The Office for Students (OfS) has responded to the decision of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) not to continue as the designated quality body in England.
Susan Lapworth, interim chief executive of the OfS, said:
'We understand the QAA’s decision not to continue as the designated quality body in England, and we thank colleagues at the QAA for their work with us since 2018.
'We look forward to continuing to work with the QAA until March 2023 as it undertakes assessments of quality and standards to inform our regulatory decisions.
'The OfS's focus on quality and standards is central to our long-term regulation of the English higher education sector in the interests of students. We have set clear strategic goals to tackle poor quality courses and have recently imposed new and revised requirements for all universities and colleges.
'It is important that we can draw on the sector’s expertise, as appropriate, when we assess the performance of universities and colleges. As part of this, we are discussing with Universities UK, and others, whether there is another body that could be designated when the QAA’s role comes to an end.'