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 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.
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.
Condition B3: Student outcomes
Providers must deliver positive outcomes for students on their higher education courses.
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.
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.
The provider must participate in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).
For providers who are seeking registration but may not yet have delivered higher education.
The provider must have credible plans to enable them to comply with conditions B1, B2 and B4 and the capacity and resources necessary to deliver those plans.
For providers who are seeking registration but may not yet have delivered higher education.
The provider must demonstrate that any standards they follow in awarding qualifications must follow the recognised sector standards.
The regulatory framework contains these conditions in full, and guidance to assist providers in understanding how the OfS may interpret them.
Contact us
For more information or queries about quality and standards email [email protected]
Related content
- Briefing note: The statutory framework for quality and standards and the role of the OfS and any designated body (January 2023)
- Briefing note: How higher education quality is regulated in England (December 2022)
- Blog post: Quality: where are we now? (December 2022)
- Briefing note: Arrangements for assessing quality and standards from April 2023 (October 2022)
- News story: OfS sets out arrangements for assessing quality and standards from April 2023 (October 2022)
- Publication: Blended learning and OfS regulation (October 2022)
- News story: OfS to implement new approach to regulating student outcomes (July 2022)
- Blog post: Student outcomes and the TEF - where we are now and next steps (July 2022)
- Publications: Student outcomes and teaching excellence consultations and outcomes (July 2022)
- Press release: OfS launches new strategy targeting quality and standards (March 2022)
Last updated 03 October 2022 + show all updates
03 October 2022 - Wording added to reflect that Condition B3 came into effect on 3 Oct 2022.
01 May 2022 - Changes to the conditions of registration that relate to quality and standards are now in effect
02 March 2022 - Update on changes to the conditions of registration that relate to quality and standards
20 July 2021 - Changes to reflect the launch of the consultation on quality and standards conditions.
26 January 2021 - Copy updated to reflect consultation being closed
15 January 2021 - Consultation deadline extended
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