Securing student success: Regulatory framework for higher education in England

An ‘access and participation statement’ means a statement published by the provider setting out its commitment to supporting access and participation in higher education by students from disadvantaged backgrounds and under-represented groups.

To register in either of the Approved categories and charge fees up to the basic amount for qualifying undergraduate courses, a provider must publish an access and participation statement.

It is for a provider to determine the content of its statement. The OfS expects that statements will be informed by a provider’s circumstances and the characteristics and needs of its students. It will set out the provider’s plans and achievements in this area. Unlike an access and participation plan, the content and ambition of a statement does not have to be approved by the OfS.

A provider will satisfy this condition by updating and republishing its statement each year.

To satisfy the initial condition of registration a provider must develop its access and participation statement and provide this to the OfS as part of its application to register. The OfS will check that a statement has been published on the provider’s website so that it is easily accessible for students and for anyone who might be seeking this information.

The OfS will check during its routine monitoring activities that a provider’s statement has been updated and republished on an annual basis and that it is published in an accessible place.

In order to determine whether or not a provider is complying with this condition on an ongoing basis, the OfS’s judgement will be informed by the provider’s behaviour, as well as information submitted by the provider or available to OfS.

The following are non-exhaustive examples of behaviours that may indicate compliance with this general ongoing condition:

• the provider has published an up-to-date statement on its website
• the statement is accessible to current and future students and to the wider public.

The following are non-exhaustive examples of behaviours that may indicate non-compliance with these general ongoing conditions:

• the provider has not updated and republished its statement each year
• the statement is not accessible to current and future students and to the wider public.