Consultation on OfS strategy for 2025 to 2030

1. The OfS published its second strategy in 2022 for the period 2022 to 2025. During this period, our focus has been on ensuring higher education institutions comply with our minimum requirements, while continuing to incentivise excellence above those requirements.
2. During the next strategy period, we propose prioritising the student interest in an uncertain environment. We will do this by
   • regulating to deliver continuous improvement in the quality of higher education courses
   • extending our focus to areas of the student interest that affect students’ ability to engage with and benefit from high quality higher education
   • supporting a resilient sector that is equipped to meet students’ needs, now and in the future.
3. In developing our proposed strategy, we sought the views of prospective students, current students and former students. We conducted polling with students and convened student focus groups, consulted our student panel and hosted students and provider staff at strategy engagement sessions in Bristol, London, Coventry and Sheffield. Events explored what students want from higher education, and the extent to which they get it. We are grateful to those who shared their views and insights.
4. In developing our proposed strategy, we have built on the conclusions of Sir David Behan’s Independent Review of the Office for Students,³ which presents recommendations for ensuring the effective regulation of higher education against a backdrop of change.

3. See Fit for the Future: Independent Review of the Office for Students.

5. In producing this strategy, our objective has been to create a plan of action that will guide our activities as an effective, agile regulator over the next five years. This strategy will help us prioritise our work effectively and use our resources efficiently. Publishing a strategy helps to ensure that we are transparent and accountable to students, taxpayers, and other stakeholders.
6. In developing these proposals, we have weighed the benefits of regulatory activity against the impact of the burden it creates. As explained under the ‘How we will regulate’ heading in our strategy proposal, we will use data and intelligence to minimise regulatory burden where possible and work with other regulators and agencies to avoid duplication.
7. All the OfS’s powers and functions under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (HERA) are relevant to the proposals in this consultation.

8. The main proposal set out in this consultation is a strategy for 2025 to 2030.
9. In the proposed strategy, we first set out the context facing students, the sector and the country.
10. We then identify some of the key public benefits supported by the effective regulation of higher education before turning to the student interest. We summarise the main findings from our work to define the student interest. This work underpins our proposed strategy.
11. We then identify three priority areas which we believe are critical to delivering our mission: quality, the wider student interest, and sector resilience. Equality of opportunity is integral to everything that we do and cannot be advanced in isolation. To recognise and reinforce this, we propose that equality of opportunity should continue to underpin all three priority areas. Throughout the proposed strategy, we explain how our strategic choices promote equality of opportunity to a high quality education that serves students both while they study and into the future.
12. Our strategic goals all sit within a priority area. Strategic goals articulate the outcomes we want to achieve in the next strategy period. In seeking to achieve our goals, we will use a range of regulatory tools.
13. Finally, we explain how we propose to operate as a regulator in order to achieve our strategic goals.
14. Alongside our strategy, we are consulting on draft ‘I statements’. ‘I statements’ articulate what delivery of our strategic objectives will look and feel like for students, institutions, taxpayers and employers. We focus on students, as they will be the primary beneficiaries of effective regulation. ‘I statements’ are a communications device that describe the future state we will seek to realise over the period 2025 to 2030.

15. We are consulting on our strategy for 2025 to 2030 because we want to take account of stakeholders’ views in its development and to ensure a fair and transparent process. In developing this strategy, we have considered a broad range of evidence, including but not limited to:
    1. qualitative student survey data
    2. internal data and analysis
    3. Jisc (HESA) data
    4. insight and input from prospective, current and former students
    5. the perspectives of higher education professionals
    6. our experiences as a regulator since our inception.
16. This consultation seeks the views of stakeholders as to whether proposals give rise to any unintended consequences. We are especially interested in the effect proposals will have on particular types of providers, particular groups of students, or individuals with protected characteristics. We are also seeking views on ‘I statements’ and our proposal for a five-year strategy period. The complete list of consultation questions is available at Annex C.
17. In this consultation, we are seeking views on the OfS’s strategy for 2025 to 2030. We are not seeking views on broader topics such as our role as a regulator, our regulatory framework, or on individual conditions of registration.

18. To improve the readability of this document, we have placed further information about this proposal in Annex A, which comprises the following sections:
    • Our proposals: This section provides a rationale for our priority areas and the goals that sit within them.
    • The effect of our proposals: This section sets out the effect we anticipate our strategy will have on students, providers and society.
    • Alternative approaches: This section covers the alternatives that we considered in developing our proposals.
    • Proposed implementation: This section summarises the steps we will take following the closure of the consultation.

19. We are running this consultation in accordance with the government’s consultation principles.⁴
20. In formulating our proposals, we have had regard to:
    • our general duties under section 2 of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (HERA)
    • the public sector equality duty
    • statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State
    • the Regulators’ Code.

4. See Consultation principles: guidance.