GuildHE has published its response to the Office for Students Quality and Standards Consultation, 19^th January 2021. The response outlines the English higher education sector’s strong record for delivering excellent higher education, whilst recognising the concerns raised by the OfS about some pockets for low quality provision.

The three key points of the consultation response stress that the English system of quality and standards must fit within a UK-wide framework and so the sector-developed Quality Code should be retained. The proposal to not benchmark progression data for graduate into professional and managerial employment will penalise institutions for issues beyond their control. Thirdly the majority of providers on the OfS register have either small student numbers, or many courses with small numbers, all of which means that the data is unlikely to be statistically robust to make regulatory decisions, especially when looking at the intersection of different student characteristics, and the OfS has a statutory duty to protect this provider diversity.