The Office for Students (OfS) has published proposals for how it would implement the new quality assessment system announced in June this year, which will provide students with a clear view of the quality of teaching and learning delivered by every registered university and college.
The new system will use a revised Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) to assess and rate quality at individual institutions, which will receive Gold, Silver, Bronze or Requires improvement ratings for ‘student experience’, ‘student outcomes’ or both where sufficient data allows. To ensure that all students experience satisfactory quality and drive continuous improvements in quality across the sector, the OfS is proposing a strengthened set of incentives and restrictions linked to these ratings, including student recruitment limits for those rated Requires improvement. The OfS expects most universities and colleges to apply for a TEF rating for the incentives it can bring, although institutions could choose not to receive a rating. For those that choose not to participate in the TEF, they will be assessed against minimum requirements that will find their quality is either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Recruitment limits would be placed on those rated unsatisfactory.
The OfS is now consulting on more detailed proposals on how the new system will work, including what evidence would be used in the assessments, how ratings would be judged by assessors and decided by a panel, and how the OfS will take into account submissions from institutions and students. The OfS is also seeking views on how it would communicate outcomes to students, apply incentives to those delivering high and outstanding quality and interventions to institutions with lower ratings.
The consultation will run until 28 January 2027 and is open to students, staff, academics and leaders at higher education institutions, schools and further education colleges, and anyone with an interest in higher education.
Interim Director of Quality and Access at the OfS, Jean Arnold, said:
‘Students should expect to receive the brilliant teaching, academic support, rigorous assessment, and resources they need to succeed in higher education. Earlier this year, we announced big changes to the way we assess quality at universities and colleges, which will put students first, incentivise every registered institution to continually improve, and celebrate those that strive for excellence.
‘When we consulted on those changes, we were encouraged to see broad support for the revised Teaching Excellence Framework that will form the core of our new approach, as well as constructive feedback on how we can make it work for institutions of all types and sizes. That feedback, alongside ongoing discussions with the sector and student representatives, has directly informed the proposals we’re announcing today.
‘Our ambition is to have a system which creates strong incentives for improvement and will allow us to recognise and showcase the excellent quality we see across the sector, as well as protecting students from poor provision. We also want to put greater emphasis on students’ views, giving them a strengthened role in how we assess the quality of their experience.
‘We’re keen to continue the discussion with the sector and students as we take forward this consultation, and we look forward to hearing what they think of our proposed approach.’
As part of its wider review of quality, the OfS has also announced proposed reforms to the application and assessment process for institutions seeking to gain or retain degree awarding powers. A two-stage consultation process will first look to tighten the application process, to ensure that only providers that meet the OfS’s eligibility and suitability requirements can apply. The second will consider wider reforms of the application and assessment process and ongoing requirements for providers that have DAPs. While the OfS is consulting on the first stage of this work, it will not accept new applications for degree awarding powers. It also will not award indefinite degree awarding powers for the duration of the two stage reform process. This will ensure that new applications and assessments for indefinite degree awarding powers will be assessed against any agreed changes to the OfS’s requirements.
Notes
- The Office for Students is the independent regulator for higher education in England. Our strategy for 2025 to 2030 seeks to ensure that students from all backgrounds benefit from high quality higher education, delivered by a diverse, sustainable sector that continues to improve.
- Read the outcomes from the first stage consultation on the OfS’s future quality system, which has informed the second stage consultation. The OfS will publish supporting guidance for the consultation proposals and updated data dashboards to show how data used for assessments will be presented on Thursday 5 November.
