Securing student success: Regulatory framework for higher education in England

‘Student protection plan’ means a document or documents approved by the OfS under the condition imposed under sections 5 and 13(1)(c) of HERA.

To register, a provider is required to produce a student protection plan which meets the requirements set out below. The purpose of a student protection plan is to preserve the continuation and quality of study for all of the provider’s students whenever a risk to the continued study of students crystallises.

The student protection plan must be tailored to the specific circumstances of an individual provider. It must include the provider’s assessment of the risks to the continuation of study of the provider’s students, the likelihood that those risks will crystallise, and the severity of the impact on students should the risks crystallise. The range of risks considered by the provider should include, but not be limited to, the risk that:

• the provider as a whole is no longer able to operate or no longer intends to operate
• the provider is no longer able to award the qualifications for which its students are registered because the OfS has varied or revoked the provider’s degree awarding powers, or a validating partner has withdrawn validation
• one or more of the locations at which the provider delivers courses to students is no longer available
• the provider is no longer able to deliver courses to students in one or more subject areas and/or departments
• the provider is no longer able to deliver one or more courses to students, particularly if course closures are likely in the next three years
• the provider is no longer able to deliver material components of one or more courses, particularly if there are areas of vulnerability, such as single person dependencies for teaching 
• the provider is no longer able to deliver one or more modes of study to students, particularly if withdrawal of a mode of study is likely
• the provider is no longer able to recruit or teach a particular type of student.

On the basis of the provider’s risk assessment, the plan must set out the measures that the provider has put in place to mitigate those risks that it considers to be reasonably likely to crystallise. This will include existing procedures that are in place to respond should risks crystallise, and the steps the provider will take to ensure that mitigations are fair and reasonable for students. This will need to take into account the diversity of students and their needs, including for example considerations of mobility, educational need, parity of course content or financial consequences. The provider should make a commitment to offer students advice and support in the event that any of the risks to the continuation of study crystallise.

The plan should also contain information about the provider’s refund and compensation policy for cases where it is not possible to preserve continuation of study.

The plan should be revised regularly to ensure that the risk assessment remains current and the mitigating measures remain practicable, relevant and effective. The plan should be produced in collaboration with students to ensure that their views, interests and needs are taken into account. The plan should be published in a clear and accessible way.

A provider will satisfy this condition by informing the OfS promptly of events that require the implementation of any of the provisions of the plan.

A provider will satisfy this condition by implementing the provisions of the plan when the events set out in the plan take place.

In judging whether a provider has implemented the provisions of its plan, material that the OfS may consider includes:

During the initial registration process, the OfS will complete a risk assessment for a provider to determine the extent of the risk of a future breach of any of its ongoing conditions of registration. The OfS will assess the provider’s student protection plan in the context of this risk assessment and in the context of the provider’s own assessment of risks to the continuation of study for its students. This will allow the OfS to decide whether the provisions of the plan are appropriate for the provider’s circumstances and for its students. Where the OfS considers there to be an increased risk of a future breach and/or an increase in the risk to students’ continuation of study, it may require additional mitigation in the provider’s student protection plan before this can be approved. It may also impose specific conditions of registration where it considers additional mitigation to be necessary.

Registration will not take place, if the mitigations in a provider’s student protection plan are considered inadequate to the risks identified by the provider or by the OfS.

A provider that is a further education college or a sixth form college will need to ensure that the measures in its student protection plan align with other student protection measures that apply in the further education sector, such as special administration regimes.

Where the OfS’s routine monitoring activities identify a change in the extent of the regulatory risk for an individual provider or in the risk to the continuation of study for the provider’s students, it may seek assurance that the measures in the provider’s student protection plan remain sufficient to mitigate risks identified. The OfS may require further mitigating measures to be included and/or may require the plan to be revised and provided to the OfS on a more frequent basis.

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:

• a clear commitment to preserving the continuation of study for all current and potential students in the provider’s student protection plan
• a plan that is credible, deliverable and its measures will in practice protect students
• publication of the plan and making it available to all current and prospective students and staff
• regular review and updating of the plan, preferably on an annual basis
• the measures in the plan are fair and viable, and take into account the potential impact on the diversity of students and their needs, including for example considerations of mobility, educational need, parity of course content or financial consequences
• the provider works with its students when creating and implementing the student protection measures, including giving adequate notice of changes to courses and providing appropriate support to all students.

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

• fails to publish its plan in a clear and accessible way
• is not meeting the obligations set out in its plan
• fails to submit an updated plan to the OfS as required
• does not regularly review its plan and fails to update the plan to reflect changes in its circumstances
• fails to engage with the OfS about the content of, and any updates to, its plan
• has a plan that is not tested or fails to take into account the diversity of its students and their needs
• fails to provide clear information about when and how the measures in its plan may be triggered.