How we regulate quality and standards

We assess quality and standards in different areas, but there are some common features to our approach to quality assessments.

Risk-based

Where we set minimum quality requirements in our conditions we take a risk-based approach to our regulation of those requirements. This means that we focus regulatory attention on those providers that are at greatest risk of breaching those conditions of registration.  

When assessing risk, we consider the likelihood of something happening as well as the severity of the impact (on students in particular), if it does happen.  

We do not systematically reassess a registered provider’s compliance with each condition of registration on a scheduled cyclical basis. Instead, we monitor providers in a risk-based way and engage with them as appropriate. 

Using expert academic judgement

Wherever it is appropriate, we ask independent academic experts to assess the quality and standards of individual universities and colleges.

We recognise the importance of independent academic judgement in quality assessment. We use the advice of our independent academic assessors to inform our regulatory decisions about a provider’s compliance with our quality and standards conditions and to help us determine what action, if any, we should take as a result.

We have a large pool of independent academic assessors and we continue to expand this pool. These academic assessors are experts drawn from a broad range of providers with varied subject specialist expertise.

Publishing reports and any regulatory action

Where we have commissioned an assessment, we publish the report of the assessor’s findings and where OfS officers undertake a quality assessment we publish a regulatory case report. We also publish information about any regulatory action we take regarding a university or college.

These reports are published in the publications area of the OfS website. We also list different quality reports alongside information about the different types of assessment we run.

Quality Assessment Committee

Our Quality Assessment Committee (QAC) plays a key statutory role in providing independent advice and expertise about how we deliver the assessment functions. It gives advice on all quality assessment matters. The committee meets around four times per year.

A majority of the committee’s members are independent and have experience of providing higher education to students.