Data collection

We provide funding to providers registered with the Office for Students in the Approved (fee cap) category. Providers registered in this category need to submit a data return to us to inform our funding calculations.

Data collection to inform funding for 2025-26

To calculate funding for the academic year 2025-26 (1 August 2025 – 31 July 2026), providers that are registered in the Approved (fee cap) category will be required to submit a data return in 2024-25.

Providers will be asked to complete one of these data returns:

Condition F1 transparency return 

Providers are required to submit annual ‘transparency data’ to the OfS and to publish the information on their websites. This requirement is part of the OfS’s F1 condition of registration. 

Upcoming requirement for providers - Transparency information 2026

We paused this requirement in 2024 and from spring 2026 this will be reinstated. 

We will publish guidance about the information which providers will need to publish, along with the timeline, in early 2026. We will also write to providers directly once this information has been published.