OfS announces temporary changes to allow greater focus on financial sustainability

The temporary changes will allow the OfS to work more closely with institutions under significant financial pressure in order to protect the interests of students. The OfS expects the changes to be in place until August 2025, although they will be reviewed regularly in the interim.

The changes are:

• no new registration applications will be accepted and all registration cases in the early stages of assessment will be paused
• no new applications for degree awarding powers will be accepted, and applications that have been received but where assessment has not yet started will be paused
• no new applications for university title, or for a change in an institution’s name where it already holds university title or university college title, will be accepted. Those already submitted will be completed.

All institutions affected by these decisions have been contacted directly.

Applications that have been submitted and that are at an advanced stage will be completed. All other work will continue.

Commenting, Philippa Pickford, Director of Regulation at the OfS, said:

'These are extremely difficult decisions and not ones the OfS has taken lightly. But our recent financial sustainability update provided evidence of the severe pressures facing the sector, and we need to prioritise our finite resources on this important issue. Today’s announcement will allow us to maximise the time our staff spend working closely with institutions at risk to ensure the interests of students are protected.

'While we do not expect significant numbers of institutions to close in the immediate future, acting now allows us to intervene effectively at an early stage. Delaying this work would mean we miss a crucial window of opportunity to get ahead of a worsening financial situation for some institutions.

'We recognise that these temporary changes come at a cost. Our decisions will have a direct impact on a small number of institutions that have recently submitted an application for registration or degree awarding powers and will have those applications paused. It will also affect those that may be intending to apply. But we must prioritise managing risks for students already in the system, ahead of the benefits that new institutions, or institutions with the ability to award their own qualifications, bring.

'These are temporary measures and we will keep them under review. Our decision to pause these processes is not a reflection on the applications from the institutions affected by these temporary changes. In the meantime, we will consider how we can improve the registration process to facilitate a smooth process for high quality applications. We’ll set out our proposals for this early in the new year. We’ll also look for ways to improve and streamline the assessment process for degree awarding powers.'

Notes

1. The Office for Students is the independent regulator for higher education in England. Our aim is to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers.
2. See further information about our temporary changes to registration and other applications.
3. See our November 2024 update on the financial sustainability of higher education providers in England.