UNITED KINGDOM
Could England’s higher education regulator come in from the cold after years of frozen relations with UK universities and the European Standards and Guidelines? That’s one of the questions left unanswered after the publication of an independent review of the Office for Students (OfS).
Led by Sir David Behan and titled Fit for the Future: Higher Education towards 2035, the review was commissioned before the general election by the outgoing Conservative government after the OfS suffered a torrid time, especially following the controversial appointment of former Conservative MP, Lord (James) Wharton of Yarm, as chair of the OfS in April 2021 to replace to Sir Michael Barber.
Lord Wharton kept the Conservative whip in the House of Lords after being appointed OfS chair, much to the dismay of university leaders worried about the independence of the English HE regulator from government. Following the election of the new Labour government on 4 July, Wharton resigned as OfS chair.
The OfS came under attack in a damning report from the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee last September, which claimed that English higher education was “performing poorly”.
The House of Lords report said: “In particular, we conclude that it [OfS] has poor relations with both providers and students, a controlling and arbitrary approach to regulation, and a lack of independence from the Government.”
Shift from European standards
The Industry and Regulators Committee report also expressed concern about “England’s recent shift away from European quality standards”.
This led to the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), which had been the designated quality body (DQB) for the four nations of the United Kingdom, resigning from its role as the independent quality body for England rather than face being permanently suspended from the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), a key component of the Bologna framework and the European Higher Education Area.
The QAA retained its quality assurance for higher education in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but the subsequent lack of coherence across the UK as a whole presented a confusing picture for international stakeholders, a point echoed by international HE experts.
The QAA undertakes quality assurance for higher education providers in many countries around the world, including the enhancement of transnational education provision for many English and other UK universities.
It said it was forced to “demit” its role with the OfS because the requirements made of the DQB were “not consistent with standard international practice, as reflected in the European Standards and Guidelines”.
Among the key breaking points was the OfS saying it did not require the QAA to publish all of its DQB reports or require students to be present on DQB review teams; and it had no cyclical review process. All of these are requirements for EQAR registration.
The OfS eventually took over the role of the DQB itself in England, which led to some university leaders warning of a risk to the UK’s global reputation for high quality higher education, as University World News reported.
Hopes for a reset
Now, many higher education stakeholders hope the election of a new Labour government, which has publicly declared its desire to end the “woke” wars with universities, will usher in a new era in which higher education quality assurance in England can return to international standards.
Diana Beech, a former political adviser to three Conservative universities ministers before the big fallout, told University World News that while the QAA was unlikely to resume its previous role as the designated quality body and that the OfS would probably continue performing quality assessments itself, much was likely to change.
“The new Secretary of State [for Education Bridget Phillipson] is keen to see the regulator concentrate on the sustainability of the sector and we can expect the OfS’ future approach to regulation to be more independent, consultative, and proportionate.
“With the Labour government keen to establish better relations across the UK, and even with the EU, it is not out of the question that it would demand the OfS act more in line with the regulatory approach of the other three parts of the UK and the European Standards and Guidelines, thereby effectively taking over from where the QAA left off.”
Fragmentation of quality assurance
Andrew Boggs, an international expert on the regulation of higher education in the UK and Canada, said it was important that there was international understanding of assurance of quality and standards across the UK, telling University World News: “Fragmentation of quality and standards along the lines of the home nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) could create unwelcome confusion or concern for international students.”
He said a rationale for the inclusion of a DQB in the English Higher Education Research Act (HERA) was to ensure a UK-wide view to quality and standards.
“With Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all working with the QAA, England is currently an outlier,” said Boggs, who is University Secretary at Royal Holloway, University of London.
“It is theoretically possible to achieve assurance of quality and standards across the UK without a DQB in England as defined by the existing Higher Education Research Act (2017).
“For example, on 27 June 2024, a new pan-UK Quality Council was announced, replacing the existing UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment,” he said.
“The new council brings together the higher education regulatory bodies for each of the devolved administrations, including the Office for Students for England, as well as representatives from key institutional representative groups (Universities UK, GuildHE, Independent HE, etc), the QAA, and students.
“In principle this body brings together all the ‘right players’ to help ensure there is a UK-wide, agreed approach to quality assurance.
“However, the new council does not have the authority to make binding decisions, leaving open the possibility of the home nations taking differentiated approaches to quality assurance and agreement on degree standards.
“Whether this fragmentation of approaches to quality could contribute to issues in international recruitment on an ongoing basis remains to be seen,” explained Boggs.
Interim chair
In an initial response to the independent review of the Office for Students, Phillipson said the government has appointed Sir David Behan as the new interim chair of the English HE regulator and that the role of the OfS “will be refocused to prioritise the financial stability of the higher education sector and deliver better quality and outcomes for students”.
This follows dire warnings of a university or three going bust, as University World News reported on 23 July 2024.
A spokesperson for the QAA congratulated Behan on his appointment as interim chair of the OfS and told University World News: “International trust in the English higher education system is of great importance, and we look forward to supporting government and the regulator to that end.”
Behan said: “It has been a privilege to lead the review of the OfS and I now look forward to delivering the changes the review recommends, importantly financial sustainability, quality, student interest and value for money.”
Universities UK welcomed many of the review’s recommendations, with a spokesperson telling University World News: “Its findings underline the importance of an independent regulator for higher education in England and the need for a focus on the financial sustainability of the sector.”
Freedom of speech bill paused
Phillipson also announced that the government had paused implementation of the controversial Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, while it considered “options for the act in the long term, including repeal”.
This followed “widespread concern that the legislation is disproportionate, burdensome and damaging to the welfare of students while not addressing hate speech on campuses”, said the Secretary of State.
Phillipson said: “For too long, universities have been a political battlefield and treated with contempt, rather than as a public good, distracting people from the core issues they face.
“The steps (we are announcing) will sharpen the focus of the Office for Students, with greater emphasis on ensuring the financial stability of the sector.
“We are absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom, but the Free Speech Act introduced last year is not fit for purpose and risks imposing serious burdens on our world class universities.”
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, welcomed the halt to implementing the act, pending consideration of its repeal.
He said: “The Union of Jewish Students has been clear that the act, while well-intentioned, risked enabling antisemitic extremists to access university campuses by severely impacting the ability of universities to block their presence.
“This halt will enable the government to consider how to ensure that freedom of speech is protected without allowing free rein to purveyors of hate speech.”
Transformation fund
In another report that has just come out about the OfS, the Public First think tank calls for a £2.5 billion (US$3.2 billion) new Transformation Fund to provide loans to help universities restructure to help longer term sustainability.
It also suggested creating a higher education commissioner to lead on managing the risk of a higher education provider going under.
Nic Mitchell is a UK-based freelance journalist and PR consultant specialising in European and international higher education. He blogs at www.delacourcommunications.com