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The English regulator has called for vice-chancellors to join a ¡°provider board¡± as its new chair seeks to repair its relationship with bruised universities.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative for the Office for Students (OfS), a panel of 12 senior leaders will be convened to be a ¡°critical friend¡± on policy decisions.

Edward Peck, the former vice-chancellor of Nottingham Trent University who began his stint as OfS chair over the summer, said it was a ¡°clear indication¡± that the regulator was being ¡°repositioned¡±.

Mirroring the words of his predecessor David Behan, who authored a critical report into the regulator before becoming its interim chair, Peck told the Universities UK conference that the OfS had often ¡°mistaken distance for independence¡±.

Since its inception, the regulator has faced fierce criticism about the burden of over-regulation and being too quick to follow the political whims of ministers.

Peck said the OfS under his watch will be focused on partnership working and be a champion of the higher education sector as a ¡°force for good, for individuals, for communities, and for the country¡±, values that will be reflected when it releases the final version of its next strategy in November.

He also signalled that a revised?Teaching Excellence Framework will have ¡°regulatory bite¡± and that the OfS will intervene ¡°where we judge student fees are being used for purposes other than genuine study¡±.

¡°We have a mutual interest in getting regulation right for the benefit of students, wider society and higher education institutions themselves¡±, Peck told the conference.

¡°Perhaps now more than ever, the sector needs a regulator which is a confident and credible voice with the current debates about the quality and relevance of higher education.¡±

But Peck signalled universities would not have things all their own way. He accused ¡°some in the sector¡± of making ¡°life more difficult for both itself and for us at the OfS¡±.

¡°Let¡¯s be honest, one of the fastest methods of reducing the burden and cost of regulation would be for some of you to give us ¨C and government ¨C less to worry about.¡±

He cited?as an example providers that ¡°could have taken more steps earlier to prepare for probable reductions in institutional income rather than rely on over-optimistic student number projections¡±.

Peck also singled out those that ¡°could have avoided adopting inadequate arrangements with those organisations to which they have franchised provision¡±.

But, rather than dwell on these issues,?he said, he wanted to focus on developing a new attitude for the OfS.

The regulator¡¯s new provider board, which will start work in January 2026, will be made up of leaders from across the sector.

It will be tasked with ¡°offering advice and constructive challenge¡± on current and future OfS policy, the regulator said.

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com