On 12 September, the Office for Students (OfS) published its first set of findings from assessment visits focused on the quality of Business and Management courses. In conjunction with the announcements, HEPI ran a blog by Professor David Phoenix, Vice-Chancellor of London South Bank University (one of the institutions visited by the OfS), reflecting on the ‘lack of transparency and the additional burden’ of the process from the University’s perspective. The piece raised important questions about the ways in which the regulator currently uses its wide-reaching powers, and ‘the broad basis upon which the OfS has powers to initiate an assessment of any provider.’
It was only one day after this, that the House of Lords’ Industry and Regulators Committee released its report into the OfS – ‘Must do better: the Office for Students and the looming crisis facing higher education‘. In summary it found, as a direct consequence of the OfS’ own approach and Government pressure, that it is neither trusted by nor has the confidence of many of the providers it regulates, and neither has it acted in the real interests of students. Committee Chair Lord Hollick highlighted that one particular area of concern was the OfS’ approach to assessing the quality of courses, linking this to the QAA’s de-designation from the Designated Quality Body role.
Today, I want to add my voice to these calls for a rethink of our regulator’s approach towards quality assessment, and to reflect on where there is room for improvement in this important process and the role it plays in the national and international reputation of Higher Education.
