New OfS strategy: Developing the future of higher education

In March 2022 we published our OfS strategy for 2022-2025. We have two areas of focus – ‘quality and standards’ and ‘equality of opportunity’ – beneath our overall aim to ensure that every student, whatever their background, receives a high quality academic experience that improves their knowledge and skills, and enriches their lives and careers.  

We’re two thirds of the way through this strategy, with lots of great progress made to date. We’ve worked with students and academics to publish the latest Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) ratings. We’ve stepped up our work on quality through our assessment and compliance reports. And work continues on the latest wave of access and participation plans and the equality of opportunity risk register.  

There is, of course, lots more to do. We’re also turning our minds to the future and our next strategy. That’s where you come in… 

Get involved - help us shape the future of higher education in England

We want to hear what students, students’ unions, and colleagues across the sector think about the future of higher education in England. We want to hear what students want, need and expect from higher education, today and into the future. We want to better understand the issues and opportunities you are grappling with in your part of the system. We want to hear where you think the OfS should focus its efforts for the next strategic period, and how we can best work in the interest of students.  

We’re running a series of half-day workshops in May and June in various locations around the country. If you’d like to help us shape the future of higher education in England, you can sign up to attend. 

If you can’t join us for one of our workshops, I’m also running a series of online drop in sessions throughout April – including an event just for students. You can register now; they are open to anyone interested in higher education.  

Next steps: new OfS strategy 2025-2028

We’ll use the ideas and discussions shared in the workshops and online sessions to develop a proposal for our new strategy. We’ll then consult on this proposal later this year, so you’ll have another opportunity to share thoughts and feedback. And finally, once we’ve gone through all your feedback and made further revisions, we’ll publish our new strategy in early 2025. 

Help us shape the future of higher education in England. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at these sessions – please do join us if you can!