Moorhouse Consulting was commissioned by Universities UK (UUK) to assess the regulatory burden of registration with the Office for Students (OfS) for universities in England.
This research explored what the burden is, where it is most pronounced, and how this compares to regulatory burden in other sectors. A series of recommendations have been made on where regulation can be made more efficient and effective and where unnecessary burden can be reduced.
Moorhouse engaged 62 UUK members in England in this research through a survey and interviews.
Moorhouse identified five key themes emerging from the research:
- Regulation in principle. University leaders agreed that regulation is necessary and highlighted positive elements of the regulatory approach. However, concerns were raised about some of the regulatory conditions where perceived cost outweighed benefit.
- Aligned and effective delivery of regulation. University leaders felt there was a lack of clarity on regulatory timelines, a lack of alignment between OfS and other higher education regulators and aspects of ineffective delivery of regulation.
- Resource and opportunity cost. Significant resource was required to understand and meet regulatory requirements as well as opportunity costs of the regulatory burden.
- Risk-based and nuanced regulation. There was a desire for a risk-based approach to regulation, which respondents felt was currently lacking. There were also concerns about a one-size-fits all approach to regulation which was perceived not to recognise the sector’s diversity.
- Sector-regulator relationship. There was a perceived absence of a constructive working relationship between OfS and the sector and a lack of meaningful consultation from OfS.
