements do providers need to meet?

To stay registered with the Office for Students, the quality and standards of a higher education provider's courses must meet a minimum set of requirements or conditions.

When a provider first registers with the OfS, it is assessed to make sure it meets these conditions. Once registered, we monitor it to make sure it meets these conditions on an ongoing basis.

On 2 March 2022, we published changes to the conditions of registration that relate to quality and standards.

Revised ongoing conditions of registration B1, B2, B4 and B5 came into effect on 1 May 2022. Condition B3 came into effect on 3 Oct 2022. The detailed requirements of these conditions can be found in our amendment to the regulatory framework and can be summarised as:

Condition B1: Academic experience

The provider must ensure that the students registered on each higher education course receive a high quality academic experience. A high quality academic experience includes but is not limited to ensuring that each course:

is up-to-date;
provides educational challenge;
is coherent;
is effectively delivered; and
as appropriate to the subject matter of the course, requires students to develop relevant skills.

See the full wording and requirements of the condition

Condition B2: Resources, support and student engagement

The provider must take all reasonable steps to ensure:

students receive resources and support to ensure:

a. a high quality academic experience for those students; and
b. those students succeed in and beyond higher education; and
effective engagement with each cohort of students to ensure:

a. a high quality academic experience for those students; and
b. those students succeed in and beyond higher education.

See the full wording and requirements of the condition

Condition B3: Student outcomes

Providers must deliver positive outcomes for students on their higher education courses.

See the full wording and requirements of the condition

Condition B4: Assessment and awards

The provider must ensure that:

students are assessed effectively;
each assessment is valid and reliable;
academic regulations are designed to ensure that relevant awards are credible;
academic regulations are designed to ensure the effective assessment of technical proficiency in the English language in a way which appropriately reflects the level and content of the course; and
relevant awards granted to students are credible at the point of being granted and when compared to those granted previously.

See the full wording and requirements of the condition

Condition B5: Sector-recognised standards

The provider must ensure that, in respect of any relevant awards granted to students who complete a higher education course provided by, or on behalf of, the provider (whether or not the provider is the awarding body):

any standards set appropriately reflect any applicable sector-recognised standards; and
awards are only granted to students whose knowledge and skills appropriately reflect any applicable sector-recognised standards.

See the full wording and requirements of the condition

The regulatory framework contains these conditions in full, and guidance to assist providers in understanding how the OfS may interpret them.

Read the regulatory framework

Contact us

For more information or queries about quality and standards email [email protected]

How we regulate quality and standards

Share this page:

Thank you for your feedback