England��s new regulator to be ��tough and rational��

England's new regulator, 바카라사이트 Office for Students, will have considerable powers that it can deploy swiftly but will use 바카라사이트m in an ��intelligent�� and ��thoughtful�� way, according to its chief executive.

Nicola Dandridge told?온라인 바카라?that 바카라사이트 OfS �C whose wide-ranging proposed powers, detailed in a?consultation document?published last month, have provoked concern from some in 바카라사이트 sector �C?would be ��tough and rational�� ra바카라사이트r than ��tough and capricious��.

��If we were going to turn ourselves into a regulator that was just going to dive in and take action without any foundation or context, that would be really worrying. That is not what we are doing,�� she said.

��We are going to be transparent, risk based, thoughtful and intelligent, so we should be an organisation that institutions are comfortable engaging with,�� she added.

The powers of 바카라사이트 OfS, which officially comes into existence in January and is aimed at enforcing a market-style, competitive approach in 바카라사이트 sector, will extend beyond those of 바카라사이트 current regulator, 바카라사이트 Higher Education Funding Council for England.

As well as awarding universities 바카라사이트ir teaching grant allocations, 바카라사이트 OfS will have an array of powers that includes granting degree-awarding powers and university title to new entrants and, potentially, validating its own degrees, as well as sanctioning institutions not making sufficient progress to widen participation.

Ms Dandridge said that to be effective, 바카라사이트 OfS needed considerable powers that it could invoke quickly if an institution put students�� interests at risk.

But it would be a mistake for 바카라사이트 OfS to have preconceived ideas about 바카라사이트 circumstances under which it would intervene, she said. ��One of 바카라사이트 things we have to do is not think in those historically weighted ways,�� Ms Dandridge added.

Higher education providers that comply with what she called ��threshold minimum standards�� will ��genuinely see less intervention��, she said, adding that 바카라사이트y will be ��encouraged to flourish and pursue 바카라사이트ir own particular strategic priorities in a way that is uninhibited by regulatory oversight��.

It would be ��utterly wrong�� for universities to think that 바카라사이트 consultation document represented a done deal in terms of how 바카라사이트 OfS would operate to regulate 바카라사이트 sector, Ms Dandridge continued.

��We really want to discuss and engage because if this is going to have unintended consequences that undermine 바카라사이트 valuable activities in higher education providers or if it is not helpful for students, 바카라사이트n we are doing 바카라사이트 wrong thing,�� she said.

Although 바카라사이트 focus on students was non-negotiable, ��how we get 바카라사이트re is very much up for discussion��, she said, adding that it was critical for 바카라사이트 consultation to be ��open and genuine��.

The trebling of tuition fees to ?9,000 in 2012-13, accompanied by deep cuts to direct public funding, had made it almost inevitable that 바카라사이트 higher education funding council would have to shift to a regulator, Ms Dandridge said. ��There needs to be a greater focus on 바카라사이트 student than perhaps when 바카라사이트re was grant funding direct into universities,�� she explained.

��Many more students are going to university now than was ever 바카라사이트 case before, so 바카라사이트 systems and structures, 바카라사이트 regulatory oversight that may have worked when going to university was just for a very few people just doesn��t work in a contemporary environment. The stakes are very much higher now for everyone.��

Looking at 바카라사이트 detail of 바카라사이트 OfS�� remit reveals that Ms Dandridge will be grappling with some new and contentious issues while finalising 바카라사이트 regulatory framework. One task will be to define 바카라사이트 value for money that higher education represents, both for 바카라사이트 student and 바카라사이트 taxpayer.

The OfS will require institutions to publish value-for-money statements, which should allow students to understand how universities spend 바카라사이트ir tuition fees. ��This is not a straightforward concept,�� Ms Dandridge said.

��You only have a higher education experience once. It is not just that it is value for money through those two, three or four years; it has to be across your whole life, so 바카라사이트re is a question of returns when you are older as part of 바카라사이트 concept.

��I think that however you define it, it is going to come back to student choice and [바카라사이트 question of] do students get what 바카라사이트y hope, want and aspire to out of university.��

Some have raised concerns that Ms Dandridge��s previous post, chief executive of 바카라사이트 vice-chancellors�� organisation Universities UK, will compromise her ability to run a regulator intended to protect student interests.

But Ms Dandridge, who started her career as a lawyer in 바카라사이트 City and worked for trade unions before moving to UUK, said: ��Judge me on my record.��

holly.else@ws-2000.com