Mike Ratcliffe
@mike-rat.bsky.social
Student and university administrator
https://moremeansbetter.wordpress.com
https://moremeansbetter.wordpress.com
OfS Degree Awarding Powers news. An amendment order for ESCP Europe Business School - last year they got time-limited DAPs in Business & Management until December 2027. This is now extended until 2030.
December 1, 2025 at 4:54 PM
OfS Degree Awarding Powers news. An amendment order for ESCP Europe Business School - last year they got time-limited DAPs in Business & Management until December 2027. This is now extended until 2030.
These regulations are a good example. Written in 1605, 12 years after Marischal College opened, so Principal Gray had a good idea about student behaviour. Examples include wearing their gowns, but he had views on other parts of their behaviour, including towards the students at King’s College.
November 29, 2025 at 3:48 PM
These regulations are a good example. Written in 1605, 12 years after Marischal College opened, so Principal Gray had a good idea about student behaviour. Examples include wearing their gowns, but he had views on other parts of their behaviour, including towards the students at King’s College.
One of my presumptions when reading old regulations is that each addition represents a new problem being dealt with.
So, here are new paragraphs in the OfS Procedures for investigating allegations in the NSS where it may flag other regulatory concerns.
www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications...
So, here are new paragraphs in the OfS Procedures for investigating allegations in the NSS where it may flag other regulatory concerns.
www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications...
![Process for managing concerns
38. The OfS will aim to provide an initial response to the concern within five working days of receipt [Annex A, Box 1]. The OfS will liaise with the relevant UK funding and regulatory body, if appropriate, in providing this response.
39. At this stage, for concerns relating to English higher education providers, the OfS will work to determine if there are any wider regulatory concerns relating to the provider in question and therefore might affect the investigation of a concern. The same approach would apply to concerns relating to the other UK funding and regulatory bodies.
40. For these concerns, it may be necessary that the case is taken forward by other regulatory teams within the OfS, or where relevant the other UK funding and regulatory bodies, as part of wider risk assessments and investigations. With this route, the senior member of the NSS team may be asked to seek further information or evidence to support the allegation to aid the investigation.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:r4v6tnsb2hti5frjgkocsgal/bafkreigcckvokwmfschwgmcd3w7cj2g24ftxnjy4ea6bk2loxv5rl6kopa@jpeg)
November 28, 2025 at 2:00 PM
One of my presumptions when reading old regulations is that each addition represents a new problem being dealt with.
So, here are new paragraphs in the OfS Procedures for investigating allegations in the NSS where it may flag other regulatory concerns.
www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications...
So, here are new paragraphs in the OfS Procedures for investigating allegations in the NSS where it may flag other regulatory concerns.
www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications...
The operative word is university, the place it’s in is secondary, descriptive. But, marketing has fashions - the University of Lancaster happily trades as Lancaster University. It’s not clear to me why Staffordshire went to the trouble earlier this year of changing its legal name from SU to UoS.
November 28, 2025 at 11:48 AM
The operative word is university, the place it’s in is secondary, descriptive. But, marketing has fashions - the University of Lancaster happily trades as Lancaster University. It’s not clear to me why Staffordshire went to the trouble earlier this year of changing its legal name from SU to UoS.
OfS have a backlog of explanations to write on their site. In 2022 the amendment order removed the time limit on Blackpool’s foundation degree powers. Does this 2022 order stay in force for those powers, or has the 2025 order put a time limit on them?
November 28, 2025 at 8:08 AM
OfS have a backlog of explanations to write on their site. In 2022 the amendment order removed the time limit on Blackpool’s foundation degree powers. Does this 2022 order stay in force for those powers, or has the 2025 order put a time limit on them?
OfS Degree Awarding Powers news. A new order for Blackpool & the Flyde College which comes into force on 12 December 2025 which is the day their 2022 (amendment) order expires. This order, for taught awards up to and including bachelor’s level, expires on 11 December 2028.
November 27, 2025 at 5:03 PM
OfS Degree Awarding Powers news. A new order for Blackpool & the Flyde College which comes into force on 12 December 2025 which is the day their 2022 (amendment) order expires. This order, for taught awards up to and including bachelor’s level, expires on 11 December 2028.
