 |
Office for Fair Access - OFFA
“The Future of Higher Education”, the Government White Paper published in January 2003, included a clear commitment to widen participation in higher education, and signalled the introduction of an “Access Regulator” to approve access agreements before any institution can charge higher variable fees. The Department published “Widening Participation in Higher Education” on 8 April 2003, which included its proposals for the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) and its vision for widening participation, including in the context of higher fees. Both these documents were widely circulated and generated a large volume of consultation responses.
The Higher Education Act 2004 provided a framework for the work of the Director of Fair Access (otherwise known as OFFA), and further details of access agreements and the Director’s powers are contained in The Student Fees (Approved Plans) (England) Regulations 2004. These were laid on 7 September and approved by Parliament.
Sir Martin Harris was appointed as Director of Fair Access on 15 October and the Secretary of State sent him a statutory letter of guidance on 25 October.
OFFA has now published its own guidance to institutions on producing access agreements. Further details can be obtained from OFFA’s website:
Related documents
Secretary of State's Letter of Guidance
Acrobat Document | 439 KB
Student Fees Regulations (Word)
Word Document | 73 KB- Student Fees Regulations (PDF)
Acrobat Document | 435 KB - Widening participation in Higher Education
Acrobat Document | 280 KB