The Office for Students has been accused of failing to be transparent over the 30 investigations it has mounted at institutions, some of which began more than a year ago.
The English regulator – under fire from the sector over a perceived failure to maintain independence from the government and the imposition of burdensome requirements for data-gathering – said in its annual report that it was expecting to publish outcomes from 30 investigations this summer.
That ups the number of investigations disclosed by the OfS – previously at 11 – and brings some clarity about the timescale of a lengthy process.
It was set in motion in February 2022, when former ministers Nadhim Zahawi and Michelle Donelan wrote to the OfS to say they “would expect a significant number of investigations to be initiated” at larger universities falling short of the regulator’s new quality baselines, which cover student continuation and completion, and graduate progression to “professional employment”.
