Outcomes for students on higher technical qualifications (HTQs) could be separated from other Level 4 and 5 qualifications in published data under proposals published by the OfS today.
The proposal will allow the OfS, the higher education sector and the government to assess how far these new qualifications are delivering positive outcomes for students, employers and taxpayers. This proposed change will show how far a higher education provider is delivering positive outcomes for its students on HTQs, including the proportion of students continuing, completing and progressing into further study, a professional career or other positive outcome.
In the OfS’s current measures, HTQs are classified alongside Level 4 and 5 courses as ‘other undergraduate’. To better understand students’ performance on HTQs and safeguard their interests on these courses, the OfS is proposing to regulate them in the same way as undergraduate degrees and measure the extent to which they deliver positive student outcomes.
The OfS’s proposals to measure performance for these courses separately, as a ‘split indicator’ would allow it to:
- increase understanding of the growing profile of HTQs
- assess the extent to which a different numerical threshold for student outcomes may be appropriate
- take regulatory action, where necessary, in relation to the outcomes of students on HTQ courses.
The consultation runs from 27 July to 9 November 2023.