The Office for Students ( OfS ) is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Education of the United Kingdom Government . It acts as the regulator and competition authority for the higher education sector in England.
17-653: OFS may stand for: Education [ edit ] The Office for Students , the government regulator for the higher education sector in England Overseas Family School , a school in Singapore Orley Farm School , a North-London prep school Finance [ edit ] Oklahoma Office of State Finance Office of Financial Stability Computing [ edit ] Amiga Old File System Object File System ,
34-480: A Conservative peer, was made the chair and his appointment was endorsed by the Education Select Committee . Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green questioned his experience and suitability for the role, calling his appointment "cronyism". Although it is customary for chairs of independent bodies to resign political affiliations during their period of office, Wharton chose not to resign from
51-596: A Microsoft project in the 1990s Places [ edit ] Orange Free State , an independent country in 19th century South Africa Orange Free State , a province of South Africa from 1910 to 1994 Free State Province , a province of South Africa since 1994, called Orange Free State from 1994 to 1995 Business [ edit ] Schlumberger Oilfield Services , a division of Schlumberger Limited OFS (company) , an American technology company Other [ edit ] Old Frisian (ISO 639-3 code) Ottawa Fire Service Operation Freedom's Sentinel ,
68-577: A U.S. led counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan since Jan 1, 2015 Secular Franciscan Order (Latin: Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis ; abbreviated OFS) Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery , also known as the Oxford Food Symposium Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title OFS . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
85-585: A lack of impact on OfS policy, unpublished minutes of meetings, and that the student voice as expressed by panel members was "actively suppressed" when trying to counter aims and policies that appeared to be political in nature. In their role as a member of the OfS board, the former chair of the student panel reported that they experienced "small amounts of hostility" when expressing student views. Official website [REDACTED] United Kingdom Research and Innovation UK Research and Innovation ( UKRI )
102-656: Is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom that directs research and innovation funding, funded through the science budget of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology . Established on 1 April 2018 by the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 , UKRI brought nine organisations into one unified body. UKRI was created following a report by Sir Paul Nurse ,
119-719: Is not responsible for tuition fees, students loans or other aspects of individual student funding, and that it cannot usually get involved in individual complaints about universities and colleges. The OfS's other functions include the administration of the Teaching Excellence Framework and the Register of higher education providers. It is responsible both for administering the prevent duty and for ensuring that universities allow freedom of speech for controversial guest speakers. Registered higher education providers must nominate an accountable officer to
136-626: The Conservative whip . In March 2023, the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee opened an inquiry into the work of the OfS. The purpose of the inquiry is to scrutinise its performance, its independence from and relationship with the Government, and whether it has the necessary expertise and resources to carry out its functions. The inquiry is also examining the OfS’ work in relation to
153-436: The OfS. This is normally the chief executive of the provider, but may be the senior officer responsible for higher education in a provider that also carries out other activities not related to higher education. The accountable officer reports on the provider's behalf to the OfS, the designated data body and the designated quality body. They are personally responsible for funding received from the OfS and Research England and for
170-630: The President of the Royal Society , who recommended the merger in order to increase integrative cross-disciplinary research. Working in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government, its mission is to foster research and development within the United Kingdom and create a positive "impact"—"push the frontiers of human knowledge and understanding", "deliver economic impact", and "create social and cultural impact". The first Chief Executive Officer of UKRI
187-535: The board are appointed by the Secretary of State for Education . The OfS chair from 2021 to 2024 was Conservative peer James Wharton , who resigned following the 2024 General Election, and the chief executive is Susan Lapworth. The board is advised by a Student Panel, which exists to help the OfS to understand students' views and perspectives. The appointment of Toby Young to the board, announced on 1 January 2018, generated controversy over his suitability for
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#1732766251026204-463: The financial sustainability of the higher education sector, and how the associated risks are managed. When giving oral evidence to the inquiry, former Student Panel members told the Committee that they felt they were threatened with a reassessment of the future of the panel if they were to continue to express views on inclusive curricula that did not conform to those of OfS staff. They also reported
221-423: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=OFS&oldid=1254664265 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Latin-language text Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Office for Students The regulator
238-762: The loans received from the Student Loans Company on behalf of the provider's students for payment of tuition fees. They can be required to appear before the Public Accounts Committee alongside the head of the OfS to answer questions about the registration and funding of the provider. The OfS is governed by a board consisting of the chair, the Chief Executive, the Director for Fair Access and Participation, and at least seven and not more than twelve other members. All members of
255-632: The post. As at 8 January 2018, over 200,000 people had signed an online petition protesting his appointment. In response to questioning, the Prime Minister declared herself comfortable with his appointment, while the Universities minister defended him in the House of Commons. After criticism from leading Tory MPs, Young resigned on that day, claiming he had been turned into a caricature. In February 2021, James Wharton, Baron Wharton of Yarm ,
272-852: Was established by the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 , coming into existence on 1 January 2018. It merged the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Office for Fair Access , and formally inherited their responsibilities, while 'working in the interests of students and prospective students' and having 'a wider remit ... taking charge of the granting of degree awarding powers and university title.' The OfS inherited HEFCE's funding responsibilities (aside from those for research which passed to United Kingdom Research and Innovation ), and OFFA's responsibility for promoting fair access to higher education. The OfS website lists its main areas of work as: It notes that it
289-584: Was the immunologist Professor Sir Mark Walport . He was succeeded in June 2020 by plant biologist Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser . There are nine bodies in UKRI, comprising the seven research councils formerly organised under Research Councils UK and two additional bodies, Innovate UK and Research England . Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) was an Arms Length Body of
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