“Students make a considerable investment in their studies… they need to be confident that they can choose a high quality course from a financially sustainable provider”.
So begins a curious new note from the Office for Students (OfS) on how it regulates financial sustainability within higher education.
As well as being assured that OfS has the right people (“experienced and professionally qualified accountants, experts in data and analysis, colleagues with significant experience in the policy and legal environment”) we are told that the regulator has successfully intervened in providers that have faced significant financial difficulties – ensuring it takes steps to mitigate risks and to support students to continue their studies.
We’re treated to this cone of burden, scrutiny and intervention from its work in 2021 – which reveals that of the 414 providers on the register, 250 have to submit a detailed return, 117 had been subject a more detailed assessment after triage, 51 got a closer look via “informal engagement”, 31 were being “formally” monitored, 3 were subject to “student protection directions” and 1 collapsed.
