A House of Lords committee has blasted the Office for Students for a lack of independence from government and for losing trust with “many of its providers”.
In a damming report, the House of Lords’ industry and regulators committee said the actions of the higher education regulator “often appear driven by the ebb and flow of short-term political priorities and media headlines”.
The OfS was set up in 2018 to be an independent body that reports to the Department of Education and parliament, with a brief to work with higher education providers to make sure that students succeed. It regulates more than 400 providers, including 153 colleges.
But the committee’s report, published today following a six-month inquiry, said the regulator “is failing to deliver and does not command the trust or respect of either providers, or students, the very people whose interests it is supposed to defend”.
