Recommendation 27

The OfS’ proxies also hold providers accountable for their students’ subsequent employment outcomes, which are often affected by many factors outside the providers’ control, such as students’ backgrounds. Focusing too heavily on regulating according to these outcomes has the potential to run counter to efforts to widen access to university, both by penalising institutions that take on students from disadvantaged backgrounds and by underplaying the benefits of courses that are less directly vocational.