Join us on Bluesky for #LTHEchat on Wednesday 7th January at 8pm GMT with guests Puiyin Wong, Dr Katharine Hubbard, Dr Kevin Campbell-Karn, Professor David Webster and Paula Han to discuss Navigating the New OfS Quality Era: What It Means for Students, Staff and the Sector.

The Office for Students’ (OfS) latest proposal represents a significant shift in how teaching quality and student outcomes will be assessed. The message is clear: every higher education provider will be pulled into a single, integrated quality-assessment system that blends the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) with core regulatory conditions.

For the sector, it’s a moment of scrutiny, but also a chance to rethink how we support students.

What is changing in the new quality landscape?

Under the proposals, all providers will be assessed on a regular cycle and rated on two things: student experience and student outcomes. Both come with tougher baseline expectations and a ‘Lowest Rating’ rule meaning if a provider is Bronze in Student Outcomes but Gold in Student Experience, they can only be awarded Bronze overall. The OfS also wants to strengthen the role of the student voice, make wider use of the National Student Survey (NSS), and in the second round the Post-Graduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES). The OfS will now intervene more quickly when risks show up.

If a provider underperforms, the consequences could be serious: Restrictions on growth, funding or even degree awarding powers. And postgraduate taught programmes are no longer just a ‘health check – they are becoming a high-stakes regulatory metric comparable to the NSS.

In short: accountability will be universal, cyclical and very visible.
More details here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/reforms-to-quality-regulation/the-future-of-quality-regulation-quick-guide-to-our-proposals/

But the evidence gap is real

Jim Dickinson put it bluntly in a WonkHE article You can’t fix OfS’ quality proposals without fixing the NSS: https://wonkhe.com/wonk-corner/you-cant-fix-ofs-quality-proposals-without-fixing-the-nss/

He’s right. The NSS was never designed to measure staffing levels, resourcing, assessment validity or the quality of academic support. Yet those now sit at the core of regulatory decision making. Without a stronger, more rounded evidence base, institutions risk being judged on data that simply doesn’t capture what quality really looks like.

So yes, we need better measurement, but we also need to strengthen our own internal systems for understanding what’s happening in our classrooms, workshops, labs and learning spaces.

What educators can do now: designing high quality learning under B1 & B2

Conditions B1 and B2 already lay out what “good” looks like in terms of academic experience and the support/resources students need to succeed. In practical terms, that means designing learning that:

• is current, coherent and challenging, rather than a collection of disconnected modules
• actively engages students through discussion, hands-on tasks, labs, digital tools, and not just long lectures
• is supported by realistic, accessible resources
• builds in formative feedback and genuine academic support
• is inclusive by design, reflecting the diversity of students’ backgrounds and circumstances
• involves students meaningfully, not just at the end of the module, but throughout the learning process

Most educators already aim for this, but the expectations and the stakes are rising.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth…

All of this is happening in a sector where staff are exhausted. Academics, professional services colleagues, technicians, learning designers, librarians, wellbeing teams — everyone is stretched. People are being asked to do more whilst resources shrink.

The reality is that implementing these proposals properly will require more time, more people, and more investment. It also means recognising that colleagues across the university, not just academics, are experts in their own right and essential to delivering a high quality student experience.

And whilst improving quality is important (students are investing heavily in their education), there’s no point in pretending the OfS proposals will be easy to meet. For some institutions, they may feel less like a helpful framework and more like a stick to beat them with.

References

Office for Students. (2025, September 18). The future of quality regulation – quick guide to our proposals. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/reforms-to-quality-regulation/the-future-of-quality-regulation-quick-guide-to-our-proposals/ (Office for Students)
Dickinson, J. (2025, December 5). You can’t fix OfS’ quality proposals without fixing the NSS. Wonkhe. https://wonkhe.com/wonk-corner/you-cant-fix-ofs-quality-proposals-without-fixing-the-nss/ (wonkhe.com)

Guest Bios

Puiyin Wong is Senior Advisor (Digital Pedagogy & Practice) at Buckinghamshire New University, where she leads the institution’s strategic development of digital education, as well as the Digital Education team. She is also Trustee of ALT and a PhD researcher at Lancaster University. Her research explores the interplay between pedagogies and technology for learning and professional development. With over 20 years experience in HE and a keen interest in bringing people together, she is connected to colleagues in the UK and internationally. Importantly, as a person from the Global Majority, she empathises with her peers from underrepresented groups. Puiyin leads a multi award winning researchers community – #TELresearchers & #HEresearchers that connects educational researchers at different career stages, from around the world.

Dr Katharine Hubbard is a National Teaching Fellow and Principal Fellow of Advance HE, and is currently Director of Learning Enhancement and Academic Practice (LEAP) at Buckinghamshire New University. Katharine is a leading expert in higher education, including equity within HE, awarding gaps, effective pedagogies within STEM subjects and career support for education focussed academics. She publishes impactful educational research and scholarship in international peer-reviewed journals (Katharine’s GoogleScholar profile). She is the author of a sector leading Inclusive Education Framework, funded by the Quality Assurance Agency and highlighted as excellent practice in reports by both QAA and AdvanceHE.

Dr. Kevin Campbell-Karn is the Head of Graduate Outcomes, dedicated to bridging the gap between academic study and professional success. With 23 years of HE experience and a background as a first-in-family graduate, Kevin understands that data only matters when it leads to real opportunity. His approach is grounded in proven success: he previously led placement provision in Sports Therapy that secured 100% NSS overall satisfaction for three consecutive years. Now, Kevin focuses on coaching and empowering staff through the shifting quality landscape. Rather than just enforcing policy, he works alongside academic teams to demystify complex OfS metrics and integrate career readiness into the curriculum. His goal is to support colleagues in designing meaningful interventions that improve student outcomes without increasing workload, proving that regulatory compliance and authentic student support go hand in hand.

Professor Dave Webster is a Senior Advisor in Pedagogy and Practice here at BNU. He has previously worked at the University of Liverpool, SOAS, and the University of Gloucestershire. His doctoral research was in Buddhist Philosophy, and he has written on a wide range of topics, including critical notions of spirituality, philosophy, blues music and sport. He has ongoing concerns with inclusive pedagogy, ethics & AI in Education, Buddhist philosophy and for much of his time he is interested in the phenomenology of learning and belief. He is a National Teaching Fellow, and a Senior Fellow of the HEA (Advance HE), and sees Quality Assurance predominantly through the lens of ensuring equity amongst learners.

Paula Han is a Senior Advisor in Pedagogy and Practice here at BNU is a driven education professional with 21 years’ experience across post‑compulsory, Further, and Higher Education. She has designed, delivered, and led curricula, and headed teacher‑training programmes that energise and empower practitioners. Paula’s expertise in teaching, learning, and assessment is grounded in current pedagogical research, and my enthusiasm for transformative practice consistently inspires the academics I train.
Paula has a strong track record of elevating academic practice through targeted CPD, one‑to‑one coaching, and strategic projects such as Supported Teacher Research initiatives. Her impact was recognised with the Student Union Award for Academic Staff Partner of the Year at BNU.
As the first in my family to attend university, Paula is committed to lifelong learning – she has a Masters in Education, Senior Fellowship, and has led research into unseen observations in Higher Education.

Learning Enhancement and Academic Practice (LEAP), Buckinghamshire New University
LEAP is BNU’s central academic development unit. In addition to our broader academic development programme, we are responsible for rapid improvements in teaching quality and regulatory compliance, focussing on areas with poorer student outcomes. We work collaboratively with senior leadership, programme teams and individuals to identify issues and develop practice.