Key focus at IHE conference this afternoon on the way HE contributes to regions. This needs to reflect the diversity of providers (without resorting to hierarchy). International students play an important part in all this - a challenge today.
November 26, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Key focus at IHE conference this afternoon on the way HE contributes to regions. This needs to reflect the diversity of providers (without resorting to hierarchy). International students play an important part in all this - a challenge today.
I may have got the wrong end of the stick, but it looks like you pay the levy if a student is registered in any one academic year. So if a student starts in Jan, do you pay twice? Plus if a one year masters’ student is still registered in the following August, you pay twice?
November 26, 2025 at 2:35 PM
I may have got the wrong end of the stick, but it looks like you pay the levy if a student is registered in any one academic year. So if a student starts in Jan, do you pay twice? Plus if a one year masters’ student is still registered in the following August, you pay twice?
Edward Peck being very clear that OfS regulation needs to address the issues of franchising at the IHE conference. Concerns about throwing out the baby with the bath water have to address there was a lot of bath water and some of it was very murky.
November 26, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Edward Peck being very clear that OfS regulation needs to address the issues of franchising at the IHE conference. Concerns about throwing out the baby with the bath water have to address there was a lot of bath water and some of it was very murky.
Minister emphasises that the LLE is not only a way of modernising the student finance system, but also to drive change in the flexibility of undergraduate study through modularisation and transfers.
November 26, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Minister emphasises that the LLE is not only a way of modernising the student finance system, but also to drive change in the flexibility of undergraduate study through modularisation and transfers.
Skills are fundamental to the growth and opportunity missions of government says Jacqui Smith. The IHE conference is looking at the strategic partnership between the wider HE sector and government to deliver the positive vision of the Post-16 education and skills white paper.
November 26, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Skills are fundamental to the growth and opportunity missions of government says Jacqui Smith. The IHE conference is looking at the strategic partnership between the wider HE sector and government to deliver the positive vision of the Post-16 education and skills white paper.
Fantastic. Although unlikely to be material to the outcome, in their re-branding exercise a certain university has had the bear let go of the ragged staff.
November 25, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Fantastic. Although unlikely to be material to the outcome, in their re-branding exercise a certain university has had the bear let go of the ragged staff.
There are lots of opportunities for UK HE. @viviennestern.bsky.social talking to the HESPA conference, starts with a triangle of sadness from @andywestwood.bsky.social but builds to list all the things the new policy landscape offers for the sector to contribute to.
November 25, 2025 at 10:12 AM
There are lots of opportunities for UK HE. @viviennestern.bsky.social talking to the HESPA conference, starts with a triangle of sadness from @andywestwood.bsky.social but builds to list all the things the new policy landscape offers for the sector to contribute to.
Meanwhile, the press release on the ASU website makes clear that ASU London is not a branch campus of ASU. TEDI was jointly owned by three universities, one here in the UK. Does this change in ownership have an impact on the DAP award?
November 24, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Meanwhile, the press release on the ASU website makes clear that ASU London is not a branch campus of ASU. TEDI was jointly owned by three universities, one here in the UK. Does this change in ownership have an impact on the DAP award?
The OfS register now has ‘ASU London Centre for Advanced Learning’ as a registered provider, trading as ASU London. At Companies House the change of name form is ticked for inclusion of sensitive words - which can only be the ‘U’. Why would DfE allow ‘University’ for a time limited DAP holder?
November 24, 2025 at 6:15 PM
The OfS register now has ‘ASU London Centre for Advanced Learning’ as a registered provider, trading as ASU London. At Companies House the change of name form is ticked for inclusion of sensitive words - which can only be the ‘U’. Why would DfE allow ‘University’ for a time limited DAP holder?
Students sleeping out overnight in Oxford. Just to be at the front of the queue to get the pick of next year’s houses from one estate agent. A piece of craziness that the new renters reform act probably fails to curtail (but maybe move it to warmer months?)
November 24, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Students sleeping out overnight in Oxford. Just to be at the front of the queue to get the pick of next year’s houses from one estate agent. A piece of craziness that the new renters reform act probably fails to curtail (but maybe move it to warmer months?)
