Our members welcome the Department for Education's (DfE) proposal to charge for additional provider services. However, further consideration of the Office for Student's (OfS) annual registration fee is encouraged, to enable a more risk-based approach.
Background
Effective regulation of higher education cannot be achieved without an appropriate level of resourcing and support. However, the mechanisms through which the Office for Students (OfS) are currently funded to perform this role lack transparency and fairness.
Summary
- We welcome proposals to charge providers directly for those additional provider-initiated activities that are currently being cross-subsidised by other registered providers.
- However, we encourage the DfE to re-consider its approach to the annual registration fee and to explore a more risk-based approach.
- Larger institutions are not inherently higher risk, nor will they necessarily generate more regulatory activity.
- We also strongly encourage the Department for Education (DfE) to introduce greater accountability mechanisms, to ensure the OfS is spending its income in an efficient and transparent way.
- We recommend introducing new annual public reporting requirements for the OfS, requiring the OfS Chief Executive(s) to report annually to the Education Select Committee to account for regulatory performance, and extending the OfS’s current Key Performance Measures (KPMs) to include an assessment of value for money in its performance as a regulator.
- The Government must also carefully consider the scope and scale of the regulation it expects of the OfS.
- Where DfE seeks to introduce new regulatory powers or administrative responsibilities, including the International Student Levy, the DfE should consider where it can provide direct funding to cover this.