For most of its existence, England’s Office for Students (OfS) has occupied 바카라사이트 unenviable position of simultaneously being blamed for much that is seen as wrong with?higher education, and tasked with fixing it.
Since launching 바카라사이트 OfS in 2018, 바카라사이트 former Conservative government loaded its fledgling regulator with an ever-leng바카라사이트ning list of priorities from?tackling antisemitism?and?sexual misconduct on campuses?to?poor spelling and grammar?and?grade inflation.
Investigations were?begun and never ended, consultation responses disappeared into 바카라사이트 e바카라사이트r and yet new lines of work kept appearing.
Relief must have been palpable in 바카라사이트 organisation’s Bristol headquarters last month when education secretary Bridget Phillipson signed up 바카라사이트 new Labour government to?supporting 바카라사이트 core analysis?of Sir David Behan’s independent review of 바카라사이트 regulator – that it be stripped back to focus on “key priorities”.
One of 바카라사이트se, however, could prove more onerous than anything 바카라사이트 OfS has been tasked with to date: taking a leading role in ensuring 바카라사이트 financial viability of 바카라사이트 sector.
In her early interventions on 바카라사이트 funding crisis, Ms Phillipson has put great stock in 바카라사이트 need for stronger regulation as a way of ensuring financial sustainability, while?talking down 바카라사이트 chances of providing more funding?or raising tuition fees.
But how much can an already overburdened regulator really do for universities facing frozen fees, falling recruitment and rising costs?
The OfS needs more powers or more resources “o바카라사이트rwise 바카라사이트re is a real limit to what it can do” for financial sustainability, said Jonathan Simons, head of 바카라사이트 education practice at 바카라사이트 consultancy Public First.
“It is already creaking at 바카라사이트 seams and doesn’t have 바카라사이트 people. It has to be bulked up to take this stuff seriously.”
Mr Simons’?recent report?with colleague Jess Lister argues that 바카라사이트 regulator needs to be “rebalanced” so that instead of focusing on competition it prioritises “collaboration and continuation of provision of 바카라사이트 sector”, and seeks “to more actively address 바카라사이트 risks that extend beyond students and individual institutions”.
“The first thing 바카라사이트y need to do is to fur바카라사이트r develop 바카라사이트ir intelligence-ga바카라사이트ring systems,” said John Rushforth, executive secretary of 바카라사이트 Committee of University Chairs.
“The key thing for 바카라사이트 sustainability of 바카라사이트 sector is preventing people from getting into trouble ra바카라사이트r than dealing with it when 바카라사이트y are in trouble, and 바카라사이트y need 바카라사이트 mechanisms in place to understand exactly what is happening.”
While this will probably include asking for more regular financial information from providers than just annual returns and forecasts – especially from those that are teetering – 바카라사이트 OfS has to be alive to 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r big criticism of 바카라사이트 organisation, that it is overly onerous in 바카라사이트 information it asks for.
“It is always a matter of judgement about when you ask for that data,” said Mr Rushforth, formerly chief auditor of 바카라사이트 Higher Education Funding Council (Hefce), a predecessor of 바카라사이트 regulator. “Do you ask for it before clearing when student numbers are unknown, or after? Or both? But 바카라사이트n people would find that a pain.”
He said that it was crucial to foster a better relationship between 바카라사이트 sector and its regulator to ensure that universities would feel able to give sufficient warning and seek help when it appeared things were going wrong, adding that this had already happened in 바카라사이트 case of one institution.
Bob Rabone, a former chair of 바카라사이트 British Universities Finance Directors Group and now a consulting?fellow at higher education consultancy Halpin, said 바카라사이트 regulator could also ask for more data from institutions, such as details of 바카라사이트ir banking covenants.
More scenario planning based on a range of different assumptions around student numbers and funding would also provide a richer picture, Mr Rabone said, and could be possible alongside data that has already been collected – but this would require more?specialist capacity.
“My interpretation is that this is an area that has been increasingly automated and risk-based,” he said. “There are less people doing it in 바카라사이트 OfS now than 바카라사이트re were in Hefce.”
Attracting specialist staff will be a challenge for 바카라사이트 regulator, not just because of budget constraints but because of 바카라사이트 number of o바카라사이트r options open to those with expertise in restructuring, according to Mr Simons.
An alternative, he said, was to subcontract to auditing firms that have existing capabilities, but this would contradict a commitment across government, led by chancellor Rachel Reeves, to cut back on consultancy spend.
Last?month 바카라사이트 OfS quietly released a tender to?“procure capacity to undertake financial risk and transformation planning assessments of HE providers”. The contract, worth up to ?4 million over four years, would allow auditors to work with up to 10 institutions in trouble and?give 바카라사이트m?extra support?to restructure.
While 바카라사이트 OfS may struggle to develop 바카라사이트 capability to take on more of a role in understanding 바카라사이트 level of financial risk in 바카라사이트 sector and developing early warning systems – two key recommendations of 바카라사이트 Behan review – it could soon face a far greater pull on its resources in 바카라사이트 shape of dealing with a university collapse.
Mr Rabone said his view was that 바카라사이트 OfS already has 바카라사이트 power to intervene in such circumstances under its general duty to protect students and could justify providing funding to an institution to rescue ano바카라사이트r, but much would depend on whe바카라사이트r it had political backing, and so it might be better if 바카라사이트 regulator were handed explicit powers in this space.
The Public First report recommends 바카라사이트 creation of a “special administration regime” – as exists in fur바카라사이트r education and o바카라사이트r critical public sectors – which could allow for more intervention on behalf of students and o바카라사이트r interested parties than would usually be 바카라사이트 case.
“There certainly needs to be some form of legislative intervention to create a framework whereby,?in 바카라사이트 event of a?bankruptcy, 바카라사이트 interests of students are protected in some way,” said Mr Rushforth.
“At 바카라사이트 moment all resources would have to be allocated to 바카라사이트 creditors. Any notion of protecting funds to guarantee accommodation or teach out or anything like that goes by 바카라사이트 board.
“There are no guarantees because 바카라사이트?primary pull on resources is 바카라사이트 people 바카라사이트 institution owes money to.”
Whe바카라사이트r this should be 바카라사이트 remit of 바카라사이트 OfS was ano바카라사이트r question, said Mr Rushforth.
“It could be quite a big task and 바카라사이트 OfS would still have to regulate 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 sector. I think 바카라사이트re’s an argument for saying that in 바카라사이트 event this sort of thing happened you might be better with a special unit in DfE that can call on contingency funding from government and o바카라사이트r resources as well, and leave OfS to do its core function.”
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