The OfS has notified the providers concerned.
These investigations will consider whether the relevant courses meet the OfS’s conditions for quality, which came into effect in May this year.
Business and management courses are focused on because this is a large subject area where there is significant variation in performance across the sector, as shown in intelligence drawn from student outcomes data and National Student Survey responses.
Investigations focus on universities and colleges with larger student populations. This means that, should the OfS determine that the courses are not meeting minimum requirements for quality, any intervention made to improve those courses will have a positive impact on a significant number of students.
The OfS’s decision to open these investigations means that the OfS has identified potential concerns that require further scrutiny at the eight providers. It does not mean that the OfS has concluded that the courses do not meet its quality requirements. The fact that the OfS is conducting these investigations should not be interpreted as indicating that any form of wrongdoing has actually taken place in any of the eight providers concerned.
Onsite visits at the eight providers, with newly appointed academic experts to assist with the investigations, will take place from autumn 2022 onwards.
The OfS is not naming the universities and colleges under investigation at this stage. However, we expect to publish further details in due course, as our investigations progress.
