Reducing regulatory burden

By registering with the Office for Students, higher education providers need to meet a number of requirements to keep students protected. These include providing regular data returns that allow us to monitor providers’ compliance with our conditions of registration.

But to be an effective regulator, we need to make sure that our requirements are proportionate, that we operate efficiently and that our work reflects the principles of best regulatory practice. We do not want to place unnecessary barriers in the way of universities and colleges as they deliver high quality education to their students.

The OfS’s business plan for 2020-21 includes a programme aimed at reducing bureaucracy and ensuring regulatory burden on providers is the minimum necessary to deliver our regulatory objectives. This is in line with commitments made in the regulatory framework.

These pages explain our commitment to minimising regulatory burden, while still making sure students are protected.