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Saturday 31 October 2026
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Wonkhe SUs · Weekly webinars · 23 October 2026

How (and why) to respond to OfS’ stage two TEF consultation

Jim Dickinson on OfS’ plans for the new TEF – why the student submission now sits at the heart of a system that can cut recruitment, and what SUs should say before 28 January.

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The second stage of OfS’ consultation sets out how every registered university and college in England would be assessed, how the new TEF would work and what would happen to providers that do badly – turning the TEF from a reputation exercise into one that decides whether a university can grow, award its own degrees, raise its fees with inflation or even keep its student numbers. We look at what OfS proposes, what student contacts and the evaluation of TEF 2023 tell us about how student input really worked, what the proposals leave out, and – proposal by proposal – what SUs might say in a response that protects students and treats the SU as a partner in quality all year round, before the consultation closes on 28 January 2027.

What we cover

  • Why stage two is where the rules for student input get written, and why it’s worth responding
  • The two routes – applying for TEF ratings or the minimum requirements – and who goes first
  • What TEF 2023 student contacts told OfS about honesty, time and data
  • Paragraph 191 – how a student submission’s concerns could feed a Requires improvement rating
  • The student submission – what SUs have won, and what still needs fixing
  • Three alternatives to the order of submissions
  • How assessors would weigh the NSS, the submissions and the 80 per cent consistency rule
  • Visits, redactions, outcomes and franchised students
  • The 10 per cent annual recruitment cut and what should come with it
  • How to respond, the evidence to gather and what to ask for

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