Office for Students (OfS)

Perilous drops in student recruitment at UK universities during A-level clearing raise the likelihood of institutional failures, a prospect that remains as politically unpalatable as ever, says Nick Hillman

Office for Students expects to take on responsibility for supporting wider range of providers from next August

Elite institutions could face sanctions if they fail to deliver on promise to conduct evaluation of bursary spending

Senior figures are angry over regulator’s approach and fear it could put UK-wide sector ‘in danger’, letters seen by Times Higher Education reveal

Office for Students says universities should put more weight on applicants’ backgrounds

University system ‘is not a market that is working in the interests of students or taxpayers’, committee claims

Better recognition of the wider social benefits of both teaching and research would help universities regain public goodwill, says Nick Petford 

Efforts to reclaim imperial history from so-called ‘politically correct’ professors have little to do with genuine academic debate, argue James McDougall and Kim Wagner

Recent calls for more ‘useful’ degrees ignore their patchy record in improving the workplace or society, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto

The Office for Students’ arrival marks a new era of higher education regulation but it can also learn much from its predecessor's successes, argues Tim Melville-Ross

Excessive red tape, not snowflake students, has rightly been highlighted as the real threat to freedom of speech on campus, says Peter Baran

Pleas by Conservative backbenchers for an intervention to help the OU ignore the fact that they recently made it harder to assist under-pressure institutions, says Pam Tatlow

Peter Williams concerned by requirement for English universities to deliver ‘successful outcomes’ for ‘all’ students

As England’s new higher education regulator the Office for Students begins this week, its deputy chair Martin Coleman explains how it will balance institutional autonomy and public accountability

A sample essay by Philip Newton and Michael Draper on the dodgy disclaimers used by essay mills makes clear why the Advertising Standards Authority’s ruling will not stop contract cheating

Concerns over the independence and intentions of England’s new higher education regulator as it becomes fully operational are unfounded, its chief executive insists

Academics see the OfS, like the changes in USS pensions, as another attack on them and the cherished compensations of their profession

The Office for Students’ plan to fine institutions that allow the ‘no-platforming’ of controversial speakers is a boon for those who believe exposure to wide-ranging views is a fundamental part of the academic experience. Jo Faragher reports

Documents published on the Office for Students’ website have raised further questions about its independence, accountability and powers, says Gill Evans

Academic sleuths have used investigative skills and Twitter to tell the real story behind proposed pension cuts, says Sherrill Stroschein

Universities need to confront, rather than ignore, uncomfortable questions about the worth of higher education to be in with a fighting chance

Office for Students will have ‘much more nuanced and smarter set of powers’ than predecessor organisations, says Chris Millward

Regulator bows to pressure to scrap ‘basic’ regulation status but stands firm on senior pay reporting rules

Recent criticisms of universities is not a ‘blip’ but reflects dawn of ‘age of the student’, says minister

Appointments watchdog also explains how Downing Street advisers vetoed proposed Office for Students student board member

Achieving the prime minister’s goal of reshaping post-18 education will require another shake-up of sector regulation, warn experts

Ahead of the prime minister’s speech on reforming university funding, Charles B. W. Prince suggests four routes to improving student finance

Compound interest rates of 6.1 per cent on student loans are unfair and create a debt trap responsible for today’s worsening mental health crisis, says Estelle Clarke

Institutions will need to disclose full details of all those earning more than £150,000 under the regulator’s proposed new rule

Brexit cheerleader criticises excessive regulation and downplays scuffle at student event

New Office for Students guidance hints at a more adversarial approach to sector that most wish to avoid, says Gill Evans

Universities must dramatically increase their levels of technical training to close the skills gap and deliver social justice, says Robert Halfon

Barring controversial speakers has a long heritage and the Office for Students should be very wary of cracking down on it, argues Evan Smith

Muddled thinking behind the creation of the new Office for Students risks damaging the UK's world-class universities, says Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

Office for Students asked to tackle huge pay awards given to leaders of private providers

The UK’s new higher education minister needs to move beyond recent spats to prioritise science, funding and mitigating Brexit, says David Bell

Cabinet reshuffle offers universities the chance of a relationship reset before they are likely caught in the first swell of a global wave of funding reviews

Three student candidates deemed 'appointable' to regulator's board were overlooked in favour of engineering undergraduate

Dorothy Bishop will not miss Jo Johnson, but is under no illusions that new minister Sam Gyimah will overturn any of his reforms

The latest edition of Times Higher Education discussed by the editorial team

Baroness Amos criticises government anti-terror strategy Prevent in appearance before parliamentarians

Jo Johnson’s support for free expression unravels when it comes to Palestine, says Jonathan Rosenhead

Sir Anthony Seldon explains why he was pleased to see Toby Young resign from the Office for Students, despite initially applauding the appointment  

Chris Parr looks at the issues that THE's Twitter followers think the new universities minister should be tackling

Controversial journalist resigns from English higher education's new regulator after his appointment was condemned in House of Commons

Ahead of our Asia Universities Summit, Sir Keith Burnett looks into the future for UK higher education and sees the growing importance of China 

Appointing right-wing journalist to Office for Students’ board over scientists is ‘surprising’ and ‘bizarre’, say senior academics

The good, the bad and the offbeat: the academy through the lens of the world’s media

After the twin shocks of Brexit and Trump, Patrick McGhee can only guess what the next 12 months will bring. Are you ready for peer-reviewed tweets, TEF results determined by University Challenge, and ‘lyecturers’ for hire?

The official weekly newsletter of the University of Poppleton. Finem respice!

Tory controversialist hits back against ‘politically motivated attacks’ as he joins England’s higher education regulator

The appointment of Young to the OfS board is upsetting but unsurprising, says Lisa Mckenzie

Universities fear they will be forced to subsidise the cost of regulating new entrants to the sector

University and College Union says selection of ‘Tory cheerleader’ raises questions about new regulator’s role in English sector

UUK chief executive Alistair Jarvis outlines how he hopes the HE sector will work with the new OfS

If the Office for Students ever intervenes over freedom of speech, it will only be to widen it, says Michael Barber

Office for Students’ Nicola Dandridge says new regulator will not guarantee union seat on board

Experienced sector figure to leave UUK post in September for powerful new regulator