Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Student satisfaction with the value for money of their courses is at a worryingly low...
Recommendation
Student satisfaction with the value for money of their courses is at a worryingly low level. One of the OfS’s four regulatory objectives is that students receive value for money. OfS says that students should receive the academic experience they were promised by their provider and their interests as consumers should be protected before, during and after their studies. Overall student satisfaction has been consistently over 80%, but fell to 75% in the pandemic- one of the main contributing factors being dissatisfaction with learning resources required by lockdown restrictions. The proportion of students who thought their course was value for money is much lower and dropped from 38% in 2020 to 33% in 2021, with more than half saying it was not value for money. The OfS acknowledges that students’ view that they are not getting value for money is a cause for concern. The OfS believes that quality of provision is central to how students regard value for money, and asserts that quality is one of its top three concerns. The OfS says that it is looking at quality issues closely and that working with the universities to ensure that, even on oversubscribed courses, quality remains good. Recommendation: The Department and the OfS should set out what action the OfS is taking to improve students’ satisfaction with value for money, including the OfS’s assessment of the impact of hybrid teaching on students’ experience and what progress has been made in addressing the causes of dissatisfaction.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2022 5.2 Both the department and the OfS are committed to improving the quality of higher education provision. Ensuring that students are satisfied with the value for money offered by their courses is a government priority. 5.3 The OfS is introducing an enhanced quality regulatory regime which will enable it, through robust investigation and enforcement action, to tackle the pockets of low-quality provision. This will include the introduction in September 2022 of detailed student outcome thresholds, by level and mode of study, covering continuation and completion rates and progression to managerial and professional employment or further study. In May 2022 the OfS also introduced new registration conditions covering students’ academic experience including course design and delivery, the provision of resources and support for students, reliable and effective course assessment and degree awards, and the use of sector-recognised standards. 5.4 The OfS is also considering how it measures value for money through its key performance measures and is considering the use of student surveys and the use of student outcomes data, described earlier, as part of this measure. 5.5 The OfS review of blended learning, which is supported by a panel of expert academic reviewers, will set out where approaches represent high quality teaching and learning, as well as approaches that are likely to fall short of OfS’s requirements. The review will report in September 2022. The OfS also recently announced investigations into the business and management courses of eight providers, which will include examining whether online learning has replaced face-to-face teaching to the detriment of students’ academic experience.