All higher education providers will have been focussed on their response to the threat of the Coronavirus and little else for the past several days. The impact on human life is already severe in many places and the Chancellor of the Exchequer has had to introduce a series of measures unprecedented in peacetime. Obviously higher education has been massively affected with virtually all face to face contact curtailed. Those providers who rely heavily on international students will be particularly worried as the travel bans introduced will greatly reduce fee income. Yet another argument for always seeking to diversify income sources. But it would be foolish to think that the emergency measures so many have introduced will not have a lasting impact on students. Many who have experienced on- line learning will ask ‘why can’t I always have my lectures in the comfort of my own home and when I want?’ So in many ways things may never be the same again.
The seriousness of the situation has had at least one more positive outcome. A letter from Susan Lapworth at the Office for Students (OfS) sent to Accountable Officers on March 17th, outlines how the OfS will ‘avoid placing any unnecessary burdens’ on providers at a time of mounting pressures and uncertainties. In a marked change of tone, the OfS say they will not operate the regulatory system as they would in normal times. They are going to allow providers to take their own approaches through their better understanding of their context. In a notably sensible passage Susan Lapworth says there will be ‘a reduced requirement for reportable events.’ To the relief of many hard-pressed Registrars there is also a pause on any new consultations or information requests.
To be fair it is not just the Covid-19 crisis that has caused such a dramatic shift in the tone of OfS communications. There were already signs that the balance was shifting. Following the widely derided circular on reportable events, remember the one that said you could be punished for not reporting a reportable event if an event was reportable or you could be punished for reporting an event which was not reportable and in any case no one could help you decide if an event was reportable, it was clear that OfS Chief Executive Nicola Dandridge had got the message. She gave a noticeably more conciliatory talk to the Association of Colleges and followed this up with a blog published by WONKHE. In this she recognises the need to get ‘the tone right in our communications in a way that reflects both distance and respect.’ There will be a review of the impact of OfS regulatory burden on individual providers which will doubtless show how disproportionate it has been on small and specialist providers. Nicola Dandridge particularly accepted that new and clear guidance was needed on ‘reportable events’. Further moves promised will make communications less ’impersonal’ and ‘bureaucratic’.
So while you battle the coronavirus and all that it entails there is some light in the darkness. Maybe your cries to the OfS for mercy have been heard and life will get a little less burdensome. Just remember Applied Inspiration is here to help you whether it be to climb the mountain of regulation or indeed to supply some ready made answers to the need to take all interaction with students and prospective students into the virtual world immediately.