The Student Interest Board will advise the Office for Students’ (OfS) board, inform policy development, help the OfS to understand students’ perspectives, and challenge it to act in their interests.
The Student Interest Board brings together student members with staff and officers from students’ unions, staff from universities and colleges who work on student issues, and others who can share insights on the experiences of students.
Replacing the OfS Student Panel, the Student Interest Board will provide a new way for students to be directly involved in the OfS’s work. Members will ensure the OfS understands the issues that matter most to students. It will play an important role in supporting the OfS's commitment to put the interests of students at the heart of its work, as outlined in the OfS's proposed new strategy for 2025-30.
The Student Interest Board will be chaired by Caleb Stevens, who is the member of the OfS board appointed because of his experience of promoting the interests of students.
Commenting, OfS chief executive Susan Lapworth said:
‘We are delighted to announce the launch of our Student Interest Board. Input from students, and those who work closely with students every day, is essential if we are to regulate in students’ interests. This new group will play an important role, helping us wrestle with strategy and policy, and offering insight on the range of issues that matter to students.
‘I’d like to welcome the new members of the Student Interest Board. They bring a diverse range of perspectives from across the sector, and their collective wealth of experience covers both different levels and types of study and a wide range of higher education settings. We look forward to getting to know them better and working with them in the interests of all students in England.
‘I also want to thank all of the previous members of our Student Panel – right back to the first panel in 2018. Their contributions have been invaluable and have paved the way for the step change in our engagement with students signalled by our new Student Interest Board.’