What we’re learning from our visits to universities and colleges

Why we visit institutions

Since launching our visits programme in 2023, we’ve met with students and staff at over 150 higher education providers across England. This includes a broad mix of institutions, from large universities in major cities to small, specialist institutions and further education colleges.

I’ve explained previously why we started to get out and about and visit the institutions we regulate. Visits provide an opportunity for students and staff at institutions to hear about our approach to regulation, ask questions and provide feedback. They help us to understand the wider context for our work. And they contribute to building meaningful two-way relationships between OfS colleagues and colleagues across the sector.

In this blog, I’ll share what we’ve heard from students and staff over the 30 visits so far in 2025, and how we’re using this insight to inform our work.

What we’re hearing from universities and colleges

It won’t surprise anyone that financial pressures are at the front of colleagues’ minds. Institutions are continuing to manage the impact of rising costs, and the real-terms decline in tuition fee income. Many are revisiting their business models in light of more competitive student recruitment, both domestically and internationally.

Students’ needs are changing. The importance of students’ mental health and wellbeing is coming through loud and clear, something we heard during the development of our new strategy. We’re also hearing that more students are commuting to study, often due to cost-of-living pressures.

We’ve heard that the tone of our communications has shifted with universities and colleges describing our conversations as more constructive and collaborative as a result of the changes we made in 2023. At the same time, there’s a call for us to reduce regulatory burden, particularly for data collections, to be clearer about how our teams are structured and who to contact.

Sticking to this theme, colleges are seeking tailored communication and engagement. Many explained they need us to be better at pointing to information specifically relevant to them and explaining how our guidance or publications reflect their particular context.

What students are telling us

It’s a priority for us to meet with students as part of each visit and we’ve met over 170 since the start of the year. Hearing their unfiltered feedback is always the most interesting part of any visit and the conversation I look forward to most.

So, what have they been saying?

• Strong relationships with their institution’s staff are key. It’s clear from conversations with students that their connection with lecturers and support staff plays an essential role in their academic experience and wellbeing.
• Cost of living pressures continue to bite. Students told us about working long hours in part-time jobs, struggling with transport and accommodation costs, and finding it harder to participate fully in university or college life.
• Students are aware of the financial pressures facing institutions. Many linked issues like larger class sizes, pressure on shared study spaces, and stretched resources to the broader financial challenges the sector is facing.
• While student unions are increasingly engaging with us, most individual students we spoke to were not familiar with our work. We’re working to change that, by transforming our approach to students’ involvement in our work.

How we’re responding

These visits are not just about listening, they inform our thinking and shape our priorities.

Some of the actions we’ve already taken include:

• Taking steps to reduce regulatory burden. We’re improving how we collect and use data, including changes to our approach to data on transnational education (TNE). A dedicated session on data will form part of our next quarterly update for accountable officers in September.
• Explaining more clearly how our teams are structured. We’ve launched a new explainer on our website to help providers understand how our regulation teams work and who to contact.
• Improving our engagement with colleges. We’ve appointed a dedicated senior lead for this work – our Head of Student Pathways and Progression, Al Wilson – launched a new college-focused webpage, and hosted targeted events, including strategy consultations and introductory sessions for new chairs of governing bodies at colleges.
• Continuing to work closely with institutions to respond to emerging financial risks and understand the financial context in which they’re working.

Looking ahead

These visits continue to provide us with invaluable insights. I’m grateful to the students and staff who’ve taken the time to meet with us, and to colleagues across the OfS who make these visits happen.

We remain committed to listening to what institutions and students tell us, acting on that feedback, and regulating in a way that ensures all students can access and succeed in higher education.