We’ve published the first of our new key performance measures (KPMs). Josh Freeman, Strategy Manager, sets out how they will measure our progress towards achieving our new strategy.
In November, we published our 2025 to 2030 strategy. At the core of the strategy are four attitudes: ambitious, collaborative, vigilant and vocal. They will guide how we regulate as we work to deliver our strategic goals.
Today we’ve published the first of our new set of key performance measures (KPMs) that will track how consistently and effectively we embody strategy attitudes in and through our work. They will be updated regularly, as data allows, and published on the OfS website, supporting accountability and transparency.
Our previous strategy’s KPMs looked at sector outcomes. While we shouldn’t lose sight of how the sector is performing overall, it is important we understand the impact of OfS regulation in this wider context. Our new KPMs track interim outcomes, serving as a checkpoint to assess whether our regulation is driving the impact we’re aiming for.
Our KPMs
Ambitious
Three KPMs will hold us to account for being ambitious for all students. They will measure the number and timeliness of Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessments completed annually (KPM 1), the number and timeliness of investigations involving a quality assessment (KPM 2), and the proportion of accountable officers reporting that OfS regulation has led to quality improvements in the last 12 months (KPM 3).
Collectively, these measures underline our commitment to delivering core quality work well, while also recognising that institutional confidence in the value of OfS regulation will be critical to maximising its impact.
Collaborative
Three KPMs will hold us to account for working collaboratively with the institutions we regulate and the students whose interests we serve. We will measure the proportion of accountable officers responding positively to questions about collaborative working, constructive engagement and appropriate communications (KPM 4).
In time, we will measure levels of trust and confidence in the OfS among students. However, the current low levels of awareness mean this would not yet be meaningful. As an interim step, while we work to increase students’ understanding of what we do, we will report student awareness of the OfS (KPM 5), recognising that this is an essential foundation for trust.
This KPM draws on the findings from our student pulse survey that we are publishing today alongside the KPMs. Over the past two years, we have surveyed students in England regularly to better understand their views and how these may be changing over time. The student pulse data is not used for regulatory activity and does not inform regulatory decisions. We are publishing it as it informs this measure and helps us reflect on progress against our strategy.
We will also track non-regulatory visits and attendance at OfS events (KPM 6), underlining our commitment to constructive engagement that grounds our work in the experiences and perspectives of students, institutions and sector groups.
Vigilant
Three KPMs will hold us to account for safeguarding public money and student fees. Tracking the accuracy of institutions’ financial forecasts (KPM 7) will help us understand the impact of our work to strengthen financial governance. We will also measure the timeliness of key regulatory processes (KPM 8), such as registration decisions and degree awarding powers (DAPs) assessments, and track the balance of spending between our core and enabling functions (KPM 9). These measures will hold us to account for delivering efficient and effective regulation, ensuring value for the taxpayers and institutions that fund our work.
Vocal
Two KPMs will hold us to account for sharing our thinking – celebrating excellence and championing the many benefits of higher education, while also identifying concerns. We will measure the number of engagements with our non-regulatory publications such as blogs, insight briefs and independent research (KPM 10), and track media citations of OfS analysis, data and insights (KPM 11). Together, these measures will help us understand whether our publications are seen as credible and useful in supporting high quality conversations about higher education.
Next steps
We published the first five new KPMs today. These relate to student awareness of the OfS (KPM 5), collaborative working (KPM 6), timeliness (KPM 8), engagement with non-regulatory publications (KPM 10) and citations of OfS analysis (KPM 11). All bar one of the outstanding KPMs will be published in the spring. KPM 1, which tracks the number and timeliness of TEF assessments, will follow the first round of quality assessments undertaken as part of a reformed quality system. We recently consulted on this and are currently reviewing the responses.
Some of the data already shows we are making progress. KPM 6 shows the number of attendees at our events increased from around 400 from October to December 2024 to over 1,200 in the same period in 2025. Other KPMs show there is more work to do. KPM 5 shows that 30 per cent of students have heard of the OfS, a figure that has remained broadly flat since autumn 2024. To address this, we have been increasing communication with students, including through interactive online student debriefs, updates from a student perspective, and webinars for student representatives.
Highlighting our progress and showing us where more work is needed is exactly what KPMs are meant to do. We will think carefully about what they tell us. The insights they provide will inform our decisions and ensure we deliver our strategy in the interests of students.
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