OfS business plan to drive benefits for students, universities and colleges and taxpayers

The business plan sets out how the work of the OfS will benefit students, the institutions regulated by the OfS, and taxpayers more widely. It continues the implementation of the recommendations in the independent public bodies review of the OfS.

During this business plan year, the OfS will:

• Protect the interests of students through a refreshed approach to quality and strengthened protection for students’ consumer rights. The OfS will develop and consult on an integrated approach to quality which supports continuous improvement, ensuring students can be confident that they will receive good teaching on well resourced courses which leave them prepared for life after graduation. A focus on consumer protection – including a consultation on new regulatory requirements for institutions – will mean students are treated fairly and understand the routes for redress where they encounter problems.
• Support English higher education through financially challenging times, with sector-level analysis and careful monitoring of financial performance for individual institutions. A renewed collaborative focus on effective governance will ensure the sector is better equipped to navigate future challenges. The OfS will also reopen for applications for registration, degree awarding powers and university title from August 2025.
• Work with the Department for Education (DfE) and the Student Loans Company to protect taxpayers’ investment in higher education. This will include introducing new initial conditions of registration for institutions looking to join the OfS Register, and consulting on new ongoing requirements to ensure all universities and colleges have robust control of their partnership arrangements.

Commenting, Susan Lapworth, chief executive of the OfS, said:

‘Higher education in England is rightly recognised for its excellence and the life-changing opportunities it brings for students from all backgrounds. But these are difficult times for the sector, with no institution immune from financial and strategic pressures. These challenges increase risks for students, and today’s business plan sets out the work we will do this year to ensure that students’ interests are protected.

‘We’re clear that all institutions, even the very best, should seek to continue to improve the quality of their courses. As we develop our new integrated approach to regulating quality, we’ll create the incentives to ensure this is the case. And we’ll make sure we can spot and tackle those instances where quality has slipped and students are being short-changed.

‘Students are entitled to receive the higher education experiences they were promised and to benefit from a rich and rewarding wider environment that helps them make the most of the time they spend studying. Recent events, such as marking and assessment boycotts, have highlighted the importance of effective protection for students’ interests and underlines the need for the OfS to ensure students are treated fairly.

‘The OfS’s analysis has led the way in setting out the deeply challenging financial picture facing universities and colleges. We’ll continue our important work explaining sector wide risks, and will remain focused on those individual institutions experiencing acute financial difficulties to ensure students are protected.

‘The programme in our business plan advances our work to regulate in the interests of students, in a successful and diverse higher education sector. It explains how we will deliver effective regulation, for students and work collaboratively with the universities and colleges we regulate. We will continue to minimise the burden institutions experience through our regulation and redouble our efforts to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible.’

Notes

1. The Office for Students is the independent regulator for higher education in England. We are currently developing a new strategy for 2025-2030 which seeks to ensure that students from all backgrounds benefit from high quality higher education, delivered by a diverse, sustainable sector that continues to improve.