Transnational education: Information for overseas regulatory agencies

The OfS is the independent regulator of higher education in England, established through the Higher Education Research Act 2017.

A higher education provider based in England may apply to join the OfS Register to access the benefits of regulation, which include:

• access to public grants, such as government funding for teaching or research
• access for its students to government-backed loans to fund their studies
• the ability to apply for the right to award its own degrees
• the ability to apply for the right to call itself a university.

A higher education provider must join the register before it can apply for or maintain a student sponsor licence, which allows it to recruit international students to come to study in the UK.

There are over 400 higher education providers on the OfS Register, including traditional universities, small specialists, private providers and charities. To date, over 140 providers have reported as active in delivering transnational education in over 260 countries.