The English regulator is planning to limit the number of additional students universities can recruit if they perform poorly in a revised version of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

The proposal is part of a consultation by the Office for Students (OfS) on its two methods for checking quality ¨C targeted assessments on conditions of registration and recognition of excellence through the TEF.

As part of its proposed strategy for 2025 to 2030, the OfS wants to integrate these two streams into an altered TEF, which would assess how each provider meets or exceeds quality requirements.

¡°We are not proposing an entirely new approach, but rather to modify the TEF to build on what worked well and to create a more integrated overall system,¡± it said in new consultation documents.

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The revised TEF would run on a cyclical basis, beginning with undergraduate students and then moving on to postgraduate, with the best-rated universities undergoing fewer checks than the others.

All providers registered with the OfS would undergo the assessment, unlike the previous system, where only those with more than 500 undergraduates had to participate.?

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Published ratings would be linked to a new ¡°strengthened set of incentives and interventions¡±. Institutions that deliver the highest quality ¨C those rated gold or silver ¨C could be eligible for certain funding streams, such as world-leading specialist provider funding.

The best ones would also receive a longer TEF award, meaning those rated gold would be subject to assessments every five years, silver every four years and bronze every three years.

The OfS said providers rated bronze had little incentive to improve under the previous system. Under the proposed changes, their student number growth would be restricted until they could demonstrate higher quality.

¡°This would not be a reduction in numbers but a limit on the provider increasing its student numbers, until it demonstrates high quality,¡± the OfS wrote. ¡°Although a bronze rating would mean a provider meets the minimum quality requirements, our aim is that more students should experience the high quality of education they expect.¡±

The OfS says it had historically ¡°found?that providers do not always successfully manage rapid increases in student numbers¡±.?

Although many of the ratings could change, 48 providers (22 per cent) were rated bronze overall in ¨C including the University of Wolverhampton, University of the Arts, London, University of Bedfordshire and Brunel University.

Bronze-rated institutions would also potentially become ineligible to apply for or extend degree-awarding powers, and for some kinds of funding under the new proposals.

Those rated ¡°Requires Improvement¡± could also face a retest of their ability to meet the criteria for degree-awarding powers. There were three such providers in 2023, including Arden University.

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The OfS is also considering integrating a revised version of condition B3, which requires institutions to deliver successful outcomes for students.?

Student outcomes indicators would be integrated with the benchmarked TEF indicators and there could be changes to the way employment outcomes are used, including measuring graduates' salaries three years after they leave university.

The regulator said the new assessment system would provide students with a clear view of the quality of teaching and learning delivered by every registered university and college.

It said it would aim to monitor quality in between assessments in a more timely and transparent way, allowing it to respond more rapidly if students were at increased risk of receiving poor-quality higher education.

In particular, there have been growing concerns about the quality of providers offering degrees through franchising. Earlier this year, the regulator set out plans to ensure all franchise providers with more than 300 students register with it. If both sets of proposals move ahead, this means many more of these institutions will be subject to the TEF.?

¡°We know most universities and colleges in England are already delivering high quality education,¡± said?Jean Arnold, deputy director of quality at the OfS.

¡°It¡¯s important that we minimise the burden on those institutions and recognise their good work, while responding more quickly when quality falls short or students are not being properly supported to succeed in their studies.¡±

The OfS estimated that the revised TEF would cost about ?25,000 per assessment, with providers expected to cover this. Indicative timelines suggest the initial?cohort of future TEF assessments will take place in 2027-28, with the first assessment of all providers completed by 2030.?

It also said that it in future it could try to extend assessments to consider additional areas of provision such as transnational education.

A consultation on the proposals will run until 11 December.?

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patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com