Commenting on the government’s interim
response to the post-18 review of education and funding,
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of the Office for Students,
said:
‘An increased focus on lifelong learning will help develop the
highly skilled graduate workforce needed to support our economy,
nationally, regionally and locally. The OfS plans to work with
students, the sector and employers to explore how higher
education can be made more attractive and responsive to mature
learners, and ensure that mature students are aware of the
breadth of options available to them in both further and higher
education.
‘The focus on quality and the need to tackle poor quality
provision is a strategic priority for the OfS as we consult on
new proposals to enable us to anticipate and respond to poor
quality, while ensuring that our approach is proportionate and
targeted where it is needed.’
On the Department for Education’s statutory
guidance for the OfS’s approach to funding, she said:
‘Distributing funding is an important part of our regulatory
work. Our annual grant funding for universities and colleges
plays a critical role in ensuring the availability to students of
high quality, cost-effective higher education across the country.
We intend to consult on the government’s proposed changes to how
we distribute this funding, and have written today to
universities outlining our proposals for consultations and a
revised schedule for distributing next year’s grant allocations.’
Commenting on Dame Shirley Pearce’s independent review of the
TEF and the government’s response, she
said:
‘Students invest a significant amount of time and money in higher
education and should expect a high-quality academic experience.
The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF)
plays an important role in driving up the quality of provision in
universities and colleges – we welcome the publication of Dame
Shirley Pearce’s review and the recommendations she has
identified for developing the scheme further.
‘We are committed to raising the bar on quality and standards
across the English higher education system. As we refine our
overall approach to regulation, the TEF will continue to
incentivise improvement in areas that students care deeply about:
the quality of teaching and learning, and how well their courses
set them up for success after their studies.
‘We will develop proposals on how best to take forward the
independent review recommendations and the government response to
these, as well as evidence from our own subject-level pilots. We
expect to consult on proposals for the future TEF in the spring,
aligned to more detailed proposals on how we regulate quality and
standards through conditions of registration.’
ENDS
Notes
- In our letter
to universities today we have also outlined the next steps
for the TEF. We expect to consult on proposals for the future
TEF in the spring, aligned to more detailed proposals on
baseline quality regulation. We are today publishing the
findings of the TEF
subject level pilotswhich will also help inform the future
approach.
