Regulation in higher education: demonstrating quality and building trust

Amatey is an experienced consultant with a strong track record in supporting organisations to drive change. He has extensive experience in the higher education sector where he has supported institutions with change management, stakeholder engagement, culture change, student experience, and equity, diversity and inclusion.  Amatey is a former Deputy President at the National Union of Students and a Governor at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  

Anthony McClaran became the third Vice-Chancellor of St Mary’s University in April 2020, having returned to the UK from Australia, where he served as CEO of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) from 2015 to 2020.  Prior to that move, Anthony was Chief Executive of the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) from 2009-15 and Chief Executive of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) from 2003-09.  He has held a number of governance roles at all levels of education and was Chair of Council and Pro-Chancellor of the University of Gloucestershire from 2007 to 2009.  Anthony is currently Chair of GuildHE and in June 2021 was appointed by Pope Francis to the Board of AVEPRO, the Holy See’s HE quality assurance agency.

Caroline is the Pro Chancellor and Chair of the Board of Governors at Nottingham Trent University. She is also a Senior Partner at PA Consulting and leads the Conduct Regulation practice. Caroline is an experienced non-executive director and CEO, with her previous roles including leading the Financial Ombudsman Service as the CEO for seven years and serving as the Senior Independent Director at the Crown Prosecution Service.

Cliona O’Neill is Head of Quality and Student Experience at the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW).  Her areas of responsibility include ensuring effective oversight of HEFCW’s statutory responsibilities regarding quality.  She will be Head of Quality and Improvement for post-16 provision in the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research from August 2024.  She holds a degree and Masters from Trinity College Dublin, and a PhD from the University of Glamorgan (now University of South Wales).  She has a track record of ca 30 years working in higher and further education, in the UK and Ireland.

Dan has responsibility for supporting Advance HE members and wider sector to meet the current and future needs of higher education governance. Dan has extensive experience and knowledge in UK higher education governance having undertaken several governance effectiveness reviews. He has recently led a collaborative project with Universities UK, GuildHE and the Committee of University Chairs to examine where and how governors seek academic assurance evidence based assurance amidst the need to achieve “Student Outcomes” with increasing political interest in issues surrounding quality in higher education and ensuring value for money for public expenditure.

Eve Alcock is Director of Public Affairs at QAA where she leads the organisation’s policy, stakeholder relationships and communications work. She is also a Fellow on Aspen UK’s Rising Leader fellowship programme. Prior to QAA she spent two years at the Clean Air Fund, an international charitable foundation tackling air pollution globally, where she worked across communications, advocacy and strategic partnerships. Eve has previously chaired QAA’s Student Strategic Advisory Committee as an independent board member. Her background in the higher education sector comes from two years as President of the University of Bath’s Students’ Union where she was also a governor of the University and Chair of the SU’s Board of Trustees. She is passionate about social justice, Korean food and good coffee.

Professor Helen Langton is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Suffolk and a Professor in Children’s Cancer Nursing Education. Helen is a lifelong supporter of excellence in learning, teaching and research and passionate about ensuring that universities play their part in widening access and participation in higher education and the benefit of higher education to society. 

Helen has held a number of senior posts in universities in the UK and has a range of experience across health and social care, science, social science and education. 

Helen has been a member of a number of national boards and bodies including with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Department of Health and the Quality Assurance Agency. Helen is currently Interim Chair of AdvanceHE.  

Internationally Helen has held board membership for the Academy of Health Care Improvement, and the De Souza Nursing Institute in Toronto, Canada.  

Hillary is Public Affairs Manager at Jisc. She was previously the NUS Vice President for Higher Education, Undergraduate Education Officer and Chair of the Widening Participation Network at the University of Bristol Students’ Union. A champion of students, Hillary has worked on many projects that have looked to support the most marginalised students in education and beyond. From decolonisation to widening access work, she is extremely passionate in ensuring that students are at the centre of education and are the architects of their own education.

With over 25 years of experience in higher education policy and leadership, Professor Paul Marshall serves as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Careers and Enterprise) at the University of East London (UEL) and holds a Chair in Educational Leadership and Enterprise.  Passionate about improving higher education, enhancing career development, and fostering entrepreneurial mindsets, Professor Marshall is a member of several national and international advisory boards and has a history of influential roles. He was CEO of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, Executive Director of the 1994 Group of universities, and founder of the UPP Foundation. With a PhD in American History, he brings a unique perspective to his commitment to positive change.

Philippa Pickford joined the Office for Students in July 2023 as Director of Regulation. Previously, Philippa held various senior positions at Ofgem, most recently holding the position of Director of Delivery and Schemes. She led a team of over 600 people responsible for allocating £9bn of funds aimed at low carbon and customer outcomes. Her previous responsibilities include ensuring good outcomes for customers during the pandemic; strengthening the financial resilience of suppliers; and ensuring customers were protected when suppliers exited the market. She also oversaw the introduction of a new regulatory and incentives framework for the Electricity System Operator within National Grid plc

After an initial career in publishing and media, Shahid Omer joined the civil service through the Civil Service Fast Stream and went on to have roles in Private Office, business finance (helping establish the British Business Bank), Industrial Strategy and as Senior Policy Adviser to Nick Clegg (when he was the Deputy Prime Minister during the Coalition Government). Subsequently, while at DfE, he led on Widening Participation policy in higher education, and International Higher Education (being responsible for the International Education Strategy; International Students; and Erasmus and Turing amongst other responsibilities). Most recently, he developed the Government’s Innovation Strategy while at BEIS and helped establish the Dept for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as the Transition Director following the recent Machinery of Government change. He joined Universities UK on secondment from DSIT in June 2023.

Vicki has been Chief Executive of QAA for two years. In this timeframe, she has spearheaded the agency’s evolution across all four nations of the UK. 

Vicki has advised governments on the regulation of quality, delivery of lifelong learning, legislation to criminalise essay mills and the delivery of quality provision during the pandemic. She advocates for UK higher education on the world stage, including as a board member of INQAAHE.  

Vicki is a graduate of Manchester University, and Harvard Kennedy Business School from where she holds a qualification in the Strategic Management of Regulatory Enforcement Agencies.