This survey is the sector's most important evidence gathering exercise, helping us build a comprehensive picture of independent providers across all areas of operation and ensuring their voice is heard in policy and regulatory discussions.
The findings will help us understand emerging trends, challenges and opportunities across the independent higher education sector, building on the insights published in our 2025 Survey and Statistics report.
This year's survey introduces new sections on admissions and governance to reflect current areas of focus for government, regulators and the wider higher education sector. The data will inform and influence:
- IHE's policy and lobbying priorities
- the services and support we provide to members
- how we represent your interests to government and regulators
- raising the public profile of independent providers
- increased understanding among key stakeholders, including the Office for Students and Department for Education, with whom we will share fully anonymised data.
The resulting report will be published at the IHE Annual Conference 2026 on Wednesday 18 November 2026 and made publicly available.
Guidance for completing the survey
In all cases, we are seeking one response per institution.
IHE Members
Members have been sent guidance on how to complete the survey.
Non-members
We also welcome contributions from non-member independent providers of higher education.
Further information
The survey takes approximately 30–40 minutes to complete. Some of the questions ask about student numbers at your institution. You are advised to have accurate figures to hand before starting the survey. You can save your progress and return later.
All responses will be anonymised in any publication or use of the data. No individual members will be identified in the data. We ask for the name of your institution solely to ensure we receive one response per member institution. We will manage the information submitted in line with our privacy notices. As part of our agreement with partners, we may share fully anonymised, aggregated survey data for research purposes. No personally identifiable information will be shared, and individual institutions will not be identifiable in the data provided.
Submit by 25 September and enter our prize draw
While the deadline to submit your response is Friday 9 October 2026, those who complete the survey by Friday 25 September 2026 will be entered into a prize draw to win one of two complimentary tickets to the IHE Annual Conference 2026 (new bookings only – view the full terms and conditions).
State of the sector 2026
To help you plan your institution's response, identify any information you may need to gather and determine who will complete the survey, you can preview the survey questions.