The Office for Students has proposed a new approach to how higher education providers evidence student experience in quality assessments, with submissions expected to show the impact of what students actually experience rather than simply describe policies or processes. The consultation paper, published on 22 October 2026, says providers would be responsible for selecting the evidence they use, within set requirements and page limits.
Key facts
- Providers would decide which evidence to include in their student experience submission, within OfS guidance and required content.
- Submissions would need to demonstrate at least satisfactory student academic experience, and TEF submissions would need to show high or outstanding quality where relevant.
- The provider submission would cover the most recent four academic years.
- Page limits proposed are 20 pages for TEF student experience submissions and 12 pages for minimum-requirements-only submissions.
- If a provider is selected for an enhanced assessment, it would add a three-page annex.
What does this mean for students and universities?
For students, the proposal matters because it is designed to push assessments toward the quality of the experience they receive, not just the existence of institutional policies. The OfS says submissions should focus on outcomes, consistency across student groups and improvement over time, with evidence that can include internal or external material and should go beyond National Student Survey indicators.
For universities and other providers, the practical effect is that student experience submissions would need to be more targeted and evidence-led. Providers would need to explain what level of quality students experience, how consistent that quality is across the institution, and whether it is improving. They would also need to address areas not fully covered by the NSS, including course coherence and challenge, rigorous assessment and careers support.
- Providers with subcontracted provision would need to integrate evidence about it.
- Validated-only provision would need separate contextualisation.
- Apprenticeship provision could draw on relevant Ofsted reports from the previous four years.
What exactly would providers have to submit?
Providers would be expected to produce a self-evaluative submission that explains their understanding of the quality experienced by students and the evidence supporting that judgement. The OfS says the submission should include relevant, robust and reliable evidence, and that providers would be guided to include certain required information while deciding for themselves which additional evidence best fits their context.
Why is the OfS changing the approach?
The regulator says the new format is intended to let providers evidence student experience in ways that work for different missions, sizes and contexts while still giving assessors enough information to make judgements. The consultation says this should help assessors see evidence beyond NSS indicators and should better capture the effects of actions taken to improve quality.
Under the proposed model, TEF submissions would not be limited to describing activities or processes. Instead, they would need to show how those actions affect students’ experience. The OfS says submissions should also identify important variations across student groups or provision types, where those differences matter to the judgement.
How would evidence be judged?
The OfS says providers should focus on evidence that is relevant, robust and reliable, and explain how it is contextualised and how it demonstrates impact. It gives PSRB findings as one example of potentially valuable evidence, especially where a professional body identifies concerns or requires action, or where its findings support a judgement of satisfactory or outstanding provision.
The consultation also says assessors would be able to access publicly available information and, where necessary, seek additional evidence if they have concerns. Submissions are intended to be self-contained enough to support assessment without routine follow-up requests, although clarification could be sought in exceptional cases.
How long would submissions be?
The proposal sets a maximum length of 20 pages for TEF student experience submissions and 12 pages for submissions made under minimum requirements only. If a provider is selected for an enhanced assessment, it would need to add a three-page annex addressing the risks identified for the visit.
The OfS says templates would be made available and would be structured around the student experience criteria, although providers would not be required to use them. It also says the page limits are intended to keep submissions manageable while still allowing enough space to cover the wider range of student experience criteria.
What happens next?
The proposal is part of a wider consultation on a revised approach to assessing and rating quality. The OfS is asking whether respondents agree, partly agree or disagree with the approach to content, scope, structure and page limits for student experience submissions. The consultation paper says further details are set out in draft guidance and associated annexes.
