The Office for Students has been accepted as a member of the prestigious International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) – though this does not mean it has aligned processes to international standards as many in the sector has been hoping.

INQAAHE President Vicki Stott (better known to UK readers as the Chief Executive of the Quality Assurance Agency, the UK’s expert quality body for tertiary education) told Wonkhe:

I am delighted to see the Office for Students join INQAAHE, and I look forward to seeing OfS staff participate in the many valuable networks and forums available to our members. INQAAHE membership will also allow the OfS to apply to have its quality assurance processes examined against the rigorous International Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ISG), should it wish to in future.

Gaining membership of INQAAHE has required that the OfS submitted evidence it had existed for at least five years as an organisation, and has conducted quality assurance reviews for at least two years. OfS was also required to pay an application fee equivalent to one hundred US dollars.

Membership explicitly does not mean that INQAAHE vouches for the quality or reliability of the OfS’ quality assurance work – though INQAAHE does offer members assessment against meaningful international standards (the ISG) for an additional fee.

It is important to note that this ISG is a separate process to the established European higher education area standards and guidelines (ESG) which underpins the Bologna process and that organisations like the QAA adhere to, though there are some commonalities.

During its recent investigation of the work of the Office for Students, members of the House of Lords Industries and Regulators Committee criticised the OfS for not aligning with international quality assurance standards (and ESG in particular) – something that providers report is causing them significant problems with international recruitment and global partnerships.

Josh Fleming, Director of Strategy and Delivery at the OfS, said:

Joining INQAAHE will help extend our regulatory intelligence network around the world, as well as giving us greater opportunity to learn from regulators and agencies as we refine our own approach.

It will be hoped by many that OfS learns the value of adherence to international standards from the regulators and agencies it meets via the INQAAHE networks – including, for example, the QAA (which has statutory responsibilities for quality assurance in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland – and also offers English members the option of an ESG-compliant quality assurance engagement).