Our response to the Office for Students supplementary consultation on publishing information about higher education providers

We agree that certain information should be in the public to support transparency within the sector and beyond. However, publishing information requires careful judgement to avoid unintended consequences. We favour the original proposals set out in December 2020, where deciding what and when to publish is a balanced judgement.

We have reached this view for the following reasons:

• The December 2020 proposals recognised the complexity and sometimes competing interests of cases that should weigh into a decision about whether to publish.
• A move towards publishing large volumes of information would contribute to misinformation, where an investigation has not concluded.
• The proposal expecting to ‘normally’ publish information conflicts with the Post-16 Education and Skills Act 2022. The act states ‘the OfS must consider’ the interests of students, providers and the public. This means there should not be a presumption in favour of publication.

Download (pdf)