The Office for Students

Background

The Office for Students (OfS) is the higher education regulator in England. It was established by the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 and came into existence in 2018. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Education (DfE).

The OfS aims to ensure that higher education in England delivers positive outcomes for students. It is expected to encourage competition to improve student choice, to intervene when providers are failing in areas such as equal access, and to protect the interests of students, the government, and society at large.

The OfS is governed by a board that sets its strategy. Appointments to the board are made by the government. On 11 March 2025, the government approved the appointment of Professor Edward Peck, the former Vice Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University, as the next Chair of the Office for Students.

Regulating and funding higher education providers

The OfS performs its regulatory functions in several ways, including through:

• its regulatory framework
• operating a register of higher education providers
• granting degree awarding powers and the title of university
• the assurance of quality and standards
• monitoring equality of opportunity and protecting and supporting students
• monitoring the financial sustainability of providers
• overseeing data collection and publication

While the OfS is designated as a regulator, it also has a role in distributing grant funding provided by the government to institutions. Higher education providers in England must register with the OfS to access this funding, award degrees, and recruit international students. To be included on the register, providers must meet initial and ongoing conditions of registration demonstrating their ability to provide quality higher education.

On 2 December 2024, the OfS announced it would temporarily pause processing applications from providers for registration, degree awarding powers, and university title. It said the pause would be in place until August 2025 to allow the regulator to work more closely with institutions under significant financial pressure.

Recent reports about the OfS

Independent review of the Office for Students (2024)

In July 2024, Sir David Behan, the former CEO of the Care Quality Commission and chair of the board of Health Education England, published the results of his independent review of the OfS, which was carried out as part of the Public Bodies Review Programme.

The review made 32 recommendations for the OfS, the government, and the higher education sector to consider, concluding that higher education must be effectively regulated to address the unprecedented challenges the sector faced.

The report said the growth of the OfS’ responsibilities had diluted its clarity of focus and priorities. It said financial sustainability was the most significant and growing challenge for the sector and more needed to be done to manage risks. The report also found that while the OfS was operationally independent in the judgements and decisions it made, perceptions of the regulator’s closeness to government were undermining respect, trust, and ultimately the OfS’ credibility in the eyes of stakeholders.

House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee report (2023)

On 13 September 2023, the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee published its report of an inquiry into the work of the OfS. The report criticised the performance of the OfS, saying its relationships with many of its key stakeholders were not satisfactory, and as a result it was failing to meet the needs of students and was not trusted by many of the providers it regulated.

The report questioned the OfS’ approach to regulation, saying it often seemed “arbitrary, overly controlling and unnecessarily combative.” It also raised concerns about the OfS’ level of independence from the government, saying its actions were often seemingly shaped by short-term political priorities and media headlines.

Government and OfS responses

In response to Sir David Behan’s review of the OfS, the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the government accepted his core analysis and that the OfS should focus more on smaller number of priorities, namely:

• monitoring financial sustainability
• ensuring quality
• protecting public money
• regulating in the interests of students

She also announced that Sir David would be the interim chair of the OfS and would work with the current executive to implement his review’s recommendations. The chief executive of the OfS, Susan Lapworth, welcomed the Behan review’s recommendations, acknowledging there were areas “in which the OfS can, and will, continue to improve.”

The then-Conservative government responded to the Lords committee report in November 2023. While it acknowledged there may be a perception its guidance was “overly prescriptive”, the then-government disagreed the number of ministerial letters had been too frequent. It also disagreed that the OfS’ regulatory actions and duties were driven by political pressures and input. In response to the Lords Committee’s report, the OfS said it was working to improve its engagement with institutions and students and this would be an ongoing priority.