Part 1: The Office for Students Establishment of the Office for Students
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), was set up as a Government funding body in the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. At the time it was designed, university competition was limited, student numbers were controlled, and the majority of university teaching was funded by public grant. Reports by the Higher Education Commission in 2013 and Universities UK in 2015 (the Gaskell Report) suggested that with the introduction of student tuition fees and a diminished reliance on public grant funding, HEFCE’s role, purpose and powers had become outdated.
	The Higher Education Act 2004 created a new office-holder, the Director of Fair Access to Higher Education, whose role was to approve and monitor plans made by institutions in England that wish to set fees higher than the basic amount. His or her office was informally known as the Office for Fair Access (or OFFA).
	This Act creates a new non-departmental public body, the Office for Students (OfS), as the main regulatory body, operating at arm’s length from Government, and with statutory powers to regulate providers of higher education in England. In performing its functions, the OfS must have regard to the need to protect the institutional autonomy of English higher education providers. It must also consider quality, greater choice and opportunities for students, competition, value for money in the provision of higher education and the need to promote equality of opportunity in access to and participation in higher education. These duties will ensure the OfS will focus on fostering a more competitive system with the aim of driving up quality and outcomes for students and taxpayers, while maintaining protections for academic freedom and institutional autonomy.
	This Act abolishes HEFCE and the office of Director of Fair Access to Higher Education, and transfers with appropriate modifications the regulatory functions of the HEFCE and the statutory powers of the Director of Fair Access to Higher Education to the OfS.
	To regulate the sector and provide assurance for students, this Act requires the OfS to establish and maintain a register of higher education providers in England. The register will include, among others, all providers whose students can receive student support.
	Other providers offering accredited higher education courses can apply to join the register on a voluntary basis in return for compliance with the student complaints scheme of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) but will not receive access to OfS funding and/or student support.