The Office for Students has set out a proposal to add targeted visits and extra evidence gathering to some higher education quality assessments where an initial risk check suggests possible concerns about the student experience. The plan, published on 22 October 2026, would apply only to selected providers and is intended to give regulators stronger assurance without restoring routine visits for every provider.
Key facts
- Enhanced assessments would be used where the OfS identifies risks in an initial quality risk assessment.
- They would normally include a visit and additional evidence gathered during the provider submission window.
- The OfS says the approach is designed to be more proportionate than routine visits for all providers.
- Enhanced assessments would usually focus on one or two defined themes, such as academic challenge or capacity to deliver quality.
- Providers would be expected to cooperate with visits, which the OfS says would be a requirement of condition B6.
What does this mean for students and universities?
For students, the proposal means the OfS wants a more direct way to test whether concerns about teaching, assessment or support are real when warning signs appear in the evidence. For universities and other providers, it means some will face a deeper review, including a possible visit, if the regulator thinks the usual desk-based assessment does not give enough reassurance.
The OfS says providers selected for an enhanced assessment would be told what risks have been identified, what extra evidence is needed and whether a visit will happen. It would normally give providers three weeks to supply the requested information, and visits would most likely take place in October. The regulator says the process would use existing provider information, such as data on academic misconduct, and could also involve reviewing assessed work, staffing or student support evidence where relevant.
- Who is affected: providers selected for a quality assessment where additional risk-based evidence is needed.
- What happens next: the provider submits extra material, and the assessment team may visit during the submission window.
- Why it matters: the OfS says the evidence could either rule out concerns or substantiate them within the TEF or minimum requirements assessment.
Why is the OfS changing its approach?
The regulator says it moved away from a model where every TEF participant would receive a visit, because that would be too costly, burdensome and slow. Instead, it now proposes using visits and extra evidence only when the initial risk assessment suggests they are needed. The OfS says that approach should better balance assurance, burden and cost while keeping the system more integrated and efficient.
The proposal also says that concerns can be assessed inside the main quality process rather than through separate investigations in some cases. If concerns are ruled out, the OfS says there would be no limit on the rating that could be awarded.
How would an enhanced assessment work?
When a provider is notified that it has been selected for a quality assessment, the OfS would also say whether it will use the enhanced route. It would identify the risks, request any additional evidence and say whether a visit will take place. The extra information would normally be existing material already held by the provider.
Enhanced assessments would usually focus on defined themes rather than a fully bespoke visit for every case. The OfS names three main themes: academic challenge and assessment rigour; capacity to deliver quality; and oversight of higher-risk provision. It says enhanced assessments would not normally explore more than two themes.
The assessment team would gather evidence during the submission window and would consider it alongside provider submissions, student submissions and published indicators. Findings from the extra evidence would be folded into the main assessment report, rather than set out separately.
What happens if a provider uses subcontracted partners?
Where a provider delivers teaching through subcontractual partnerships, the OfS says it would not normally visit delivery partners as part of a lead provider’s visit. Instead, it would usually seek extra information from the lead provider and take account of assessments already carried out on delivery partners. In some cases, it may assess a main delivery partner in the same year or run a separate enhanced assessment for that partner.
The OfS says it would normally take this route only where the partnership covers a significant proportion of the provider’s students. It does not propose the same approach for validated-only provision, which would be assessed using data and provider submissions.
Does this affect all quality reviews?
No. The OfS says routine visits for every provider would not be proportionate. It would continue to use risk monitoring to spot possible quality problems and would retain the ability to run targeted investigations where serious concerns arise, including visits.
The enhanced assessment is designed as an intermediate step: more evidence than a standard desk-based review, but less than a full investigation when broader or more serious concerns appear to be systemic or widespread.
