OfS could charge large universities £50K more under new proposals

The government is consulting on potential changes to the fees paid by English higher education providers to the Office for Students (OfS) that could see larger institutions pay more and additional charges introduced for some of the regulator’s services.

The Department for Education is reviewing how the current fee system is designed and distributed across providers, including either reducing the cost per student for smaller providers or introducing a flat fee for all institutions with a variable component based on an institution’s student numbers.

Alongside these options, it is considering introducing an additional band for providers with 30,000 or more full-time equivalent (FTE) students.

Currently, providers are allocated to fee bands according to student numbers, with new and micro-providers eligible for fee discounts.

The highest band sees providers with more than 20,000 students charged £222,850 per year, while the smallest providers – with less than 25 students – are charged £14,775. 

However the government said the current fee structure “places a higher burden on smaller providers compared to larger ones”.

The new proposals could see all providers with less than 5,000 students save money, with those whose numbers fall between 500 and 1,000 benefiting the most. Under the first option, this group would pay £3,664 less.

Meanwhile, providers with more than 20,000 students would pay £15,246 more each year under the first option or save £17,046 under the second. 

If a new band is introduced for those with more than 30,000 students, those institutions would be made to pay an additional £51,695 each year. 

In a consultation document, the government says “introducing an additional band for providers with 30,000+ FTE students…responds to the growing number of very large providers that currently benefit from paying proportionally less despite their scale”.

Introducing a new band would reflect “both the increase in the number of the largest providers and the increased scale of potential impact risk these providers represent”, it says. 

The government is also considering introducing additional fees for some services provided by the OfS, including an initial application fee to join the register, which would be in addition to the flat quality and standards assessment fee already charged to new applicants. 

The proposals could also see providers pay extra fees for applications for degree-awarding powers, a change of registration category, and use of the university title or a university name change. 

These changes would better enable the regulator to recover its costs, the document says.  

The proposals follow a recommendation in a 2024 review of the OfS to review the regulator’s fee structure. 

Fees were previously increased by 13 per cent in 2023, generating criticism from universities which accused the former government of imposing above-inflation-level rises while failing to match inflation on student loan uplifts. 

A consultation on the proposed changes will run until 26 July 2026.

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com