The Office for Students (OfS) opened a consultation in March 2024 to seek views on proposals relating to guidance on the new free speech duties imposed on higher education providers, amendments to the OfS regulatory framework, and their recovery of costs in connection with the new free speech complaints scheme and regulation of students' unions.
The consultation ran from 26 March 2024 to 26 May 2024.
Our response
In our response we called on the OfS to delay implementation of the free speech duties - including those duties relevant to students’ unions - in the interest of fair, transparent and effective regulation. Reiterating the points we made in our response to the previous OfS consultation on free speech, we highlighted how the student representation models of IHE members do not match the the types of students' unions referred to in the guidance.
We called for additional guidance on what is unlawful, as the definition remains unclear in its application across different higher education environments. We also highlighted concerns about the extension of the proposed regulatory approach to students studying under TNE arrangements, especially in jurisdictions with different definitions of unlawful speech.
Other points we raised in our response include:
- Insufficient time for providers to move the code of practice through internal governance structures - the proposals will not be able to meet expectations set by governing bodies for student and staff consultation, as well as any legal or regulatory advice they require.
- Unique constraints faced by IHE members on the actions they can take to secure and promote freedom of speech, which vary based on individual providers' circumstances and context, eg those providing professional accreditation, apprenticeships, or teaching in industry environments
- The need for the guidance to address expectations for academic partnerships - what is reasonable for an awarding provider may not be reasonable for the teaching provider.
- The need to review proposals for cost recovery and monetary penalties for smaller students' unions where they have no bank accounts or independent methods of raising funds.
- The need for further clarity on what activity is subject to the proposals in circumstances where higher education provision is only a small part of what the regulated provider delivers, where staff are part of a larger organisation with little or no engagement with higher education provision, and where students studying at a higher education provider are under the age of 18.
Read our full response using the download link below.