The Office for Students (OfS) joins over 300 organisations invested in the quality of students’ higher education as it celebrates becoming a recognised member of INQAAHE.
The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) is a worldwide association of organisations active in the theory and practice of quality assurance in higher education.
Joining an international community that seeks to promote and advance excellence in higher education, the OfS’s full membership ensures its recognition as a quality assurance provider on a global stage.
As part of the membership application process process, INQAAHE considered:
- the OfS’s regulatory and governance arrangements
- the OfS’s regulatory role, and how it makes regulatory decisions about quality, the status of quality assessors, and the volume of assessments it conducts on an annual basis
- the OfS’s remit as set out in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.
In its submission, the OfS highlighted its rigorous risk-based approach to quality compliance for all registered higher education providers in England, and the OfS’s cyclical assessment of providers in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), which rates universities and colleges for excellence in the quality of student experience and outcomes they deliver to students.
Josh Fleming, Director of Strategy and Delivery at the OfS, said:
‘We’re delighted to join INQAAHE. Students should expect a high quality experience from English providers, whether they choose to study in the UK or overseas, and membership will help us strengthen our ability to work in the student interest.
‘Joining INQAAHE will help extend our regulatory intelligence network around the world, as well as giving us greater opportunity to learn from regulators and agencies as we refine our own approach.’
Notes
- The OfS became a member of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) on 6 November 2024. Continued membership is contingent upon remaining in good status and submission of annual subscription fees.
- Read the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (HERA).