1. The Evolving Regulatory
Landscape
Heather Fry
AUA Development Conference:
Leading Through Changing Landscapes

2. The Regulatory Landscape
Alternative Partnerships
Quality Assessment
Requirements
Complaints
Accountability
SNCs
Appeals
Compliance
Gateways
Frameworks
Assurance
Risk Access Agreements PSRBs
Proportionate
Monitoring
Low burden
Data
Market
Autonomy Risk based
Competition

3. Diversity of HE providers in England
339 providers who
get government
grants for higher
education
97 providers which have
specific courses in 2014-15
that are eligible under student
support regulations
103 providers with official UK university status
207 further education colleges
213 providers
accredited for
initial teacher
training
131 providers that can award
UK degrees
(Source: HEFCE Register of HE Providers. October 2014)

4. Diversity of HE students in England
44% are male
56% are female
6.7% of HEFCE funded students are taught at FECs
15% classify themselves as Asian
7% classify themselves as black
78% are UG
18% are PGT
4% are PGR
71% are full time
29% are part time
12% are international
5% are EU
2 million + students
(Source: HESA 2012-13)

5. Background to the current regulatory landscape
Letter from the Secretary of State and
Minister of State 13 June 2012
‘A clear message from the
consultation [on the White Paper
‘Students at the Heart of the
System’ and the technical
consultation on higher education
in England] was that as we do not
know the full effect of the funding
changes we have introduced now
would not be the time to
introduce changes to primary
legislation. We will, therefore,
continue to move our reform
agenda forward primarily through
administrative means.’

6. Register of HE providers
• Lists higher education (HE) providers, which have particular
relationships to Government (or bodies related to
Government) in England.
• Sets out the powers
providers have and the
regulatory controls which
apply to them.
• Launched in September
2014 alongside the revised
operating framework for HE
which describes the
framework of regulation

7. Register of HE providers
The register includes all HE providers which are regulated in England
because they:
• have the right to award one or more types of UK degree.
• are higher education institutions (HEIs) (i.e. have University title,
are a Higher Education Corporation or have been designated as
eligible for HEFCE funding)
• receive direct public grants for HE
• have courses which have been specifically designated by
Government as eligible for the purposes of English student
support funding
The register does not list all providers of HE in England. It currently
includes providers which meet one or more of these specific features.

8. Future of the Register
The register will develop to reflect changes in the regulatory
landscape
Areas under consideration:
• Scope – Can the register cover the other elements identified in
the operating framework e.g. access agreements, providers
that solely operate within partnership arrangements (such as
franchise)? How can the register develop to meet the needs of
users?
• Functionality (e.g. search)
User review in early 2015 to inform future development
• Register: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/reg/register/
• Operating Framework: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/reg/of/

9. Quality assessment in the future
The higher education funding bodies in
England, Wales and Northern Ireland are to
seek views on future approaches to the
assessment of quality in higher education.
Based on the feedback we receive, we will
then invite tenders under a joint procurement
exercise. This will ensure transparency and
demonstrate value for money.
(7 October 2014 press release)

10. Student Protection
WHY?
• Students often lack redress, for example: satisfactory ‘teach out’
not offered; tier 4 licence revoked; provider suffers disorderly
failure/closure without provision for students
WHAT?
• Continuity of study and financial refund.
WHAT IS HEFCE DOING?
• Holding roundtables to discuss issues and possible solutions,
either now or post legislation

11. Student Protection

12. Specific Course designation – what is it?
• The Secretary of State designates courses at alternative providers
to receive student support – this happens at a course rather than
provider level
• BIS sets three hurdles:
• Quality assurance – providers must have a recent, successful
QAA review
• Course eligibility – providers must have appropriate approvals
for courses applied for
• Financial sustainability, management and governance –
providers must submit three years independently audited
accounts and details of key personnel to provide assurance on
financial sustainability and the appropriateness of management
and governance arrangements

13. SCD: HEFCE role and the numbers
involved
• HEFCE ‘s role is processing applications and providing analysis in
relation to course eligibility and FSMG
• BIS decides on designation and de-designation.
• HEFCE processed 178 applications from 162 providers between
June 2013 and May 2014
• To date BIS have approved applications for 2,903 courses

14. Why is legislation necessary?
• Existing regulatory framework needs to evolve
• Importance of institutional autonomy
• Legislation is necessary to ensure:
– Stakeholder confidence is maintained
– Student protection is extended
– Providers are treated equitably
– Anomalies are addressed
– Regulatory arrangements are appropriate for a more diverse HE
landscape

15. Thank you for listening
h.fry@hefce.ac.uk

16. How to find out more
e-mail hefce@hefce.ac.uk
Twitter http://twitter.com/hefce
web-site www.hefce.ac.uk
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