The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of
higher education in England, has today launched eight new
investigations designed to tackle poor quality
courses.
This set of investigations will look specifically at business and
management courses, including an examination of whether poor
quality online learning has replaced face to face teaching to the
detriment of students’ academic experience.
The investigations will consider whether courses at the eight
universities and colleges meet the OfS’s conditions for quality,
which came into effect in May this year.
Other factors to be considered include whether the delivery of
courses and assessment is effective, the contact hours students
receive, and whether the learning resources and academic support
available to students are sufficient. To support this work the
OfS is recruiting a pool of experienced academics to lead the
investigative work.
The OfS is not naming the universities and colleges under
investigation at this stage, but expects to publish further
details of the investigations soon.
Susan Lapworth, interim chief executive of the OfS,
said:
“We know that students have endured an exceptionally difficult
time during the pandemic. While most courses have returned to
normal, it is right for the OfS to consider whether some
universities and colleges are selling students short. It is also
right that we look at the quality of business and management
courses more generally because around 400,000 students at
OfS-registered providers study this subject every year and they
are entitled to expect a high quality experience regardless of
the provider they choose.
“The launch of these investigations signals a shift for the OfS
to active regulation of quality in the higher education sector.
As well as the direct impact on the courses under investigation,
this work sends a clear message to all universities and colleges
we regulate that they should ensure that all their courses are
well taught, well resourced, and provide students with a credible
qualification that stands the test of time. Where that is the
case, they should not be concerned about our regulation. Where it
is not, we are ready to require improvement and to consider
imposing sanctions.”
ENDS
For further information contact 0117 905 7676 or press@officeforstudents.org.uk
Notes
1. The Office for Students (OfS) is
the independent regulator for higher education in England. Our
aim is to ensure that every student, whatever their background,
has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches
their lives and careers.
2. In line with the OfS’s
risk-based approach to regulation, we are focusing on business
and management courses. This is a large subject area where there
is significant variation in performance across the sector, as
shown in intelligence drawn from student outcomes data and
National Student Survey responses. This intelligence gives rise
to concerns about the quality of business and management courses
for some providers and these are the focus of our
investigations.
3. Focusing on a single
subject area with a large student population will enable the OfS
to understand patterns of provider behaviour that might extend to
other subjects in the same provider as well as patterns of
behaviour that might be replicated in other providers that
deliver business and management courses.
4. In this first round of
investigations the OfS is focusing on universities and colleges
with larger student populations because any interventions made to
improve quality will have a positive impact on a significant
number of students.
5. The OfS will write to the
eight individual universities and colleges this week setting out
details of the investigations. Each investigation will involve an
onsite visit, and the OfS is inviting applications from academic
experts to help undertake this onsite assessment
work.
6. The OfS is conducting a separate
review which will consider how some universities are delivering
blended learning. A report in summer 2022 will set out where
approaches represent high quality teaching and learning, as well
as approaches that are likely to fall short of the OfS’s
requirements.
7. Alongside the recruitment
of academic assessors, the OfS is also recruiting for academic
and student members for the proposed TEF panel. Full details
about opportunities to become a TEF panel member will be
available on the OfS website.
