OfS accused of lack of transparency over 30 standards probes

The Office for Students has been accused of failing to be transparent over the 30 investigations it has mounted at institutions, some of which began more than a year ago.

The English regulator – under fire from the sector over a perceived failure to maintain independence from the government and the imposition of burdensome requirements for data-gathering – said in its annual report that it was expecting to publish outcomes from 30 investigations this summer.

That ups the number of investigations disclosed by the OfS – previously at 11 – and brings some clarity about the timescale of a lengthy process.

It was set in motion in February 2022, when former ministers Nadhim Zahawi and Michelle Donelan wrote to the OfS to say they “would expect a significant number of investigations to be initiated” at larger universities falling short of the regulator’s new quality baselines, which cover student continuation and completion, and graduate progression to “professional employment”.

In May 2022, the OfS announced that it was mounting investigations to “consider whether courses at…eight universities and colleges meet the OfS’s conditions for quality”, its B3 conditions, focusing on business and management courses. In September, the OfS said it was starting investigations at three higher education providers over “sharp increases” in the number of first-class and upper second-class degrees awarded.

Iain Mansfield, a former adviser to Ms Donelan who is now head of education and science at the Policy Exchange thinktank, has suggested that “legal challenge [to the OfS] was threatened by some providers that were identified in the first round of ‘boots-on-the ground’ investigations”.

In the recent OfS annual report, chief executive Susan Lapworth writes that the regulator has “opened over 30 investigations at universities and colleges – including in response to concerns about student outcomes that focused on particular subjects, and some looking at the reasons for increases in degree classifications over time. We expect to publish the outcomes of investigations in the summer of 2023, and we plan more investigations in the 2023-24 operating year.”

Robert Halfon, the higher education minister, told the Higher Education Policy Institute conference on 22 June that there were 18 ongoing OfS B3 investigations.

Some universities subject to investigation had on-site inspections before Easter, but the OfS is yet to follow up with them, sector figures suggest.

Smita Jamdar, head of education at law firm Shakespeare Martineau, said that when the OfS first announced the investigations “it was clear they hadn’t got their processes sorted out. We know that they didn’t have the assessors, etc, in place.”

It appeared that the OfS had been “making it up as they go along, which isn’t necessarily conducive to quick and robust decision-making”, she added.

Diana Beech, chief executive of London Higher and a former adviser to Conservative ministers, said that despite the time taken over the investigations, “we remain optimistic that the OfS is using this time to reconsider its approach to the investigations”.

“There has, however, not been enough transparency with providers around these investigations and what they entail, and this, together with the poor communication from the OfS in conjunction with other issues, has led to an overall loss of confidence in the regulator from the sector,” she continued. “It is positive to see that the OfS is now taking steps to address this, so we hope to see improvements in transparency and approach for future investigations.”

An OfS spokesman said: “Conducting rigorous investigations takes time, particularly as this is the first time the OfS has undertaken activity at this scale. We have published guidance about our approach – in the regulatory framework, and in more detailed guidance.”

john.morgan@timeshighereducation.com