Working as an independent public body, reporting to Parliament through the Department of Education (DfE), the OfS will ensure providers deliver high quality teaching and promote students’ interests. As part of this, providers will need to register with the OfS. This will ensure they are able to offer student support.
This cycle will be a period of transition, and students may see messages from some providers explaining that, until they are registered, they are unable to confirm access to student support. For the large majority of English providers, this will be resolved in September 2018.
It shouldn’t affect loan applications, as most students don’t apply for these until after the January deadline. They can check to see whether their chosen university or college choice has been registered yet here. They can also contact the individual university or college for more information about their registration process.
For further information, please visit www.officeforstudents.org.uk.