The University of Birmingham has today published its response to the Office for Students’ consultation on the new regulatory framework for higher education.
The new framework will represent a major change to the way in which UK universities are regulated, and it will be important that the Office for Students (OfS) regulates in a way that builds on the international success and reputation of UK higher education.
University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood said: “We call on the Office for Students to recognise the wide-ranging remit that universities like Birmingham have, and the profound benefit this has to our students; this encompasses exceptional teaching and world-class research with substantial economic and social benefit.”
The University’s response highlights the significantly increased bureaucracy that a well-established, low-risk university such as Birmingham will be subject to, suggesting instead that the OfS should make more use of existing information to take a proportionate approach to regulation.
Birmingham also raises concerns that the proposals, as currently framed, will reduce university autonomy, which is one of the cornerstones of the international success of UK higher education.
The University will engage further with the OfS, as they respond to the consultation and establish their new process for registration in early 2018. Birmingham plans to publish an update on which of its proposals have been addressed by the OfS when the regulator publishes its consultation response.
• The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions, its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 5,000 international students from over 150 countries.