Keep hearing about the Office for Students and wonder what on earth it is? It may sound an alternative SU night, but this is what it actually is…
Updated: 17 Sept 2026
The Office for Students (or OfS for short) is the regulatory body for all English higher education. They champion students like you, and ensure the government, universities, and anybody else working with students are looking out for their best interests.
This job was being done by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and The Office for Fair Access. However, the OfS completely replaced both of them in 2018.
There’s a huge amount of institutions offering higher and further education qualifications, including universities, private providers and colleges. While having a huge amount of choice for your education is a good thing (as you won’t have to settle for anything that doesn’t actually suit you), they need regulation to ensure they’re offering you everything they said they would.
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Problem is, up until 2018 there were several different organisations in charge of regulating them, which to put it frankly, was quite messy and confusing, especially for the government who had quite a lot on their to-do list as it was. The OfS simplified this overly complex regulation and helped make monitoring of education providers easier and more effective.
As well as ensuring standards are upheld and intervening when things slip, the OfS also encourages competition amongst providers, so that you've got as much choice and information available as possible when you’re making your university decision. And once you’re there, the OfS ensures you’re getting value for money too.
The OfS certainly have plenty to be getting on with. And although they’re just regulating, so they can only report and recommend rather than actively enforce legislation, they still have a lot of responsibilities, including:
Keeping an eye on universities
The OfS oversees and maintains the massive list of all higher education providers in England. This is also publicly available should you also want to check it out instead of finishing that essay which is already past its deadline.
When a new provider registers themselves, the OfS does some detective work, researches them and assigns them public funding accordingly. The more funding they’re given, the more conditions the OfS puts upon them. Conditions range from “basic” which means the institution doesn’t even want grants or public funding, right up to Approved, which is for those who want funding but will have to cap their student fees accordingly.
Help set up new universities
The OfS have been challenged to increase competition in the higher education sector, so they’re allowed to not only give institutions the incredible power of awarding degrees to students, but also take those powers away if an institution isn’t meeting their requirements.
Quality control
The OfS main responsibility is ensuring there’s top notch quality going in higher education. They’ve hinted that they’re aren’t afraid to reshape or shake things up, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on that for you! (You’re welcome).
Numbers and data stuff
The OfS have to make sure they keep a calculator spare, as they’re responsible for collecting and analysing the complex data that comes out of higher education and explaining what it actually means.
Teaching Excellence Framework
The responsibility of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), which judges teaching quality in medal-like gold, silver and bronze awards, now falls into the OfS inbox. As well as overseeing it, they’re also be expected to help implement any changes as the framework progresses. The TEF returned in 2023.
There are currently 16 members of the board of the Office for Students.
As well as the industry-based members, there’s also a student representative on the board. Caleb Stevens will ensure the current student voice is heard.
To ensure the student voice is being properly represented, the OfS is also being aided by a student panel, chaired by Caleb.
The OfS has published its strategy for 2025 to 2030, highlighting four areas where it plans to make improvements. These areas are:
Being ambitious for all students from all backgrounds
Being collaborative in pursuit of our priorities and in our stewardship of the sector
Being vigilant about safeguarding public money and student fees
Being vocal that higher education is a force for good, for individuals, communities and the country
The creation of the OfS wasn’t without its controversy.
Firstly, the initial appointment of former journalist Toby Young had such backlash (due to many factors including his career background and a string of not so professional tweets) that he resigned within a few days of being on the board.
This was followed by criticism that there wasn’t any NUS representation on the actual board, with many feeling unsatisfied by the NUS president’s appointment on the student panel, with many calling for her to be on the actual OfS instead.
The lack of representation from Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) also went down badly, with Labour’s shadow higher education minister, Gordon Marsden, calling it a “huge failed opportunity”.
However, others have been more positive about the OfS’s creation. Former universities minister Jo Johnson said, the OfS "will rightfully put the interests of students at the heart of regulation and play a pivotal role in reforming one of our nation’s greatest assets – the higher education sector."
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