The spoof Ladybird books have found their way into secondhand bookshops alongside the real thing. I’m not sure about the Student one (sometimes you can be too snarky) but it reveals that there was a depiction of a Birmingham honorary degree in the original series (Marie Skłodowska Curie)
November 23, 2025 at 5:13 PM
The spoof Ladybird books have found their way into secondhand bookshops alongside the real thing. I’m not sure about the Student one (sometimes you can be too snarky) but it reveals that there was a depiction of a Birmingham honorary degree in the original series (Marie Skłodowska Curie)
There’s probably a bit of a lag between the announcement of TEDI-London becoming ASU London and the OfS register. It’s an interesting issue as whether the ‘U’ in ASU is a test of the use of ‘university’ in a provider name.
November 20, 2025 at 2:34 PM
There’s probably a bit of a lag between the announcement of TEDI-London becoming ASU London and the OfS register. It’s an interesting issue as whether the ‘U’ in ASU is a test of the use of ‘university’ in a provider name.
There’s a major conflict between collaboration and competition in the #HETransformation space. Key document from OfS today underlines that some providers are already out there eating other people’s lunch (in terms of recruiting students)
November 20, 2025 at 1:14 PM
There’s a major conflict between collaboration and competition in the #HETransformation space. Key document from OfS today underlines that some providers are already out there eating other people’s lunch (in terms of recruiting students)
OfS degree awarding powers news. SP Jain London School of Management has a new DAPs order extending the time limit of their powers - had been to 30 November 2026, now extended to 30 August 2027.
This order does not use a unique identifier for the provider (which has a companies house number).
This order does not use a unique identifier for the provider (which has a companies house number).
November 19, 2025 at 10:53 AM
OfS degree awarding powers news. SP Jain London School of Management has a new DAPs order extending the time limit of their powers - had been to 30 November 2026, now extended to 30 August 2027.
This order does not use a unique identifier for the provider (which has a companies house number).
This order does not use a unique identifier for the provider (which has a companies house number).
I checked the planning application - there are pints and little bowls of nibbles on tables. It is possible that the graphic designers that EIT used have never set foot in an English pub.
November 18, 2025 at 7:49 PM
I checked the planning application - there are pints and little bowls of nibbles on tables. It is possible that the graphic designers that EIT used have never set foot in an English pub.
The OfS Board agenda teased that there would be some changes to its committees. The Remuneration and Nominations Committee has been renamed as the People Committee - now looking for members.
November 18, 2025 at 7:20 PM
The OfS Board agenda teased that there would be some changes to its committees. The Remuneration and Nominations Committee has been renamed as the People Committee - now looking for members.
It’s great that EIT are restoring the Eagle & Child building. The planning application is itself a lovely thing. It tells us the pub garden is to be a mix of the Shire and Narnia, while EIT folk are to enjoy a scholar-friendly aesthetic in their private spaces.
November 18, 2025 at 9:46 AM
It’s great that EIT are restoring the Eagle & Child building. The planning application is itself a lovely thing. It tells us the pub garden is to be a mix of the Shire and Narnia, while EIT folk are to enjoy a scholar-friendly aesthetic in their private spaces.
Here’s a new bit of practice from OfS. They’ve added an update to the agenda page of the OfS Board meeting to point out the letter on governance risks has been published.
The letter (and especially the annex) is worth a read: www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications...
The letter (and especially the annex) is worth a read: www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications...
November 17, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Here’s a new bit of practice from OfS. They’ve added an update to the agenda page of the OfS Board meeting to point out the letter on governance risks has been published.
The letter (and especially the annex) is worth a read: www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications...
The letter (and especially the annex) is worth a read: www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications...
Protests in Oxford today (among the Christmas shoppers). The biggest was for refugees welcome (with a tiny counter protest) with a pro-Palestine event outside the Oxford Union.
November 16, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Protests in Oxford today (among the Christmas shoppers). The biggest was for refugees welcome (with a tiny counter protest) with a pro-Palestine event outside the Oxford Union.