OfS chief executive, Susan Lapworth, reflects on the last nine months of our refreshed approach to engaging with the providers we regulate and sets out our plans for the future.
In January, I committed to refreshing our engagement with universities and colleges. We had commissioned a report by Shift Learning which told us that, though providers valued existing communication channels, they wanted more personal interactions with OfS staff and a greater recognition of the different circumstances in which they were operating.
Our increased engagement with providers has been incredibly useful in developing OfS colleagues’ understanding of the issues facing the sector – and visiting a wide range of providers has allowed us to hear views from across our diverse sector.
We’ve heard ideas about how we could further reduce unnecessary regulatory burden for providers. Specific examples of where regulation causes unnecessary difficulty are always helpful and our new Director of Regulation, Philippa Pickford, will be picking up this conversation with the sector over the coming months.
