HE Regulatory Summit 2025

Thursday 8th May 2025
9:30 am - 4:00pm
Virtual Summit

The HE Regulatory Summit 2025 will explore the strategic priorities of the Office for Students up to 2030 and how universities can successfully meet requirements on quality, financial resilience, equality of opportunity and the wider student interest.

The Summit will explore:

  • The development and implementation of the new OfS 2025 – 2030 Strategy

  • How the recommendations from Sir David Behan’s Public Bodies Review of the OfS have been acted on

  • The future size, shape and operating model for the sector and what this means for the regulatory landscape

  • How providers can meet expectations on quality, academic experience and delivering on the wider student interest

  • The next steps for managing financial resilience and navigating heightened financial risks

  • Progress made on the Equality of Opportunity agenda and what the delivery of new Access and Participation Plans looks like

Why attend the conference?

Gain the latest insight into what the new OfS Strategy means for regulatory oversight

Learn how providers across the sector are driving enhancement on quality, financial resilience and the wider student interest

Design your strategic approach to supporting compliance and driving continous improvement

Agenda

09:30 am

Morning Chair Address and Welcome

Dr Charles Knight
Director of Leadership, Governance & Management
Advance HE (CONFIRMED)

09:40 am

The Office for Students 2025 - 2030 Strategy: What to Expect

10:40 am

Post Spending Review: The Road to Reform in Higher Education?

Following the conclusion of the Spending Review and with clearer expectations from Bridget Phillipson, what path is the sector taking and what will a programme of reform mean for universities? This session will explore the decisions ahead on:

  • The size, shape and operating model for the sector

  • The delivery of a reform and efficiency programme

  • The next steps in driving economic growth and supporting a greater civic role

  • What the reform agenda means for the regulatory landscape

Professor Sir Chris Husbands
Former Vice Chancellor
Sheffield Hallam University (CONFIRMED)

11:00 am

Break and Networking

11:20 am

Panel Discussion: Driving Continuous Improvement on Quality and Academic Experience

  • Meeting OfS expectations on quality enhancement

  • Exploring what effective quality assessment looks like and how institutions can demonstrate improvement

  • What do students expect from the academic experience and how can the student voice be embedded into quality assurance?

  • Addressing persistent concerns on course organisation and assessment feedback

  • What do providers need from the regulator to support  meaningful continuous improvement?

Professor Lisa Stansbie
Pro Vice Chancellor Education, Culture and Society
University of Worcester (CONFIRMED)

Dan Derricott
Director of Education Policy and Quality
University of Warwick (CONFIRMED)

Professor Claire Pike
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education Enhancement)
Anglia Ruskin University (CONFIRMED)

Rob Stroud
Executive Director of Quality Assurance and Enhancement
QAA (CONFIRMED)

Professor Elena Marco
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of College Arts, Technology and Environment
UWE Bristol (CONFIRMED)

12:00 pm

Where Are We On Harassment and Sexual Misconduct? Acting on New OfS Requirements

From 1 August 2025, Condition E6 will come into force on the OfS Conditions of Registration. The Condition means all providers need to be ready for new requirements on tackling harassment and sexual misconduct to support fair processes for staff and students.

This session will examine the challenges ahead on implementation, how providers can meet these new expectations and what more needs to be done beyond the regulatory requirements.

Rachel Sandby-Thomas
Registrar
University of Warwick (CONFIRMED)

12:30 pm

Break and Networking

1:10 pm

Afternoon Chair Address and Welcome

Janice Kay CBE
Special Advisor to Vice Chancellor, University of Exeter
Partner, Higher Futures (CONFIRMED)

1:20 pm

In Conversation: Designing the Conditions for Financial Resilience

  • The challenge facing institutions with deficits, low cash flows and at material risk of being unable to operate

  • The necessary steps to transform operating models and service deliver structures

  • The key components for effective leadership and governance mechanisms that navigate heightened risk

  • How the OfS can use its functions to support improved resilience, mitigate risk and prevent disorderly market exits

Sarah Bevans
Head of Funding Policy
Universities UK (CONFIRMED)

Professor Neal Juster
Vice Chancellor
University of Lincoln (CONFIRMED)

Nick Hillman
Director
HEPI (CONFIRMED)

2:00 pm

Closing the Expectation Gap: Making Progress on the Student Interest Agenda

  • Building a stronger role for students in governance and regulatory decision making

  • The next steps in supporting enhanced consumer protection and  value for money for students

  • Ensuring students receive what they are promised

  • Responding to the challenge of a diminished wider experience as students face persistent cost of living constraints

  • Fostering an environment of improved transparency, information provision and accountability for students

Vanessa Wilson
Chief Executive
University Alliance (CONFIRMED)

Dhruv Dev
SU President
Leeds Beckett Students' Union (CONFIRMED)

Helen Megarry
Independent Adjudicator
Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIAHE) (CONFIRMED)

Alex Stanley
Vice President Higher Education
NUS (CONFIRMED)

2:40 pm

Break and Networking

3:00 pm

Delivering on Equality of Opportunity Expectations: The Next Steps

  • Are we on track to make progress on the Equality of Opportunity Risk Register?

  • What does the implementation of new Access and Participation Plans look like?

  • What works? Building robust evaluation capabilities to understand the impact of intervention strategies

  • Where the gaps exist: building an evidence base

Professor Graeme Atherton
Director
National Education Opportunities Network (NEON) (CONFIRMED)

3:20 pm

Managing Risk on Subcontractual Provision

With the Office for Students placing greater emphasis on monitoring subcontractual provision and franchised arrangements, this session will examine what is needed to effectively manage risk through:

  • Effective governance and management

  • Approaches to oversight and reporting

  • Quality enhancement

  • Acting on concerns and risks to student outcomes                             

Sandra Binns
Policy Advisor
Universities UK (CONFIRMED)

3:40 pm

How Regulation can Support HE Progress and Reform

  • How regulation can and should work 'with' the sector through current challenges and move away from a purely market-based model

  • How we reduce regulatory duplication 

  • How OfS can better meet its responsibility to maintain a diverse higher education sector under HERA

  • What we should do to work in the student interest

Dr Kate Wicklow
Director of Policy and Strategy
Guild HE (CONFIRMED)

4:00 pm

Conference Close

*Programme subject to change

Audience

This event is designed for all higher education providers across the UK. Those in attendance will include:

  • Chief Operating Officers

  • Deans

  • Directors of External Affairs

  • Directors of Finance

  • Directors of Policy and Governance

  • Heads of Governance

  • Heads of Policy

  • Heads of Quality

  • Heads of Regulation and Compliance

  • Heads of Strategic Planning

  • Pro Vice Chancellors

  • Provosts

  • Registrars and University Secretary’s

  • Vice Chancellors

Secure Your Ticket

HE and Public Sector

£195 + VAT

Private Sector

£395 + VAT

HE Team of 3+

Discounts Available

For group discounts and enquiries about your registration please contact us on enquiries@heprofessional.co.uk