Student protection

How we protect the interests of students

The Office for Students (OfS) aims to ensure that all students can access, succeed in, and progress from higher education. 

We do this by: 

• ensuring students have access to relevant information to help them make choices that are right for them 
• increasing the options available to students by encouraging a diversity of providers and courses 
• ensuring students receive a baseline level of quality at their provider and promoting excellence and innovation beyond that level 
• intervening directly with individual providers and across the sector to ensure everyone has the same chances to succeed, and reach their potential.

When a provider applies to register with the OfS, we look across the whole business to make sure it’s able to deliver in the interests of students, and that safeguards are in place should things go wrong.

We assess:

• the provider’s financial sustainability
• its management and governance arrangements
• the quality of its courses and the standard of its qualifications
• the plans in place should the provider need to close a course, campus location or shut down entirely.